Amendments to Customs Law allows delisted to re-register, further simplifies clearance

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait issued new amendments to the executive regulations of the Customs Law as part of efforts to support governance and simplify and reduce customs clearance time, highlighting that it would be done in a manner that would strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional center for transit trade.

According to an official statement, the amendments include the introduction of electronic customs declaration submissions for all incoming goods once unloaded unless stored in customs-licensed yards or warehouses, as well as accepting insurance documents as a guarantee for direct transit trade in addition to cash and bank guarantees.

As one of the world’s most trafficked trade routes, Egypt’s Suez Canal is considered to be the shortest link between the East and the West, providing a direct route to connect the North Indian Ocean and North Atlantic Sea.

Al-Shahat Ghaturi, head of the Egyptian Customs Authority (ECA) also revealed that the authority waived certain fines for petroleum companies to stimulate exports, enabling petroleum companies to adjust licensed the quantities exported according to the “actually shipped” documents within 72 hours. He also noted new measures related to repairing and cleaning containers for reuse.

Customhouse brokers that have been delisted will now be able to re-register if the causes behind their canceled licenses have been solved or are ceased, or if one year had passed since the cancellation decision.

The Egyptian government continues to work on accelerating customs releases in order to tackle challenges created by a disrupted global supply chain and a shortage in foreign currency.

Last week, the Ministry of Finance recently announced that over the course of 21 months until the end of June 2023, imported goods and products valued at $131 billion have been released through various ports and customs outlets.

The implementation of the Advanced Cargo Information (ACI) system has supported the government’s efforts in streamlining customs procedures and pre-customs clearance, with registration requests exceeding 1.2 million since its launch in October 2021, the ministry wrote at the time.