Finance Min. to complete budget automation in March

CAIRO – 13 March 2018: The Finance Ministry will finish automating the budget and establishing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) banking system at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) this month, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy said Tuesday.

Various sub accounts of different administrative bodies will also be closed down and dealing with paper checks will be canceled.

This will happen through the application of the Government Fiscal Management Information System (GFMIS), which includes electronic payment and collection of state revenues and expenditures.

The government is applying this program in cooperation with the e-finance company. In a bid to enhance financial inclusion, Garhy said that his ministry has also finished the electronic connection with the Tax Authority to enable presenting tax declarations electronically.

This came during Garhy’s meeting with a French delegation of companies working in digital services known as MEDEF MISSION.

During the meeting, Garhy said that Egypt is seeking to integrate the informal economy with the formal one to boost local investments.

He added that Egypt seeks to benefit from information technology in the tax system and to completely transform from a cash-based economy to an electronic one.

Garhy welcomed the cooperation between the Finance Ministry and MEDEF MISSION in developing and expanding electronic systems in all state sectors.
MEDEF MISSION is a non-profit private-funded organization that supports trade,

technologic cooperation and investments, long-term partnerships, especially on emerging and developing markets.

The application of the GFMIS comes as part of the Ministry of Finance's plans to boost fiscal and accountancy reform, to upgrade the performance of the public administrative units and to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency and cost-efficiency of public services.

Garhy said in previous statements that the system targets tightening the monitoring on state accounts and halting the use of paper checks, which will help the ministry follow up on revenues and spending on a continuous basis.