Algeria: Insurers ask for fee to collect pollution tax on motor vehicles for finance ministry
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Dec 2019
Insurers are awaiting a response from the Ministry of Finance regarding a new pollution tax to be imposed on vehicle owners. The tax is provided for in the draft revised finance law scheduled to be passed in 2020.
The ministry had indicated that insurers would collect the tax on its behalf. However, insurers are asking the ministry for a fee amounting to 35% of the value of the tax to defray collection expenses.
Mr Hassan Khelifati, chairman and managing director of Alliance Assurances and also the vice president of the Union of Algerian Insurance and Reinsurance Companies, said insurers need to be paid for the tax-collection service. This is because they have to incur costs to help the government to collect the tax, like deploying manpower and updating their IT systems, according to local media reports. Insurers are concerned too that the tax would cause the insured to cut voluntary insurance to pay for it.
The draft law proposes the annual pollution tax on motor vehicles be collected by insurers when they issue motor policies. The amount of tax is set at DZD1,500 ($12.50) for tourist vehicles and DZD3,000 for other vehicles.
During a meeting in early November with representatives of the insurance sector, the Finance and Budget Committee of the National People’s Assembly pledged that it would study their concerns. M
DZD10 = $0.08