New regulations for importers registration postponed

CAIRO – 26 August 2017: Head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, Ibrahim el-Araby, praised the Trade Minister’s decision to postpone the implementation of the executive regulations of the Importers Register Law, according to a Saturday statement from the chamber.

The implementation was put off to December 22, instead of September 6. Araby said that the postponement will allow importers to adjust to the new regulations, which were passed in March as an amendment to the Importers Register Law.

He said that importers have filed complaints to the chamber, asking it to communicate with the minister to give them more time to adjust. Importers were originally given six months to adjust to the reform.

Under the executive regulations, the minimum capital required for the smallest companies to register was hiked to LE 500,000 from LE 10,000 pounds.

The minimum capital required for limited companies was also raised to LE 2 million, from LE 15,000, while for joint stock companies, it was hiked to LE 5 million.

The regulations come in light of the government’s efforts to curb the import of low-quality goods and boost local production.

They also aim to encourage new investments in local industries and protect them from unfair competition from imported products.

Araby added that the chamber will organize a training workshop for importers in the next few weeks so that they can acquire the import license.