Plan to settle export incentives debts disclosed

CAIRO - 5 August 2019: The government will pay back LE1.5 billion worth of overdue incentive amounts to exporters every three months so that the annual total hits LE 6 billion in fulfillment to the new export incentives program agreed upon with concerned entities early in July.

The government is currently settling a LE 800 million debt owed to exporting companies by deducting the amounts from the taxes they have to pay. Furthermore, LE 500 million worth of deductions from exporters’ due real estate taxes and tariffs will be made. The estimated value of government debts that should be settled with exporters is LE2 billion.

A total of 50 companies requested to acquire lands in return for their overdue payments within the exports incentive program. The government will fulfill their request and they will be granted priority in allocation of industrial lands. Another solution is paying back the loan interests of those companies to the banks.

Deputy Minister of Finance Ahmed Kojak said that some companies requested that the government pays back the overdue amounts on installments. There is also an initiative to give debtors bonds.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly directed the formation of a task force affiliated with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to receive the documents necessary from exporters to settle the debts. .

The prime minister held on Monday a meeting to follow up on the exports incentive program, and the mechanisms previously agreed upon to pay back the overdue incentive amounts of exporters.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar, Deputy Minister of Finance Ahmed Kojak, Chairman of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce Ahmed al-Wakil, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries Mohamed al-Soweidy, and chairpeople of exports councils.

The prime minister affirmed that such meetings will be held every two months and stressed it is normal to have different opinions on the program, pointing out that several meetings with representatives of exports councils took place to discuss the plan.

The prime minister assured participants in the meeting that the program can always be modified to ensure its practicality and to conform with different variables. Madbouly thanked the Ministry of Finance for allocating LE 4-6 billion as incentives for exporters.