Algeria's new regulation on Import of Finished Goods

In October 2021, the Algerian government finished implementing a new regulation regarding imported finished products that seriously disrupted trade, especially for agribusiness products, medical devices, construction material and equipment, electronic equipment, automotive equipment, and fast-moving consumer goods.

The new regulation (Executive Decree No. 21-94) was first introduced in March 2021, with a deadline to comply by December 31, 2021.  It stipulates that importers of raw materials, products, and goods for resale must specialize in their activities and may only import one type of product. Public institutions involved in importing may be exempt from the decree on a case-by-case basis. To hasten the adoption of this regulation the Algerian Ministry of Finance announced it would suspend all bank domiciliation services for importers that did not comply with the decree before October 31, 2021.

Implementing this regulation will seriously disrupt trade in Algeria, given that many companies, including many multinational companies operating in Algeria, import multiple products. As a result, American exporters are advised to check the status of the importers with whom they are currently working or plan to work in the future to determine whether they have the right to import their products into the Algerian market.  

While it is common for the Algerian government to introduce measures to slow imports in the final quarter of the year to boost the country’s balance of payments and then reverse these measures the following year, CS Algeria anticipates that this decree will last.  According to the Algerian Ministry of Commerce, Decree 21-94 will be maintained in the 2022 Financial Law to “rationalize imports, boost growth and the national economy, and ensure increased control of the national market and foreign trade.”

For more details about these import regulations, please contact Basma Djabali at Basma.Djabali@trade.gov.