Egypt’s Ministry of Finance will launch the second phase of its tax facilitation reforms by the end of this month, with public consultations set for October, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk announced Monday.
Kouchouk said the new phase aims to ease liquidity pressures, simplify procedures, and strengthen investor confidence, following a strong 73% jump in private investment last year.
He revealed that the Ministry will introduce a centralized electronic platform to reconcile government dues and receivables and upgrade the VAT refund system to accelerate payouts, after refunding about EGP 7 billion last year, triple the usual average.
The government is also moving to integrate tax and customs systems, offering new incentives for investors and publishing a simplified guide for tax treatment of exported services to boost competitiveness.
Kouchouk noted that the next phase will focus on supporting small taxpayers and new exporters, with the government fully financing the EGP 45 billion export subsidy repayment program for the first time. Half of exporters’ arrears have already been paid in cash, with the rest being settled through offsetting mechanisms.
He added that the first phase of the reforms, launched in June, saw strong participation, with 110,000 settlement files, 450,000 amended or new returns, and over 53,000 applications under the simplified accounting mechanism, helping lift tax revenues by 36% in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year.