E-Commerce in Algeria: The .com.dz Domain Requirement, Trade Registry

Algeria’s e-commerce sector is growing. With 33.49 million internet users as of early 2024 — a 72.9% penetration rate, up 3.9% year-on-year — and a young, mobile-first population increasingly comfortable with online transactions, the market fundamentals are compelling. Consumer demand for online retail, digital services, and platform-based commerce is real and expanding.

But operating a legitimate e-commerce business in Algeria requires navigating a specific regulatory framework that differs significantly from the laissez-faire approach common in many markets. Law 18-05 on electronic commerce requires registration with the national commercial registry. Websites must use .com.dz domains. Data must be stored on locally-hosted infrastructure. Certain product categories are prohibited from online sale entirely.

For entrepreneurs building e-commerce businesses — whether Algerian residents or international companies seeking to serve the Algerian market — understanding these requirements is not optional. This guide explains the current regulatory framework, step by step, and provides practical guidance on achieving compliance.

The Legal Foundation: Law 18-05 on Electronic Commerce

Algeria’s primary e-commerce legislation is Law No. 18-05, enacted on May 10, 2018, and published in the Official Gazette on May 16, 2018. Businesses engaged in e-commerce at the time of publication had six months to comply with its provisions. Law 18-05 established the foundational framework governing online business transactions, with subsequent updates and implementing regulations issued since.

The law’s core premise is that e-commerce activity is a regulated commercial activity requiring formal authorization — not a gray area that operates below the regulatory radar. This reflects Algeria’s broader approach to economic regulation: licensing, registration, and supervision are the default posture, with informality treated as non-compliance rather than tolerance.

Key provisions of the e-commerce law:

Scope: The law applies to any commercial transaction conducted electronically between a seller and a buyer, where the offer and acceptance occur through electronic communications. This includes traditional retail e-commerce, digital subscription services, online marketplace platforms, and professional service delivery via digital channels.

Who must comply: Any business engaged in electronic commerce with Algerian consumers must comply — including both Algerian-registered businesses and foreign companies whose digital services or products are accessed by Algerian residents. In practice, enforcement against pure foreign operators (with no Algerian legal presence) has been limited, but this is changing as regulatory capacity develops.

Penalties: Violations of the e-commerce law are punishable by fines and may include suspension of the offending e-supplier’s website or removal from the commerce registry. Enforcement agencies can negotiate fines for minor infractions and enforce increased penalties for repeat offences.

Requirement 1: Trade Registry Registration (CNRC)

The first compliance requirement for e-commerce operators is registration with the Centre National du Registre de Commerce (CNRC) — Algeria’s national commercial registry.

General commercial registration: Any business engaging in commercial activity in Algeria must first obtain a commercial register (registre de commerce), regardless of whether the activity is online or offline. For a standard commercial company (SARL — Société à Responsabilité Limitée, the most common structure), this involves:

• Drafting and notarizing the company statutes
• Depositing the minimum required share capital (DZD 100,000 for an SARL, approximately US$740) at a bank
• Publishing the company formation notice in the official legal gazette (BOAL)
• Registering with the CNRC at the relevant Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie (CCI) in the company’s domicile wilaya
• Obtaining a tax registration number (NIF) and statistical identification number (NIS)

E-commerce specific registration: Beyond the general commercial registration, the e-commerce law requires a specific e-commerce registration with ARPCE (the telecoms and electronic communications regulator). This registration documents the e-commerce activity, the domain name, the hosting arrangement, and the categories of products/services sold. E-suppliers must also store transaction records and submit them electronically to the national registry.

For sole traders and micro-enterprises: Algeria’s micro-enterprise framework allows simplified registration for individual entrepreneurs, with reduced capital requirements and a streamlined process. Many small e-commerce operators — individual sellers of craft goods, digital services, or small retail operations — qualify for the micro-enterprise registration pathway.

Foreign ownership: Since Algeria’s Investment Law No. 22-18 of July 2022, the former 51/49 rule requiring majority Algerian ownership has been removed for most non-strategic sectors, including e-commerce. Foreign investors can now hold majority or full ownership in e-commerce ventures. The 51/49 restriction only remains for strategic sectors (military industry, railways, ports, airports, and specific pharmaceutical and mining activities).

Requirement 2: The .com.dz Domain Mandate

Perhaps the most operationally distinctive requirement of Algeria’s e-commerce law is the obligation to operate customer-facing websites under the .com.dz domain extension.

The rule: Article 8 of Law 18-05 requires e-commerce operators to use a .com.dz domain name for their commercial website. This requirement was reinforced by Law No. 23-19 on Written and Electronic Press (December 2, 2023), which extended .dz hosting and domain requirements to electronic media and online content platforms.

Tightened registration requirements: CERIST (Centre de Recherche sur l’Information Scientifique et Technique), which operates NIC-DZ — Algeria’s .dz domain registry — has tightened registration requirements to ensure that registrants are genuinely established in Algeria. A .com.dz domain can only be obtained by an entity:

• Established in Algeria with a valid commercial registration
• Having legal representation in Algeria (for foreign entities)
• Providing verifiable documentation of Algerian establishment

Holders of an Algerian trademark alone, who cannot justify a local presence, must register a .tm.dz domain name instead.

Practical implications for existing operators: For businesses that previously operated with .com or .fr domains serving Algerian customers, the .com.dz requirement creates a migration obligation. The law allows continued renewal of previously registered domains, but prevents modification if the registrant does not meet local establishment requirements.

For foreign operators: A foreign company wishing to legally operate an e-commerce site accessible to Algerian consumers needs either to establish an Algerian subsidiary (enabling .com.dz domain registration) or to appoint a local agent with legal representation capacity. Some international companies choose to create a dedicated Algeria-facing domain and website rather than geo-restrict their global domain.

How to register a .com.dz domain: Domain registration is handled through NIC-DZ or accredited registrars. The process requires:

1. Valid commercial registration number (from CNRC)
2. Identification documentation for the responsible individual
3. Annual registration fee payment (1,000 DZD per year, approximately US$7.40)
4. Technical contact and DNS configuration

Requirement 3: Local Hosting Infrastructure

The .com.dz domain requirement is coupled with a data localization requirement: e-commerce websites must be hosted on physical infrastructure located within Algeria. This means the servers storing the website’s content and databases must be physically located in Algeria, not in France, Germany, or US data centers.

What “local hosting” means in practice:

• The web server (hosting the website’s front-end) must be in Algeria
• The database server (storing product catalogs, customer data, transaction records) must be in Algeria
• Performance optimization layers (CDN edge nodes) may supplement but not replace the local origin server

Available hosting providers: Several local hosting providers operate in Algeria:

• Algérie Télécom’s commercial cloud and hosting services (the dominant local provider)
• Emerging local cloud service providers with data center facilities
• Private data center hosting at facilities in Algiers and Oran
• International providers with Algerian data center presence (limited currently, though growing as the Oran AI data center and other sovereign compute facilities come online)

Practical challenges: Algerian hosting infrastructure, while improved, still faces limitations compared to major European or US providers in terms of: bandwidth (improving significantly with 5G and fiber expansion), uptime guarantees (improving with competition), range of services (limited compared to AWS/Azure), and geographic distribution (concentrated in Algiers with limited regional options).

For many e-commerce operators, the practical approach is a hybrid: core customer data and transactions on Algerian infrastructure for compliance, with performance optimization layers for static asset delivery.

Requirement 4: Prohibited Product Categories

The e-commerce law prohibits online sale of specific product categories. Operators must ensure their platforms do not list or transact in these categories:

• Tobacco products — prohibited from online sale (consistent with broader tobacco regulatory restrictions)
• Alcoholic beverages — prohibited (consistent with broader alcohol sales restrictions)
• Prescription medicines — online sale prohibited; pharmacy regulations require in-person dispensing with valid prescription
• Gambling and gaming services — prohibited online (the gaming and gambling sector is broadly restricted in Algeria)
• Weapons and related products — subject to separate import/sale authorization requirements
• Intellectual property-sensitive products — items that require formal documentation or pose IP risks

Cross-border consumer purchases: The law also restricts Algerian consumers from purchasing goods online from foreign websites — a provision that has significant implications for international e-commerce operators but is practically difficult to enforce at the individual transaction level. The enforcement focus has primarily been on operator compliance (registration, domain, hosting) rather than consumer purchase behavior.

Payment Processing: The Fintech Layer

E-commerce is only viable at scale with robust payment processing. Algeria’s payment ecosystem has developed significantly:

CIB (Carte Interbancaire): Algeria’s interbank card system, managed by SATIM, enables domestic debit card transactions. Most Algerian consumers with bank accounts have CIB cards. The CIB network is the primary digital payment rail for domestic e-commerce.

BaridiMob and Baridi Pay: Algérie Poste’s BaridiMob mobile banking app provides electronic postal financial services to millions of Algerian citizens, including those without traditional bank accounts. On June 14, 2025, Algérie Poste launched Baridi Pay — a QR code-based contactless payment service integrated into the BaridiMob app, enabling secure smartphone payments without a physical card. Integration with BaridiMob and Baridi Pay significantly expands the addressable payment market for e-commerce operators.

Payment Service Providers (PSPs): The Bank of Algeria’s landmark Instruction No. 06-2025, published August 17, 2025, established Algeria’s first dedicated fintech regulation for PSPs. The instruction introduces a three-tier digital wallet system (Level 1 up to ~$740 with basic ID, Level 2 up to ~$3,700 with income proof, Level 3 up to ~$7,400 with enhanced verification), formalizes agent networks allowing fintechs to use existing businesses as cash-in/cash-out points, and mandates escrow requirements for customer protection. All services must operate exclusively in Algerian dinars.

International payment cards: Algerian-issued international cards (Visa, Mastercard) are available to some customers, but foreign exchange restrictions limit their use for international purchases. For domestic e-commerce, CIB and BaridiMob are the primary channels.

Cash on delivery (COD): Despite the growth of digital payments, cash on delivery remains the most common payment method for physical goods e-commerce in Algeria — reflecting both consumer preference for physical verification before payment and the significant unbanked population. E-commerce logistics companies that can efficiently handle COD are a critical part of the ecosystem infrastructure.

Tax Compliance for E-Commerce

TVA (VAT): E-commerce transactions are subject to standard VAT (Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée) at the applicable rate — 19% standard rate or 9% reduced rate for certain categories. VAT must be collected from customers, reported monthly by the 20th of the following month, and remitted to the tax authority.

Corporate income tax (IBS): Profits from e-commerce activity are subject to the standard corporate income tax. Startup label holders receive a 3-year income tax exemption (renewable).

VAT on digital services from foreign providers: Since January 1, 2020, non-resident digital service providers with Algerian B2C revenues must register for and collect Algerian VAT — at the full 19% standard rate (initially introduced at 9%, raised to 19% from January 1, 2022). There is no registration threshold — foreign providers must register from their first sale to Algerian consumers. This affects streaming platforms, SaaS tools, app stores, and other digital service providers.

The Compliance Roadmap: Step by Step

For an Algerian entrepreneur launching an e-commerce business, the compliance sequence is:

1. Choose business structure: SARL (minimum 2 shareholders, DZD 100,000 minimum capital), EURL (single shareholder equivalent), or micro-enterprise (for individual operators)
2. Register with CNRC: Through the local CCI; obtain the commercial register extract (extrait de registre de commerce)
3. Tax registration: Obtain NIF (tax ID) from the Direction des Impôts
4. Register .com.dz domain: Through NIC-DZ or an accredited registrar, using the commercial registration documentation
5. Set up compliant hosting: Subscribe to a local hosting provider with Algerian data center infrastructure
6. Register e-commerce activity with ARPCE: File the e-commerce registration notification
7. Set up payment processing: Integrate CIB payment acceptance through a bank partnership; add BaridiMob/Baridi Pay for extended reach
8. Implement Law 18-07 compliance: Privacy notice, cookie consent (if applicable), data breach procedures
9. Configure VAT collection: Register for TVA and configure the platform to collect and report

Challenges and Opportunities in Algeria’s E-Commerce Market

Challenges:

• Logistics infrastructure: last-mile delivery in many Algerian cities and rural areas remains underdeveloped
• Payment friction: the dominance of cash on delivery creates working capital challenges and return fraud risks
• Regulatory compliance costs: domain registration, local hosting, and ARPCE notification add operational overhead
• Competition from informal channels: significant informal retail and social commerce (WhatsApp/Instagram-based direct selling) operates outside the formal regulatory framework

Opportunities:

• Massive underserved market: millions of connected consumers with growing purchasing power and limited formal e-commerce options
• Government digitalization: public procurement is increasingly electronic, creating B2G e-commerce opportunities
• Mobile-first demographics: Algeria’s young population is comfortable with digital commerce and growing into its peak purchasing years
• Fintech expansion: Instruction 06-2025 enables new payment products that can reduce COD dependency
• Import substitution: the government’s push to reduce import dependency creates opportunities for domestic e-commerce platforms selling Algerian-made products
• Agricultural and craft e-commerce: connecting Algerian artisans and agricultural producers with urban consumers through e-commerce platforms is a significant underexplored opportunity

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Resources

Sources & Further Reading

• Algeria — E-Commerce — US Commercial Service
• Law No. 18-05 on Electronic Commerce — Digital Watch Observatory
• .DZ Tightens Up Registration Requirements — Lexology
• Algeria Launches First Fintech Regulation for PSPs — Startup Researcher
• Algeria Opens for Fintech: New PSP Rules — LaunchBase Africa
• Algérie Poste Launches Baridi Pay — DzairTube
• New Investment Law in Algeria — Norton Rose Fulbright
• Digital 2024: Algeria — DataReportal
• Algeria VAT Guide for Digital Businesses — Quaderno
• Algeria — Corporate — Other Taxes — PwC
• DPA Digital Digest: Algeria 2025 Edition — Digital Policy Alert