Economist Ridha Chkandali Estimates "One Car per Family" Measure to be Largely Inapplicable
Economist Ridha Chkandali estimated on Sunday, November 30, 2025, that the "one car per family" measure provided for in Article 55 of the 2026 finance bill will remain largely inapplicable due to the technical, financial, and administrative conditions surrounding it. Recently adopted, this article provides for a tax advantage for the importation or acquisition of a vehicle for the benefit of resident families.
Limitations of the Measure
According to Chkandali, access to this device is limited by many criteria:
- The vehicle must be less than eight years old
- It must not exceed a displacement of 1,700 cm³ (diesel) or 1,400 cm³ (gasoline)
- It cannot be transferred before five years
- Beneficiary families must never have owned a popular car
- They must not own a recent vehicle
- They must have income not exceeding ten times the SMIG for a single parent or fourteen times for a couple
Conditions for Accessing the Advantage
The advantage is granted only once per family and can only be activated through three mechanisms:
- A donation from a Tunisian resident abroad
- The use of tourist funding
- An authorization from the Central Bank for the purchase of foreign currency The device will come into effect in July 2026, but effective access will only occur after a minimum delay of two years following the agreement, i.e., nearly three years of waiting.
Limited Number of Beneficiaries
The economist also emphasizes that the number of beneficiaries will remain very limited due to a ceiling set at 10% of the total annual vehicle imports. He also notes a typographical error in the text that could lead to confusion about this quota.
Conclusion
Ridha Chkandali finally estimates that this measure, presented as an ambitious advantage, should have no impact on the country's financial balances or trade balance, due to the lack of a significant number of households able to meet the conditions. He concludes that the initiative risks remaining a "mirage" for the majority of Tunisian families.
