Egypt reviews customs system reforms to boost trade, curb smuggling
The Egyptian government is reviewing its plan to reform the customs system and curb smuggling in a bid to enhance trade competitiveness and improve the business environment. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly convened a meeting with key officials to assess the progress and future steps of the initiative.
'The government is focused on the development of the customs system as a step to promote the competitiveness of national exports and improve the business environment,' said Madbouly during the meeting.
Those in attendance included Kamel El-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development, Minister of Industry and Transport; Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance; Sherif El-Kilany, Deputy Minister of Finance for Tax Policies and Supervisor of the Customs Authority; Essam El-Naggar, Head of the General Authority for Export and Import Control; Essam Omar, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt; Amani El-Wassal, Head of the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector at the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Executive Director of the Export Development Fund; Ahmed El-Asqalani, Head of the Central Administration of Air Export and Import Customs at the Customs Authority, alongside officials from relevant ministries and agencies.
During the meeting, Ahmed Kouchouk, the Minister of Finance, outlined the key measures included in the reform plan. These measures encompass various aspects, including identifying the implementing entities, establishing time frames for each procedure, and determining which procedures require legislative amendments.
Kouchouk explained that the reform plan includes both facilitation and regulatory elements. Facilitation measures and incentives comprise instalment payments for customs duties on production inputs, streamlining the pre-clearance system, granting customs clearance at the client's premises for companies listed on the White List and participating in the Authorised Economic Operator programme. Further aims include reducing customs release times, creating a user guide for customs dealings, allowing electronic payments, and enabling companies to establish logistics service centres to boost transit trade.
The Finance Minister added that regulatory measures include governing mechanisms for securing and tracking the movement of goods and shipments. Also included is the review of tariff categories, particularly for targeted goods and industrial sectors, the training and redeployment of Customs Authority staff within customs ports, updating the Customs Authority website, expanding licensing for general customs warehouses inside dry ports, and reviewing the conditions for joining the Authorised Economic Operator programme, with the aim of increasing the number of participating companies to 500.
Kouchouk also presented indicators on smuggling rates detected in 2024, the categories and classifications of seized goods, and proposed controls to reduce smuggling at various ports. He addressed a package of proposed measures for the electronic development of the customs system to close smuggling loopholes.
El-Naggar presented an update on the implementation of the first phase of easing procedures, designed to improve customs release times and boost Egyptian trade indicators.
El-Naggar outlined the mechanisms used to implement these measures and the results achieved. He noted that the continuous operation of customs clearance entities throughout the week on a shift basis has helped accomplish more tasks and double the number of inspected shipments. The General Authority for Export and Import Control has issued executive instructions to facilitate registration on the White List, which provides companies with advantages and facilities. In addition, the Authority launched its electronic portal in January 2024 in three languages, providing round-the-clock digital services, simplifying and accelerating the registration of exporters and importers, and providing up-to-date information to stakeholders as part of a digital transformation plan that includes issuing importer and exporter cards through the Egypt Digital platform.
Amani El-Wassal presented the measures proposed by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade to reduce smuggling, as well as the entity responsible for implementing each measure. These measures aim to tighten procedures at customs ports to control smuggling attempts and monitor the handling of released shipments.
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