Trade Ministry: “Sifting” Importers’ Files Before October 31st 2021

The Ministry of Trade denied the possibility of registering any scarcity of goods and products destined for sale starting from October 31st, which will coincide with the last date for updating the commercial records of importers, stressing that 6,000 commercial records have been processed until yesterday.

The Ministry further revealed special procedures for “difficult” cases for importers, who were unable to update their commercial register, such as the mixing of codes of closely related activities, and goods that reach the borders before settling the register, which will be allowed to enter the national market as an exception.

Daily control to the markets will be carried to preclude speculation, monopoly and undue prices’ hikes.

Director of Regulating Markets, Activities, and Legalized Professions at the Ministry of Trade, Ahmed Mokrani, said in a statement to “Echorouk” that the National Center for the Commercial Registry today counts the settlement of 6,000 commercial register so far out of the total previous statistics confirming the presence of 17,000 economic dealers, adding: “There is a committee at the level of the Ministry of Trade which is studying requests from economic dealers and large companies, to re-amend similar codes to each other, with a view to ensuring the flexibility of the process of amending commercial records and making them conform and ensuring the supply of the market with goods and products destined for sale in line with the conditions without causing any defect in the points of sale.

Mr. Ahmed Mokrani explained that the time for using one commercial register to import several materials has ended, as the Ministry of Trade aims through this step to update and cleanse the list of importers before October 31st 2021, as only specialists will practice this activity without others, through the creation of a national card for importers.
He also underlined that such a decision will not contribute to the increase in the prices of products and materials destined for sale, but rather these products and materials will witness a great abundance on the national market in the coming days.

In this context, the official of the Ministry of Trade specified that an urgent measure was taken at the level of border areas and ports by enabling shipments suspended at the border level to enter the national market, pending the settlement of commercial records, and this is as a precautionary measure to stave off speculation and to avoid registering any scarcity in the market.

On the other hand, he said, the Ministry of Trade’s efforts are continuing to prevent any violations related to illegal price increases, by dispatching 8,000 supervisory agents daily to the markets to inspect goods and record any violations by offenders.

The Ministry of Trade and Export Promotion announced the updating of the code of economic activities included in the activity of importing materials destined for resale as such, which led to the expansion of the number of activity codes from 227 to 273, calling on all economic dealers practicing this activity to comply with the new regulation.
The ministry explained that it knows “all economic dealers practicing the activity of importing materials for resale in their condition, stressing that the code of economic activities for this sector has been re-updated and clarified in response to the demands and inquiries of activists in this field”.

According to a statement issued by the ministry directed to importers, two new subgroups were included that led to the expansion of the number of activity codes from 227 to 273 in different fields, especially the sectors of agriculture, fisheries, irrigation, construction as well as public works, health and pharmaceutical industry.

The Ministry called on all dealers concerned to comply with the provisions of Executive Decree No. 21-94 of March 9th, 2021 amending and supplementing Executive Decree No. 05-458 of November 30, 2005, which outlines the modalities for practicing import activities of raw materials, products and goods destined for resale in their condition, before the date of 31 October 2021 as the last date.