Import licenses for 25,000 new vehicles will be granted to about 40 operators on 23 August. The Ministry of Commerce will distribute the licenses, once signed by Minister Ahmed Abdelhafid Saci, on 21 August.

According to ministerial sources, import licensing was scheduled for July. But this did not happen because the joint commission in charge of the file had not finalized its work. By 2016, the Ministry of Commerce had authorized the import of 98,374 vehicles, while with the quota system; only 25,000 units were imported by 40 operators for this year.

According to the same sources, the Ministry of Commerce does not rule out the possibility of importing vehicles less than three years old. "Commerce intends to issue import licenses for these vehicles in the first quarter of 2018," it said. It should be noted that car dealers have not imported any vehicles since the beginning of the year.

However, it should be noted that Algeria imported for 530 million Euros of vehicles, exclusively purchased by individuals via import licenses. The operation to grant these licenses was to take place after the promulgation of the new specifications governing the assembly of vehicles in Algeria, the first phase of which was finalized.

But the new instructions of the President of the Republic to the members of his government, aimed at ceasing what he called a "real provocation" against economic operators, accelerated things. The Minister of Commerce, in a press briefing on the sidelines of a meeting with the executives of his sector, said in this regard that there will be no import licenses before the results of the Evaluation of the activity of automotive assembly plants.

Asked about the licensing of vehicles for 2017, the minister suggested that they remain "dependent on the results of the work of the commission set up by the Ministry of Industry" To draw up a new set of specifications. Changes were made in the first phase to the current text, which did not achieve the objectives envisaged by the public authorities.

The main conclusions of this first stage relate mainly to the medium - term requirement to export part of the production and to require a minimum stake of the foreign partner in the capital of the Algerian companies created, Industry and Mines. The draft text requires manufacturers to mobilize their subcontractors and equipment manufacturers to help domestic firms increase the rate of integration and encourage the creation of a subcontracting industry.

It is worth recalling that the automotive sector in Algeria has been tainted by several scandals, notably in the field of assembly, not to mention the surge in vehicle prices. This prompted the Ministry of Commerce to initiate an investigation into the high cost of vehicles assembled in Algeria and which are much more expensive than those imported.
 

Ily Es

 Translator