Algeria plans to introduce a new restriction on imports of vehicles less than three years old, which have been authorized since 2023.
The new rule is to make imported used cars “non-transferable” for a period of three years from their acquisition.
The measure is not yet in force. It is contained in the Finance Bill for 2025 which has just been transmitted to the deputies of the National People’s Assembly (APN).
This new condition must be adopted by Parliament before coming into force from 2025.
The government thus aims to “fight against speculative practices” of importers of vehicles less than 3 years old, who have “altered the objective sought through the tax and customs advantages granted in this area”.
Cars less than three years old: what the 2025 Finance Bill provides for
The proposal comes as the government froze the issuing of registrations for imported cars less than three years old in early October, according to consumer rights groups, including Himayatec, which has contacted the Interior Ministry over the measure.
The president of this association, Mohamed Aissaoui, reported on Thursday the strong tensions in the Algerian automobile market. “There is a crisis and a rise in car prices. The Algerian citizen has become a hostage of the resellers,” he said in a video posted on the association’s Facebook page on Thursday, October 10.
President Himayatec denounced Fiat Algeria’s refusal to receive the association’s representations while the Italian brand had the lion’s share of the Algerian automobile market.
Regarding vehicles less than three years old, the president of this association indicated that the importation had not been prohibited, but he denounced the measure freezing the registrations of this type of car.
