Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Algeria has tightened controls on the import and export of gold jewelry and other precious items, amending customs law to require currency declarations for these materials as part of broader anti-money laundering efforts.
Algeria has tightened conditions for the import and export of gold jewelry. | Photo by Aslı Yaren Peker on Unsplash
Badreddine Khris
2 minutes read
Algeria is tightening controls on the import and export of precious metals and stones as part of its fight against money laundering.
The General Directorate of Customs (DGD) announced an amendment to Article 198 bis of the customs law, concerning currency declaration. The obligation has been extended to include, in addition to national and foreign currencies, precious metals and precious stones.
In a note sent to regional directorates and other services, the DGD explained that all export and import operations of worked or semi-worked gold, silver, and platinum items, carried out by manufacturers and artisan jewelers under economic customs regimes, require prior authorization from the tax administration for each operation, as required by the 2026 Finance Law.
Algerian manufacturers and artisan jewelers are “authorized” to import worked or semi-worked gold, silver, and platinum items under the temporary admission customs regime, to be “re-exported within a specified period, either in their original state or after undergoing, under inward processing, transformation, working, additional labor, or repair,” according to the same text. The execution of this operation is subject to “prior” authorization from the tax administration for “each operation,” specifies Article 379 bis of the law.
The directive emphasizes that travelers must declare these items, whether in their possession, in their luggage, or in their vehicle. The law also insists on the prohibition of sending means of payment, precious metals, and precious stones by postal, maritime, or express services, under penalty of legal proceedings, while adopting electronic declaration as the general rule.
Furthermore, any traveler crossing a customs checkpoint without completing the declaration procedure is considered to have no amounts to declare, the note specified.
In this context, the 2026 Finance Law established a mandatory minimum amount for currency declaration upon entry or exit from the national territory, capped at 1000 euros or its equivalent. This obligation applies to all travelers, regardless of nationality (residents or non-residents), and also includes precious metals, precious stones, and other means of payment, as explained by the customs administration, which reiterated the provisions of the 2026 Finance Law.
Moreover, among the changes deemed “more important” by the customs administration are the introduction of Articles 198 bis 3 and 198 bis 4, which grant customs authorities expanded powers to request information and documents regarding the origin and destination of declared or undeclared funds, and to establish databases for these declarations, with mandatory information sharing with the Financial Intelligence Unit. Preventive seizure of suspicious funds for a maximum of 30 days is also authorized, with notification to the competent prosecutor and the possibility of judicial appeal against seizure orders.