A new electronic tax invoicing system will be on trial in Egypt as of 30 June with the participation of several companies, according to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait.
A Saturday ministerial statement noted that the step comes as part of Egypt’s development projects under its 2030 Vision for digital transformation. The vision aims to integrate the informal market and combat tax evasion.
Maait said the centralised system enables the Egyptian Tax Authority to monitor all commercial transactions between companies through the real-time, digitised exchange of invoice data.
He stressed that the system will help control taxation in Egypt, and integrate the informal economy into the formal system.
Yasser Taymour, Advisor to the Minister of Finance for the Development of the Egyptian Tax Authority, said that, during the trial phase, integration will be tested between the electronic systems of participating companies and the Tax Authority’s electronic tax invoicing system.
Taymour noted that several seminars have been held in the run-up to the trial operation phase, followed by online workshops. There has also been continuous communication with companies to explain the system and answer all inquiries regarding the integration process.
He added that the long-term benefits that will accrue for financiers after the new system’s application include the ability to verify invoice data and validity for all parties before they are issued.
Other benefits under the new system include reducing administrative burdens, and reducing the cost of transactions and the need to archive bills in paper form. There will also be a reduction in examination procedures on the company with the possibility of remote examination instead.
The Ministry of Finance’s decision No 188 for the year 2020 was put in place to oblige registrants to issue electronic tax invoices that include the issuer’s electronic signature. There will also be a unified code for the good or service subject to the invoice approved by the Egyptian Tax Authority.
