Algeria: “Granting Sonatrach The Right To Negotiate With Foreign Energy Companies”

The Finance and Budget Commission of the national people’s assembly held a session on Sunday to hear the Minister of Finance Mohamed Loukal, who presented an organic bill amending the laws of finance.

The latter revealed that organic law 18-15 of 2018 aims to amend and supplement the provisions of Article 18 of financial laws.

Law No. 84-17 of 1984 on the amended and complementary laws of finance has made it possible to legislate in the fiscal area through provisions other than the laws of finance, especially the law on hydrocarbons.

Mr. Loukal told the Finance and budget Commission members that this possibility was abolished by Organic Law No. 18-15 of 2018 on the laws of finance notably in the field of tax exemption, in order to enable the draft law on hydrocarbons to provide for the provisions of the tax with 57 articles.

The Minister of Finance explained that it was imperative to resort to the amendment of Article 18, so as to enable the sector in charge of hydrocarbons to legislate in the fiscal area under a special measure outside the Finance Act.

Members of the relevant commission have voiced their concerns regarding the organic law. The majority of them have complained about the frequent annual amendments to the laws, as well as the inability of the financial sector to develop a future roadmap on which to base the legislation.

The parliamentary debate included an urgent call to reflect on the imperative of finding new financial resources that would revive the public treasury.

The MPs also called for a clear policy line on laws, some stressed the need to be vigilant about emptying the Finance Act and others to pay more attention to new measures meant to counter tax evasion.