Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, urged owners of small and micro enterprises who engage in e-commerce activity to take the initiative to register in the e-commerce unit at the Egyptian Tax Authority, in order to benefit from the new tax incentives stipulated in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Law.
In a statement on Sunday, Maait called on owners of small and micro enterprises to adjust their situation in the light of the new law and join the formal economy.
He said that this law allows medium, small and micro enterprises operating in the informal economy without a license to be part of the formal economy. He also highlighted the importance of incentive facilities. Moreover, there will be no tax accounting for the informal economy projects that have applied for a temporary license for the years prior to the date of submitting this application. He pointed out that the temporary license issued to each of these projects replaces any other legal approvals or procedures.
He added that taxes, according to the Law, are definitive and simplified according to the volume of sales or business without the need for books, documents or purchase invoices. The volume of sales or business is determined by the project owner himself, through a single annual simplified tax return prepared accurately.
Maait added: “You are an expert yourself, and a tax officer will not have to pay you a visit. You will not need an accountant. Determine the annual sales or business volume yourself, and we trust your calculations. If your sales do not exceed EGP 250,000, the tax will be EGP 1,000 annually. If they do not exceed EGP 500,000, the tax will be EGP 2,500. If they do not exceed EGP 1m, the tax will be EGP 5,000 annually. If sales range from EGP 1m to EGP 2m, the tax will be 5% of the volume of sales or business. If they range from EGP 2m to EGP 3m, the tax will be 75%. If it ranges from EGP 3m to EGP 10m, the tax will be 1%.”
Maait called on owners of small and micro enterprises working in e-commerce to quickly register their businesses at the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), and then join the e-commerce unit at the Tax Authority.
He pointed out that the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Development Law determined the tax due on informal economy businesses whose turnover or sales number does not exceed EGP 10m during the period of validity of the temporary license to be 1% of projects with a business volume of more than EGP 3m, and no more than EGP 10m annually, 75% of the turnover for projects whose business volume exceeds EGP 2m and does not exceed EGP 3m annually, and 5% of the turnover for projects whose business volume exceeds EGP 1m and does not exceed EGP 2m annually.
He pointed out that the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Law set the tax at EGP 1,000 annually for micro-informal economy projects whose annual income is less than EGP 250,000, during the period of validity of the temporary license. The tax will reach EGP 2,500 annually for projects whose annual turnover ranges from EGP 250,000 to EGP 500,000, and EGP 5,000 annually for projects whose annual turnover ranges from EGP 500,000 to EGP 1m, without the need to keep books.
