New mess in the regulation of imports in Algeria. This time, it is a new decision of the Ministry of Commerce which is at the origin.
When a project lacks maturity and is launched in an improvised way, even in a hussar, it inevitably leads to a mess such as the one in which several ministries, all the country’s importers and many producers have been struggling for more than a month. Algerians.
In question, the visibly unilateral decision of the Ministry of Commerce (at least two ministries reacted after this decision) imposing an additional document on importers, issued by the Algerian Export Promotion Agency (Alex) and certifying that the goods to be imported and intended for resale as is not produced locally.
The instruction was sent to the banks via a note from the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) on 24 April. “All goods imported and intended for resale in the state are concerned by this mandatory procedure”, which means that the note also applies to inputs intended for industry and agriculture. A website is made available to importers to check whether the product to be imported is available or not in Algeria.
In a country that is highly dependent on imported raw materials, import activity, and more generally foreign trade, directly affect consumers and producers in all sectors.
Any related decision must in principle be taken in concert with the departments concerned. Which does not seem to be the case precisely in this obligation to go through Alex to import. The proof, in barely a month, the decision has been the subject of several clarifications and counter-announcements.
On May 25, the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry announced that the Ministry of Commerce is exempting pharmaceutical products and medical devices, “in view of their specificity”, from the obligation to present the Alex document.
Obsession
Lotfi Benbahmed’s department did not fail to recall that it is he who is responsible for “regulating the national pharmaceutical market”, in accordance with his prerogatives.
This first hiccup was followed by another similar precision, emanating from the Ministry of Agriculture. He said this Sunday, May 29 that agricultural and veterinary products intended for resale as is to farmers are also exempted by the decision of Kamel Rezig.
If such reversals take place only a few weeks after the entry into force of the instruction, it is because we have realized that its application is likely to hinder the national productive fabric and even sensitive sectors such as of health.
It is not excluded that other sectors in turn announce the exemption of products that concern them, as the decision of the Ministry of Commerce, as it was thought out and implemented, seems incompatible with the imperative of ensuring the sustainability and development of national production, which it paradoxically aims to protect and encourage.
Between the two exits from the Ministries of Pharmaceutical Industry and Agriculture, a beverage factory employing 300 people announced the cessation of its activities due to the lack of availability of an input essential to its operation.
And since Customs only understands the language of the customs tariff, it was only this Sunday that the Ministry of Commerce fixed a list of agricultural products and inputs authorized for import, specifying the customs tariffs for each position.
Algeria wants to rationalize its imports, fight against fraudulent practices such as over-invoicing and preserve its foreign exchange reserves. As laudable as this objective is, the measures taken to achieve it risks being counter-productive when they are decided upon without strategy or consultation and when the approach turns into an obsession.
The episode of the Agex document was preceded a few months ago by the soap opera of the customs tariff “Others”, without any lesson having been learned.
Last September, the Ministry of Commerce took the decision to freeze imports under the “Other” customs tariff, which caused the blocking of the import of several products.
It would have taken two months for the government to review its copy to clarify that the producers were not concerned.
With these decisions visibly not concerted and lacking in maturity, the administration thus shows how much harm it can do to the Algerian economy.
