Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait reviewed this week a report on the efforts of the Customs Authority in 2021 at ports in cooperation with the concerned authorities.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday, Al-Shahat Ghatouri, the head of the Customs Authority, said that the number of customs evasion cases last year amounted to 19,256, with a total fines of EGP 5.362bn.
He added that tightening the control procedures at customs outlets contributed to curbing smuggling attempts, preserving the rights of the public treasury, and protecting the national industry and Egyptian society from dangerous goods or harming national security.
Meanwhile, the minister called for the intensification of the efforts of custom officials in performing their job duties, taking into account the facilitation of customs procedures by relying on the electronic platform and the ‘one-stop shop system’ that connects all ports electronically and facilitates the movement of internal and external trade, reducing the time of customs release and the cost of the import and export process to stimulate investment.
Ghatouri pointed out that 131 cases involved smuggling tramadol and other stimulants — with dues amounting to about EGP 406.320m —97 involved narcotic substances — with dues amounted to about EGP 247.446m —81 related to attempts to smuggle spying devices and camouflaged clothes — with dues amounting to about EGP 4.50m — 119 involved an attempt to smuggle weapons — with dues amounting to EGP 97.87m — and 537 related to an attempt to smuggle various items — with dues amounting to over EGP 1.280bn.
There were also 42 cases of invoice fraud – whose dues amounted to about EGP 246.235m – 10 cases related to attempts to smuggle fireworks – whose dues amounted to about EGP 22.345m – 153 cases related to attempts to smuggle cars and spare parts – whose dues amounted to EGP 117.175m – and 109 cases related to attempts to smuggle medicines, nutritional supplements, and cosmetics – whose dues amounted to about EGP 50.522m.
Other cases related to smuggle attempts included: alcohol (EGP 265.902m), electronic cigarettes and shishas (EGP 272.848), chemicals and agricultural pesticides (EGP 473,000), ready-made clothes (EGP 16.952m), and medical devices (EGP 7.503m).
