The council will be responsible for drafting policies, strategies, regulation and legislation, including for electric vehicles
Photo by Vitor Paladini on Unsplash
Egypt has signed off on new legislation targeting car assemblers and distributors, launching a new regulatory council and fund with the aim to strengthen local automotive industry and stabilize the car market.
The House of Representatives’ general assembly gave its final approval yesterday to establish the Supreme Council for the Automotive Industry, a new regulatory body set to govern and help enhance the local industry.
The council will be responsible for drafting policies, strategies, regulation and legislation, including for electric vehicles.
A new fund dedicated to the local assembly and manufacturing of environmentally-friendly vehicles was also established.
The fund would provide financing, as well as incentives for investors to boost Egypt’s environmentally-friendly vehicle production and market.
The newly-approved law defines environmentally-friendly vehicles as those with zero emissions or with a reduced carbon footprint than traditional cars (including electric vehicles, dual-fuel, and other hybrid cars).
The house also finalized the Egyptian expat import tax exemption bill, which enables Egyptian expats the ability to import personal vehicles with a subsequent rebate on all related fees if they pay upfront in foreign currency.
Egypt expects to attract around $2.5 billion worth of foreign currency from the recently announced scheme, according to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait on Sunday.
The Ministry of Finance is expected to publish a detailed list of the customs and required foreign currency deposit amounts for various car models within the coming two weeks after the law has been published in the Official Gazette.
The ministry recently published its simplified guide for customs procedures and exemptions for COP27-related items.
