Israel: Import liberalization and exemption from customs duties

Inspection of goods / Declaration of conformity

The focal point of the law allows a waiver of the inspection of goods by the customs authority for the majority of imported goods . International standards will therefore now be introduced as compulsory Israeli standards, and Israeli customs will accept a declaration from the importer that the goods to be imported comply with these standards. This places more responsibility on the importer. However, the government still reserves the right to inspect goods for conformity, but new inspections will be carried out at the retail level. 

The import of foodstuffs, which were previously divided into two groups "normal" and "risky", will also be simplified. A third category has been created, which enables the so-called "qualified importer" to import products in the "risky" group with a declaration of conformity.

The Israeli government expects the easing of import duties to lead to a growth in import companies, which in turn should strength market competition and reduce the cost of living. Exact details are currently still being worked out by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Exemption from customs duties

As a further measure to reduce the cost of living, the Israeli government has also decided to remove customs duties on certain products. As a result of this, industrial consumer goods, certain foodstuffs and industrial raw materials can be imported duty-free.

Industrial consumer goods that benefit from a duty exemption include furniture, automotive parts and medical equipment. In the case of foodstuffs, for example, it is pastries, seafood and beef. It should be noted that meat products must be kosher despite the removal of customs duties. The exemption of customs duties on industrial raw materials is made on the assumption that the cost savings of importers will be passed on to buyers.