Import Cars from China to Algeria (2026): Who May Import What, and on Which Terms

Algeria organises vehicle imports around a few tightly defined legal channels. Each one decides who can sign the purchase contract, what age and engine the car may have, and how much of the tax bill applies.

This guide works from the texts themselves: the 2026 Finance Law (Law 25-17, Journal Officiel No. 88 of 31 December 2025), the finance laws that built the used-car regime, and the two executive decrees that govern dealers and individual imports. Where the texts are silent or the market is ahead of them, we say so.

The Three Legal Channels in 2026

There is no general open-import channel for companies that are not approved dealers. A trading company without an agrément cannot legally bring in new passenger cars for resale.

Channel 1: Approved Dealers and the Manufacturer Rule

Executive Decree 22-383 reserves the import of new vehicles for resale to commercial companies holding two documents: a dealer agrément issued by the Minister of Industry, and a certificate from the Ministry of Commerce confirming the conditions for import-for-resale activity. The agrément is valid for five years and is renewable.

The decree and its annexed specification (cahier des charges) require showroom, after-sales and storage infrastructure, a network in at least 28 wilayas by the end of the first year, adequate original spare parts, and a manufacturer commitment to supply parts for five years. Passenger cars need ABS, two front airbags, ISOFIX and, above 1,200 cm³, electronic stability control. The warranty is at least 100,000 km within 60 months.

Two clauses matter most to a Chinese supplier:

• Article 31: the approved dealer must source from the manufacturer that granted the concession, or one of its affiliates, and may import only the brands and models it is approved for.
• Article 32: the invoice for imported new vehicles must be issued by that manufacturer or one of its affiliates.

In plain terms, an Algerian dealer approved for a Chinese brand such as Chery or Geely buys from the brand's own export organisation, not from an independent trading exporter. An independent exporter can support that chain with logistics, inspection or parts, but it cannot be the invoicing party for the dealer's new-car imports. Anyone offering to supply an approved Algerian dealer with new cars on a third-party invoice is describing a transaction that does not match the decree.

Customs guidance also lists the documents needed to clear dealer imports: the definitive agrément, an import licence, the specification listing authorised brands and models, the concession contract, and proof of conformity inspection by the Mines service before clearance. That customs page still cites the 2015 dealer decree, which was replaced; confirm the current file with a licensed Algerian customs broker (commissionnaire en douane) before shipment.

What we could not confirm from a primary source: how many dealers hold a valid agrément in 2026, which brands are covered, and what import volumes have been authorised for 2026. Media reports describe allocations decided jointly by several ministries; the decree itself does not publish them. Some articles also claim an engine-size ceiling or a mandatory electric-vehicle share for dealer imports. Neither appears in the text of Decree 22-383, so do not assume them until an official text is produced.

Channel 2: Resident Individuals and Used Cars Under Three Years

Media reports link much of the recent growth in Chinese car arrivals to this channel. Article 110 of the 2020 Finance Law, as amended in 2023, 2024 and 2025, allows resident individuals to clear used passenger cars and light utility vehicles under three years old, once every three years, for personal use, paid with their own foreign currency. Executive Decree 23-74 sets the details:

• Eligible vehicles: electric, petrol, or petrol-electric hybrid passenger cars with up to nine seats, and light utility vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes (van, small van, pick-up). Diesel is not in the definition.
• Age: under three years between the date of first registration and the date of the customs declaration.
• Condition: good working order, no major or critical defect, and compliance with safety and environmental rules. If the Mines-approved expert finds the car non-compliant, it must be re-exported at the importer's cost.
• Documents: ID and residence certificate, the foreign registration certificate, proof of ownership transfer (invoice or sale contract), a roadworthiness document less than three months old from an authorised body in the country of registration, and the conformity expert's report.
• Temporary entry: the car enters on a one-month customs pass that cannot be extended while clearance is completed.

What changed in 2025

The 2025 Finance Law added a resale lock. Cars cleared under this regime cannot be sold for 36 months after clearance unless the owner repays the tax advantage: 100% if sold within 12 months, 66% between 12 and 24 months, 33% between 24 and 36 months, and nothing after 36 months.

Registration was also disrupted. Media reports say registration of these cars was suspended from October 2024; the Ministry of the Interior then reopened it in two phases, from 12 May 2025 for older files and from 22 June 2025 for cars cleared from 1 January 2025.

What this means for an exporter

The regime is built for a private person buying one car. A B2B seller has to be careful on three points:

1. The car must already have been registered. The decree defines a used vehicle by its date of first registration. How customs treats a never-registered new car bought by an individual is not settled by the texts we reviewed. Get a written answer from a customs broker before quoting one.

2. The buyer is the individual, paid from his or her own currency. Showrooms that bundle orders in the names of individuals take on the resale lock and the tax clawback. Confirm the structure with Algerian counsel. The supplier's documents must match the named buyer.

3. Diesel units are excluded. A diesel Chinese SUV cannot use this route.

Channel 3: The CCR Regime for Returning Nationals

From 1 January 2026, Article 127 of the 2026 Finance Law lets Algerians registered at a consulate abroad, on their definitive return, import a vehicle new or under five years old at the date of entry, without paying duties within the regime's value ceiling. Passenger cars must be electric, petrol or petrol-electric hybrid and no larger than 1,800 cm³. Article 134 gives diplomatic and consular staff the same age and engine rule at the end of a posting. This is a personal, one-time entitlement. It is not a commercial channel, but Chinese-built cars that meet the rule are eligible.

How Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Are Treated

Algeria does favour electrified powertrains, but the benefit depends on the channel:

• Used cars under three years (individuals): clearance pays the ordinary duties and taxes with a reduction of 80% for electric vehicles, 50% for petrol or hybrid cars up to 1,800 cm³, and 20% above 1,800 cm³ (2023 Finance Law, Article 66, amending Article 110).
• Annual vignette: the 2026 Finance Law (Article 50, amending Article 302 of the Code du timbre) exempts electric and/or hybrid vehicles, and CNG vehicles, from the vehicle vignette.
• Dealers: electric, hydrogen and petrol-hybrid passenger cars are on the permitted list, but we found no primary text giving dealer imports of EVs a lower duty rate.
• Buses: separately, Article 135 of the 2026 Finance Law exempts buses for ten or more people (heading 87.02), built-up or in kit form, from all duties and taxes within a quota of 10,000 units, subject to a Ministry of Industry authorisation, effective from 1 October 2025. Media coverage of the implementing order says it targets transport operators and local authorities, not individuals.

For range-extender (EREV) and diesel-hybrid vehicles, the texts list "hybrid (petrol and electric)"; they do not name range extenders. Confirm the classification of a specific EREV with customs before relying on the hybrid treatment.

The Tax Lines to Budget

We do not publish a single "Algeria landed-cost percentage": duty and TIC vary by tariff line and engine size, and several of the rates quoted online are not traceable to a current official text. Use our import cost calculator to structure the worksheet, then have the broker fill in the Algerian rates for the exact HS code.

Choosing Models for Algeria

The powertrain rules narrow the catalogue before price does: petrol, electric or petrol hybrid only, no diesel. On the used and CCR routes, 1,800 cm³ is the key threshold, setting the used-car reduction band and the CCR ceiling. Petrol SUVs from Jetour, Chery and Geely fit this profile when the engine size is checked against the exact VIN.

Before You Sign Anything

1. Name the channel: dealer, resident individual, or CCR. Each needs a different buyer and a different document set.

2. For dealer business, confirm the buyer's agrément covers the brand, and that the invoice will come from the manufacturer or its affiliate.

3. For individual imports, check the first-registration date, powertrain and engine size for each VIN, and confirm the buyer's eligibility (one import every three years).

4. Get the duty, TIC and new-vehicle-tax figures in writing from a licensed Algerian broker for the exact tariff line.

5. Check how to verify a Chinese exporter and agree payment terms that match the channel.

Send us the model, VIN-level specification and the import channel your buyer will use. We will tell you which of our units fit the Algerian powertrain and age rules and prepare the China-side export and inspection documents. The Algerian importer and its broker remain responsible for the local declaration.

Official references: 2026 Finance Law, JO No. 88 of 31 Dec 2025 (Ministry of Finance) · 2025 Finance Law (Ministry of Finance) · Executive Decree 22-383 on new-vehicle dealers (Ministry of Industry) · Executive Decree 23-74 on used vehicles imported by residents (Customs) · Customs: new vehicles for resale · DGI: VAT rates.

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