Promoting Industrial Growth and Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment in Egypt
Customs Procedures
- A complex and problematic customs valuation system that obstructs importation; having in place an efficient importation system is essential for ensuring the availability of production inputs and equipment and thus enhancing investment.
Responsible Entities
Date 6/30/2020
- Adhere to the Customs Valuation Agreement (“improving” invoice prices), as the valuation of goods for customs purposes is one of the biggest obstacles facing importers, especially those included on the whitelist.
- Adopt a customs risk management system and an import risk analysis scheme, under which source countries are classified based on specific risks identified.
- Establish clear operational mechanisms for the inter-entity committee (includes the five relevant entities) to ensure that release of shipments is not disrupted in the event that a member of the committee is absent.
- Consolidate customs transactions and ensure the electronic connectivity in all customs outlets in Egypt, and that all transactions are conducted electronically.
- Establish a timeframe for carrying out the reviews that take place after the release of goods (conceivably 2 weeks from the date of release), as the importing company may have sold the goods and collected their money during that period.
- Misr Technology Services should develop electronic connectivity between customs outlets to reduce the time required for the release of cargo.
- Use an AI program to create a whitelist of companies, using a number of variables, including credibility, reputation, the history of its business dealing, the country of origin, the type of imported goods, the category of good, whether fully-manufactured goods or production inputs, and the importing entity.
Responsible Entities
Date 6/30/2020
- A whitelist including 75 companies was created; while a positive step, it should be expanded to include all companies, so that blacklisting companies is the exception rather than the rule. It is also important that the criteria used for creating both lists be revisited, as many of them are hard to meet.
Responsible Entities
Date 6/30/2020