Al-Shahat Ghatouri, the head of the Egyptian Customs Authority, said that the customs clearance at Egyptian ports has returned to normal levels, amounting to $4.7bn daily. He revealed that production requirements and strategic and medical goods are considered a top priority.
During his meeting with the Tax and Customs Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Ghatouri revealed that there are assignments from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to study the local production of containers and localizing the cargo handling process.
He explained that there is a possibility of paying fees to companies and factories in order to enhance production and encourage local manufacturing operations, at a time when Egypt has signed customs agreements with 73 countries.
He pointed out that the customs law was prepared from the beginning through the channels of community participation for all business organizations, which enhanced the investment climate, in addition to that, the customs tariff amendments encouraged international companies to manufacture in Egypt.
He said that several companies that have established factories to manufacture mobile phones in Egypt after the customs tariff, which was amended by about 10% on imported finished products, prompted companies to manufacture in Egypt instead of importing finished phones from abroad.
Ghatouri explained that a committee headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers focuses on cooperating with all parties and ministries whose work overlaps with the customs system, with the aim of resolving the entanglements that cause the length of customs release operations at ports.
Hassan Hegazy, head of the Tax and Customs Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, said that the Customs Authority is keen on communicating continuously with investors, with the aim of solving problems and developing its work performance according to the variables it monitors daily through customs releases and the nature of products that are imported from abroad.
“We have noticed the development plans witnessed by the customs system during the past years, but the authorities associated with the customs system cause lengthy customs release procedures, but the administration of the customs authority is not responsible for delays,” says Hossam Nasr, deputy head of the committee.
