GNU Economy Ministry Bans Informal Commercial Imports Outside Banking Channels

Tripoli-based Minister of Economy and Trade Suhail Abu Shiha issued Decision 449/2026 on Sunday, September 6, 2026, banning the import of goods and merchandise intended for trade outside official banking channels, effective September 30. The decision requires all banking, commercial, and customs requirements — including documentation proving a shipment's actual value — to be met before customs clearance, with an exemption for small traders importing within a specified annual limit under a valid business license and transitional provisions for shipments already in process. The ministry framed the move as an effort to control hard-currency use and curb foreign-currency and letters-of-credit fraud, against a backdrop of the dinar's continued slide on the parallel market and Central Bank Governor Naji Issa's still-pending August resignation.