Bulaq Misdemeanor Court has delayed hearing of the appeal submitted by Nassef Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), against a six month prison sentence and a EGP50m fine worth for failing to pay the balance of a tax settlement with the Tax Authority regarding the sale of the cement segment of global company Lafarge on the stock exchange in 2007.
The case will be postponed until late November in order to allow for time to examine the decision of the Ministry of Finance’s Independent Appeals Committee, which exempted OCI from paying taxes on earned profits from the cement department exit deal in 2007.
The Ministry of Finance issued a statement on Sunday claiming that the company is not required to pay taxes according to the committee’s decision and that the relevant court should have been informed of this decision to protect interested parties and adhere to the law in accordance with the directives issued to the Tax Authority.
The statement, a copy of which Daily News Egypt was able to obtain, said that the ministry is considering taking necessary measures to hold those who did not implement the directive accountable.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s statement, “The [Independent Appeals] committee ended its session on 4 November 2014 for the appeal No.8 of 2014 raised by Orascom Construction Industries, with the company enjoying a tax exemption on income from the sale of its cement department to French company Lafarge in 2007.”
