Egypt’s Finance Ministry: Over 100 Companies Use E-Invoice System

Egypt's Ministry of Finance. (Reuters)
Egypt's Ministry of Finance. (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Finance Ministry: Over 100 Companies Use E-Invoice System

Egypt's Ministry of Finance. (Reuters)
Egypt's Ministry of Finance. (Reuters)

More than 100 companies in Egypt use the country’s recently launched electronic invoice (e-invoice) system, revealed Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

In a press statement on Saturday, he said all of these companies’ transactions, including those from sales and purchases, are received on the system.

He pointed to the cabinet’s decision, which stipulates that all state agencies and companies “will only deal with financiers who have joined the e-invoice system starting from the beginning of July 2021.”

Under the decision, all ministries, state agencies, government departments, public sector companies, holdings and subsidiary public business sector companies are required to use the e-invoice system in the sale of goods and services.

Maait explained that the decision has also required all local administration units, public service and economic bodies, companies that the state and other public legal persons contribute to their capital by over 50 percent and those that sell goods or services to join the e-invoice system that was established by the Tax Authority.

It also obligated these companies not to contract with any suppliers, contractors or service providers until after they are registered in the system no later than July 2021.

According to Maait, the ministry is seeking to bolster governance and taxation in a way that ensures the right of the state, lay the foundation for just taxation, reduces tax evasion and merges the informal economy wit the formal one.

This would ultimately benefit the citizens and improve services provided to them, he added.

Head of the Tax Authority, Reda Abdul Kader, stressed the importance for companies to initiate and design an e-accounting system that is compatible with the nature of each company’s activity and with the e-invoice system.

Starting from July 2021, companies will find themselves unable to deal with ministries, bureaus and all state agencies unless they have joined the e-invoice system, Abdul Kader stressed, urging them to join the system as soon as possible.



Türkiye Says Aims to Rein in Tax Breaks, Target Avoidance in Reform Plan

A woman takes pictures as a ferry sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, 29 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
A woman takes pictures as a ferry sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, 29 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
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Türkiye Says Aims to Rein in Tax Breaks, Target Avoidance in Reform Plan

A woman takes pictures as a ferry sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, 29 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
A woman takes pictures as a ferry sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, 29 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN

A drive by Türkiye 's government to modernize the country's tax system will seek to boost revenue by tackling tax avoidance and scrapping incentives that are no longer needed rather than raising the overall burden, the finance minister said on Monday.

Mehmet Simsek said, however, that preliminary draft proposals being discussed within the government envisioned a minimum 15% corporate tax on multinational companies, confirming a report last month by state-owned Anadolu Agency.

According to Reuters, he did not give further details about the proposal. At present, multinational companies face varying levies depending on numerous factors.

Speaking to local broadcaster BloombergHT, Simsek said the government's plans - which would need to be approved by parliament - also included raising the corporate tax on public-private partnerships (PPPs) to 30% from 25% at present.

Simsek, who has spearheaded a year-long policy-tightening program to tackle soaring inflation, said in Monday's interview that the tax plan being discussed by government officials was in the early stages and could be subject to changes before being presented to parliament.

He said there were no plans to introduce a transaction tax on the purchase and sale of stocks, but the government could propose taxes on stock market gains sometime in the future.

Earlier this month, an economy official said Türkiye had almost finalized work on imposing a transaction tax on the purchase and sale of stocks and crypto assets.
The plans are part of broader efforts to boost government savings, fiscal discipline and price stability after years of turmoil that fueled soaring inflation.

As part of the tightening program, the central bank has aggressively hiked interest rates to 50% from 8.5% since June last year. Annual inflation hit 75% in May but was expected to have dipped in June.