The governor of the Saudi General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT), Suhail Abanmi, has called for boosting cooperation between the Egyptian and Saudi ministries of finance to provide the e-bill requirements and to suggest ways to overcome challenges.
Abanmi commended the efforts exerted by Egypt in this regard during a virtual meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait.
For his part, Maait stressed that the ministry is ready to extend support to Saudi Arabia in developing the taxation system, especially the e-bill, in a way that reinforces cooperation between the two countries.
Maait noted that the e-bill system is a critical step towards developing Egypt’s tax system that helps in attaining the state’s fiscal and economic targets and achieving integration between the tax system and the commercial community. The e-invoicing system is a key step towards automating the tax declarations system, facilitating procedures for taxpayers, and combating tax evasion, he added.
Egypt has followed the model of the Mexican experience concerning the e-bill system, which was the closest to the Egyptian experience, Maait stated.
Egypt’s finance ministry launched an e-bill system at the end of June, applying it to six companies. The system’s first phase was carried over to 134 companies as of mid-November, according to Maait.
The minister added that the e-bill system faced several challenges such as the e-signature but these challenges were defeated by virtue of tireless efforts and serious work.
Notably, Egypt’s finance ministry established in 2007 a company that contributed to preparing firms for electronic integration with the e-bill system.
