Under the Free Import Order Law, the State of Israel gives every citizen the right to import products from any country in the world with which Israel has diplomatic relations. Any product may be imported, unless the import of the product was banned.
So far, it seems pretty simple. Your dream to import the products you find interesting seems to be coming true. In practice, however, nothing is so simple, and that’s a good thing. There must be control and regulation of all imports. The idea is to make sure importers know they are importing decent products, which consumers will benefit from, and to ensure that consumers know that these products have complied with the necessary standards and aren’t problematic in any particular way.
There are a number of basic licenses and approvals you’ll need to obtain in order to start importing:
- Import license: This is given by the Ministry of Economy. Any Israeli citizen or registered company may receive this license. The prospective importer must complete forms with the details of the company it would like to import from, and attach product receipts.
- Approvals for special products: There are certain special products that require approval from the relevant government ministry. For instance, automobile importing requires approval from the Ministry of Transportation, and pharmaceutical importing requires the approval of the Ministry of Health. There are products related to agriculture, which must receive approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, and so on.
- Approval from the Israel Institute of Standards: Those who wish to import any product must go through the Israel Institute of Standards (IIS) to obtain an IIS stamp, which serves as confirmation for consumers indicating that the product meets the standard and is suitable for use.
- Attaching an Israeli label: Another very important step is adding a Hebrew label to the products. All of the details, such as the name of the manufacture, where the product was made, and the details of the importer, must appear in this label.
Obtaining licenses and approvals should be one of your first steps before proceeding to import products. You should bear bureaucratic drag in mind. Even if you’re ready to get going with finding a supplier for the product and reaching understandings with that supplier, first, you’ll need to deal with obtaining all of the required permits and licenses.
So, where do we come into the picture?
The Olforuteam specializes, among other things, in international trade and the import/export field. One of the services included in the suite of services we offer our clients is obtaining the relevant licenses and approvals for you, and for the product you’d like to import. Since we’re so familiar with all the relevant laws, and since we regularly keep in touch with the various government ministries and the IIS, obtaining those licenses and approvals through us is quick and simple. And because obtaining import licenses is one of the services you’ll receive in our service suite, which also includes finding suppliers and international forwarding at the best possible terms, working with us is particularly worthwhile. It eliminates any concerns about the complicated import process.
