Importing Licenses: 83 Thousand Vehicles Only For The Algerians In 2016!

Trade Minister Bakhti Belaib announced Monday in Algiers that the quantitative quota of vehicle imports decided by the government has been slashed to only 83,000 units for the year 2016 as part of import licenses.

The figure of 83,000 vehicles allowed to be imported is less than the previously announced quota. We announced 152,000 units but we finally decided to scale down this number to just 83,000 units. We will evaluate the impact of the measures taken to this effect. Afterwards, we’ll consider harking back to the previous quota, if need be,” Mr Belaib told the press.    

Taking the floor outside the proceedings of the joint committee in charge of monitoring trade exchanges with neighboring Tunisia, the Trade minister emphasized that the inter-ministerial committee in charge of examining licenses applications has distributed this 83,000- vehicle quota among the selected car dealerships operating in Algeria. 

The import bill of this vehicle quota shall not exceed one (1) billion US Dollars for 2016 against more than three (3) billion dollars in 2015.  

“We decided to curtail the quota because we must rationalize our imports. We won’t import cars for the sake of storing them. We will import cars whose buyers are already identified as they pay in advance before receiving their cars,” he stressed.

“Through this import licenses mechanism, stated the Trade Minister, we have demanded some investment commitments in the national automobile sector, namely the production of spare parts or the direct involvement in the manufacturing of these cars in the national market”, he underscored. 

He indicated in this connection that the Ministry, in order to prop up fresh investments in Algeria, intends to strongly encourage investors wishing to engage in the assembling or construction activities of vehicles in the country.

The expected results by curtailing the imports of vehicles, Mr Belaib underlined, will lessen the country’s expenditure by $ 2.5 billion dollars annually, knowing that up to 3.5 billion dollars per year have been disbursed up to now to finance them.