The Egyptian Customs Authority began to review a large number of commercial invoices of imported Chinese cars after monitoring a difference between official price guides of Chinese brands and the invoices provided by importing companies up to 50-100%, according to government sources.
The sources said that there is currently a dispute between the Egyptian Customs Authority and the Chinese product series Domy on the divergence in their car prices, which is currently being resolved through several meetings between both parties.
The dues owed by Domy were not high because of the brand’s low number of inbound shipments.
Furthermore, the sources said that the company offered only a limited amount of cars, under 150 units, until conflicts emerged between the Chinese manufacturer and the Egyptian agent, which forced Mohamed Karata, the agent company’s owner, to end the dealership deal.
Domy has sent several delegations to Egypt to negotiate with the government over car assembly in existing local factories. The Arab Organisation for Industrialisation was selected by the Chinese company, but the agreement did not complete. The Chinese side is still looking for an agent in Egypt.
In a related context, sources said that the Chinese car maker Haima Automobile submitted a request to the Ministerial Committee for Settlement of Investment Disputes to resolve the dispute between the Egyptian Customs Authority and the company on the commercial prices.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance referred a request submitted by the Bavarian Auto Group to recover the customs duties it paid for the indicative prices of BMW cars imported during the past three years to the Ministerial Committee for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
During this month, the first dispute resolution session for the Bavarian Auto Group is scheduled to be held, the sources added.
