Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil issued a decree allowing company owners of the trademark to register their products in the records recently created at the General Authority of Export and Import Control (GOEIC), along with foreign factories in Egypt.
The records previously only included these foreign factories, which produce their products in Egypt, but which are nonetheless considered imports as they are purchased in the Egyptian market under the label of foreign products.
The new decree stipulates that products from these companies will be allowed entry into the domestic market only if they are produced by factories registered in the records. The minister has the right to issue decisions for the registration, writing-off, or exemption from registration requirements for these products.
In a press statement on Monday, Qabil said the decree aims to limit the entry of imported products of low quality to the Egyptian market, which adversely affect the health of the Egyptian consumer.
He said the ministry is committed to taking all necessary measures to improve the standard of products in the Egyptian market, and to prevent the entry of such low-quality products to the local market.
The minister set a number of conditions for registration in the record; the decree sets conditions for registration in the records, including that the factory’s legal representative or the trademark owner must submit the application for registration and a copy of the factory’s licence. The application should contain a certificate of legal entity of the factory and the license issued to the factory and a list of product types and brands.
Companies that have a brand should apply for registration through their legal representative, or the trademark owner must submit the mentioned papers for registration and a copy of the license.
They should also provide a certificate stating that the factory or the brand owner implements quality control on factory emissions in alignment with environmental standards and pledges commitment to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and international treaties regulating labour rights.
The certificate should be issued from an agency recognised by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), or from any Egyptian government entity or foreign entity approved by the Minister of Industry.
