The Transportation Ministry announced that it intends to allow car importers to buy from any "licensed representative of the manufacturer” (parallel imports) and not just directly from the manufacturer as current legislation dictates. The move could save the public up to NIS 1.2 billion a year on new cars by opening the market to new auto importers.
The proposed change is part of revised regulation on the supervision of goods and services which the ministry just formulated and will present to the Vehicle Importers Association, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and the Israel Consumer Council in advance of a hearing on the matter. Following the hearing, the new regulations require approval from the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee before taking effect.