Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, said that, as of 1 April, businesses that do not join the electronic invoice system (e-invoice) will be prevented from dealing with the customs authority, whether in import or export, and obtaining the initial customs entry number “ACID”, through which shipment data is made available.
In his statement on Wednesday, Maait said: “We are continuing to implement the presidential mandates to maximize the efforts of governance of the state’s financial system; to raise the efficiency of public spending, and ensure optimal utilization of state resources, in a way that helps lay the foundations of financial discipline.”
The minister added that the application of digital tax and customs systems allows integration between the tax and customs authorities, in a way that enhances the governance of exports and imports, and tracks the movement of goods, starting from their arrival at ports until selling products to the final consumer in the local market or exporting outside Egypt. This contributes effectively to the governance of the circle of economic activity, reducing the informal economy and increasing the domestic product, and collecting dues from the public treasury, to allow sufficient financial space in the general budget. This allows a greater ability to deal positively and flexibly with the repercussions of successive and intertwined global crises, and expanding the social protection network that most targets the vulnerable groups to ease the burdens of the global inflationary wave on their shoulders, complete efforts to improve the standard of living of citizens, and achieve development goals.
The Minister of Finance added that the Ministry continues to unify the databases of tax and customs taxpayers, and link the electronic invoice system, which monitors commercial transactions of companies in real time, and the unified electronic platform for national trade, “Nafizah”, which monitors exports and imports in real time as well. This helps in matching invoice values with the codes of imported items, thus contributing to reducing tax evasion rates and maximizing the state’s public revenues. He pointed out that the “ACI” pre-registration system for shipments contributes to the governance of Imports of commodities, goods and production requirements and the ability to subject them to international quality standards.
