Export Support in Algeria: Public Bodies, FSPE and Trade Fairs
Export support in Algeria: the body that replaced ALGEX, FSPE refunds on freight and fairs, CAGEX insurance, export credit and tax incentives.
Key takeaways
- ALGEX was dissolved in September 2025 and replaced, for exports, by the Organisme algérien des exportations, which is to run a single export window and a digital platform.
- The FSPE refunds part of international freight, inland transport and trade-fair costs to exporters of non-hydrocarbon products, on proof that the export was made and paid.
- Collective participation in fairs on the official programme is organised by SAFEX and largely financed by the state.
- CAGEX insures export receivables and, since July 2026, its cover is compulsory for payment terms above 120 days.
- Banks can now grant short-term dinar export credits under Instruction 08-2026, and exports benefit from VAT and income-tax relief subject to conditions.
Algeria has spent three decades building a support system for exports other than oil and gas: a fund that refunds part of freight and trade-fair costs, a public export credit insurer, a trade-fair organiser, chambers of commerce, tax and customs incentives, and a promotion agency. In 2025 and 2026 the system changed significantly: ALGEX was dissolved and replaced, a single export window was created, export credit insurance became compulsory for longer payment terms, and banks received instructions to speed up export files and finance them.
This lesson tells you who does what today, what each scheme actually pays for, and how to claim it without losing your right through a missing document. The institutions and rules come from the executive decrees of September 2025, the Banque d'Algérie instructions of 2026, the official exporter guide published by the authorities in 2021 and the Ministry of Commerce. Support schemes are revised often: confirm rates, deadlines and claim channels with the ministry in charge of foreign trade before you count on them.
Who supports Algerian exporters today?
| Body | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Ministry in charge of foreign trade and export promotion | Export policy, management of the FSPE, official programme of fairs and exhibitions abroad |
| Organisme algérien des exportations | Public export promotion body created in 2025; single export window, digital exporter platform, market information, foreign representations |
| CACI and regional chambers of commerce and industry | Certificates of origin, ATA carnets, information, training, business missions |
| SAFEX | Organises Algerian pavilions at fairs on the official programme |
| CAGEX | Export credit insurance, buyer information, debt collection abroad |
| Domiciliation banks | Domiciliation, collection, pre- and post-shipment finance |
| Customs (DGD) | Green channel, on-site clearance, AEO status, inward processing, drawback |
| CACQE, accredited laboratories | Conformity and analysis certificates for exported products |
| ANEXAL | Association representing Algerian exporters |
From ALGEX to the Organisme algérien des exportations
ALGEX, the national agency for the promotion of foreign trade created in 2004, was dissolved by Executive Decree 25-235 of 3 September 2025, published in the Official Journal no. 60. Its assets, staff and obligations were transferred to the Organisme algérien des exportations, created the same day by Executive Decree 25-234. A separate body was created for imports.
According to published summaries of the decree, the new body is tasked with:
- implementing state policy on export promotion and assessing Algeria's exportable potential;
- collecting and analysing market data for prospecting abroad;
- setting up representations abroad under the "Dar El Djazaïr" label;
- operating a single export window, through which administrations involved in exports (ministries, Banque d'Algérie, customs, tax administration, quality control, commercial register, export insurer) deliver their authorisations and documents;
- running a digital platform where exporters follow their requests through a dedicated account.
The FSPE: refunds on freight and fairs
The Fonds spécial pour la promotion des exportations (FSPE) was created by the Finance Law for 1996 and operates as special allocation account no. 302-084, governed by Executive Decree 14-238 of 25 August 2014. Any business producing goods or services and any trader registered in the commercial register that exports non-hydrocarbon products can apply.
What does the FSPE cover?
| Expense | Refund rate (as listed in the 2021 official guide) |
|---|---|
| Collective participation in fairs on the official programme | 80% of the costs (the exporter pays 20%, SAFEX organises the pavilion) |
| Individual participation in other fairs | 50% of transport and transit of samples and stand rental |
| Exceptional participation or a single-window stand | 100% |
| International transport of perishable agricultural products or to distant destinations | 50% (interministerial order of 30 April 2019) |
| International transport of non-agricultural products | 50% (same order) |
| Inland transport of exported products | 50% (same order) |
| Market studies, quality upgrading, export diagnostics, export cells, prospecting, promotional material, trademark protection abroad, training | Various rates, once eligibility criteria are set by the ministry |
Waste, salvage products, raw or semi-finished hides and goods exported under intergovernmental debt-repayment agreements are not eligible for transport refunds.
How do you claim a transport refund?
- Complete the export and repatriate the full proceeds.
- Gather the documents listed by the official guide: commercial register and tax number, the original domiciled invoice, the original transport and forwarding invoices (with the bank debit advice if they were paid in foreign currency), the customs declaration, the transport document (bill of lading, air waybill or CMR) and the bank attestation of repatriation.
- File the claim through the ministry's FSPE digital platform (an electronic application has existed since 2021) before the deadline. The 2021 guide set it at 30 days after the regulatory repatriation deadline; for 2025 claims, the ministry announced a closing date of 1 December 2025.
- Answer any "pending correction" request quickly; the refund is paid afterwards, in dinars.
Export credit insurance and finance
- CAGEX insures commercial risks (insolvency or protracted default of private buyers) on its own account and political, transfer and catastrophe risks on behalf of the state. It also sells buyer information and handles collection abroad. Since Regulation 26-02 of July 2026, its cover is compulsory for payment terms beyond 120 days. A policy can be assigned to your bank to support financing.
- Dinar export credit. Banque d'Algérie Instruction 08-2026, reported in August 2026, allows banks to grant short-term dinar credits for the working-capital needs of an export (purchase of goods or raw materials, manufacturing, packaging and costs up to shipment) when the export is secured by a confirmed irrevocable letter of credit or a documentary collection at sight. Banks must decide within seven days of a complete file, which includes the export contract or order, the producer's invoice marked as valid for export, the transport document and the letter of credit, among others.
- Algerian banks in Africa. Algerian public banks opened Algerian Union Bank in Nouakchott and Algerian Bank of Senegal in Dakar in 2023, which can make collection and correspondent banking easier for those markets.
For the general mechanisms, see export credit insurance and trade finance.
Tax and customs incentives
According to the official exporter guide:
- VAT. Export sales are exempt from VAT under Article 13 of the Turnover Tax Code, provided the shipments are recorded in your books and the references appear on the transport document and the customs declaration. Purchases and imports of goods to be exported, or incorporated into exported products, can be made free of VAT under Article 42 of the same code.
- Income taxes. Export sales of goods and services have long been exempt from corporate income tax (IBS), or personal income tax (IRG) for individuals, in proportion to turnover earned in foreign currency, provided you prove that the proceeds were paid into a bank in Algeria. Check the current Finance Law, as tax incentives are amended almost every year.
- Customs. Green channel, on-site clearance, AEO status, inward processing and drawback, described in Algerian customs export procedures.
Fairs and promotion
The ministry publishes an official programme of fairs and exhibitions abroad each year; SAFEX organises the national pavilions. For 2026, the ministry announced exhibitions of Algerian products in eleven cities, including Riyadh, Kuwait City, Abuja, Nairobi, Nouakchott, Moscow, Jakarta, Addis Ababa, Doha, Johannesburg and Dakar. Algiers also hosted the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), organised by Afreximbank with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, in September 2025.
A worked example: a tile maker's first year of support
A ceramic tile maker in Sétif plans its first African campaign.
| Action | Cost | Support | Net cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stand on the national pavilion at the Algerian products exhibition in Dakar | DZD 1,500,000 | 80% FSPE via the official programme | DZD 300,000 |
| Samples sent under ATA carnet | CACI fee | None | Fee only |
| First order: 2 containers to Dakar, sea freight EUR 3,600 | EUR 3,600 | 50% refund claimed after repatriation | EUR 1,800 equivalent in dinars |
| Inland haulage Sétif to Djendjen | DZD 180,000 | 50% refund | DZD 90,000 |
| CAGEX policy for a 150-day order from a second buyer | Premium per policy | Compulsory beyond 120 days | Priced into the offer |
The exporter keeps a support file per shipment from day one: domiciled invoice, original freight invoice with the bank debit advice, declaration, bill of lading and the repatriation attestation as soon as the buyer pays.
Common mistakes
- Claiming FSPE refunds with copies instead of the originals required, or without the bank debit advice for invoices paid in foreign currency.
- Filing after the deadline because the buyer paid late, which also endangers the bank file.
- Booking an individual stand without the prior request.
- Assuming support schemes still work as described in pre-2025 guides, which refer to ALGEX and to the 360-day repatriation deadline.
- Forgetting that every incentive starts from a compliant, domiciled and repatriated export.
Frequently asked questions
What replaced ALGEX in Algeria?
Executive Decree 25-235 of 3 September 2025 dissolved ALGEX, the national agency for the promotion of foreign trade, and transferred its assets and staff to the Organisme algérien des exportations, created by Executive Decree 25-234 of the same date. A separate body was created for imports. The new export body is responsible for implementing export promotion policy and runs a single export window.
What does the FSPE reimburse?
The Special Fund for Export Promotion (FSPE) refunds part of the costs of participating in fairs abroad and part of transport costs. According to the official exporter guide, an interministerial order of 30 April 2019 set the refund at 50% of international transport costs for perishable agricultural products or distant destinations, 50% for non-agricultural products and 50% of inland transport costs. Rates and procedures are revised from time to time, so check with the ministry.
How do I claim an FSPE refund for freight?
You file a claim with the ministry in charge of foreign trade, now through its digital FSPE platform, with the commercial register and tax number, the domiciled invoice, the transport and forwarding invoices, the customs declaration, the transport document and the bank attestation of repatriation. Claims are subject to deadlines, so file as soon as the proceeds are repatriated.
Is export credit insurance available in Algeria?
Yes. CAGEX, the Compagnie Algérienne d'Assurance et de Garantie des Exportations, insures commercial risks on private foreign buyers on its own account and political and transfer risks on behalf of the state. Since Regulation 26-02 of July 2026, such cover is required whenever you grant a buyer more than 120 days to pay.