Bouchouareb: “Importing Cars Less Than Three Years Old Will Not Be Chaotic”

File of relaunching the procedure of importing used cars less than three years old is still being examined, and the announcement of the new version to sell these cars to the Algerians will be announced later, according to the Book of Terms that will organize the operation, which will be given for professionals and a in an organized way that depends on the quota and not on the citizens, thus ending the controversy over the file, Industry and Mines Minister, Abdessalam Bouchouareb said.

Bouchouareb responded to Echorouk question, on Tuesday, about importing the used cars less than 3 years old, saying: “The file is not a proposal in the Finance Bill for the year 2017, and it will not come into effect from next January, as expected by some people, but it will be realized according to a Book of Terms that structured this activity”, adding that the Industry Ministry is working in coordination with the concerned sectors to set it up to be released in a timely manner, without setting a time agenda for that.

The minister explained, on the sidelines of the official opening of the Fifteenth Energy International Forum, Tuesday, at the conference hall Abdellatif Rahal, that the used cars will be marketed in accordance with the good quality and strict conditions, and its shares will be distributed to professionals and not to citizens, reassuring all critics of the return of the decision after 10 years by commenting, that marketing will not be in a chaotic way, but according to the structures professional version, and that the person who wants to market these cars is the only that will be granted a license, and he/she must fulfill the appropriate standards, and the criteria to be commensurate with the quality of the vehicles, which are stipulated by the government in new cars, by the beginning of March 2017.

“We started a few months ago in organizing the car market, and we will not step backwards. This decision will be in favor of the citizen, in conformity with the quality,” adding: “We are studying this procedure since months ago and not today, as a lot people believe, and everything will be fine”.

“The marketing of old cars will not affect the marketing of Symbol car that is manufactured in Algeria and other factories that the accredited car dealerships intend to create in a number of the country’s provinces. This is a mandatory decision from the beginning of January 2017, as the dealerships will be bound by either manufacturing cars locally or leave the Algerian market and government will withdraw their licenses”.

Statement of the Industry and Mines Minister comes following the controversy that was raised following the statement of the Trade Minister, Bakhti Belaiab about the return of importing the used cars less than 3 years old, a decision which sparked a lot of controversy among Algerians, then there was a talk about the dropping of the draft from the finance bill for the year 2017, and the Trade Ministry accused lobbies of promoting the decision to cancel it for their own interests.