10 days for importers and manufacturers to determine the components, origin and numbering of goods

The deadlines set by the Ministry of Trade and Export Promotion for importers and local producers to affix the vertical “codebar” symbol to products intended for human consumption will expire in 10 days, as traders will be forced to indicate the country of origin, the manufacturer and the product number and its components, without benefiting from a new deadline.
In this context, the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented by the Ministry of Trade and Export Promotion, informed on Sunday, through its website, all economic operators, including local producers, as well as importers, that the provisions of the joint ministerial decision dated Rajab 4, 1442, corresponding to 16 February 2021, have entered into force.
It includes the technical regulations that define the conditions and modalities for the application of the vertical “Codebar” symbol on products intended for human consumption.
The Chamber of Commerce urges all economic operators and importers to comply with the provisions of this regulatory text without waiting for the deadline of 29 March.
The Chamber, which represents the interests of the Ministry of Trade, also invites the traders and importers concerned to contact the State Directorates of Trade, the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Algerian Association for Material Coding “GS1 Algeria” in order to provide them with all the information and clarifications related to this issue.
Economic expert Hamza Boughadi said in a statement to “Echorouk” that vertical coding has become more than necessary today to control the market of raw materials in terms of quality and quantity, and to identify the source, origin, customs and ingredients of goods entering the Algerian market, especially in the food and cosmetics sectors. He stressed that “Codebar” is a technology recognised in all countries for monitoring and knowing the origin of the product.
According to him, this procedure will help to differentiate between original and counterfeit products and will determine the owner of the legal responsibility for the product circulating in the markets, especially when it comes to food intended for human consumption, since the importer is compelled to shoulder responsibility for the goods he places on the market, as well as for the local product.
Boghadi stressed that the vertical coding will be, from the 29th of March, one of the most important means to trace the origin of these materials, as well as the patterns of stock management and buying and selling operations, and will allow facilitating the distribution and storage process, as “Codebar” is one of the most important modern tools for organizing commercial operations, and this represents The last is an identification card for the product, as the vertical coding will answer the questions: “Who is the product? What is the origin of the product? What is the date? And specific identification questions”.
On the other hand, the spokesman confirms that the data relating to the size of the institutions’ stocks of this product and their production capacities remain internal matters, known only to the tax authorities and through confidential information contained in the annual reports filed with the relevant authorities.