Egypt
North Africa's largest market and the Suez Canal — with paperwork that is done before the goods leave
Egypt has over a hundred million people and is the world's largest wheat importer. Industrial goods from the EU enter duty-free, so success depends more on paperwork: a shipment needs an ACID number before it is loaded, and for many consumer goods the manufacturer must already be on the GOEIC register. The pound has floated freely since March 2024, and the central bank scrapped the rule that imports be paid by letter of credit at the end of 2022.
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Setting up a company
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- ·Foreign ownership
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Taxes
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Corporate income tax
- ·VAT
What it makes and needs
Its largest imports are fuels, machinery including computers, cereals, electrical equipment and vehicles. In 2024 it was the world's largest wheat importer (USD 5.2 bn).
It exports fuels and LNG, fertilisers (the world's fourth-largest exporter of phosphate fertilisers), citrus (the second-largest orange exporter), steel, electrical goods and garments.
Money and payments
The Egyptian pound (EGP). A flexible rate has applied since October 2022, and on 6 March 2024 the central bank let the market set the rate; the pound lost over a third of its value at that point.
The requirement to pay for imports by letter of credit (Central Bank instruction No. 49 of February 2022) was lifted on 29 December 2022. Imports may since be paid by documentary collection as well.
Importing into their market
The ACI system (Advance Cargo Information) through the Nafeza national single window. The importer enters the proforma invoice data and receives an ACID number within 48 hours. The exporter registers once on the CargoX platform (verification costs USD 15) and uploads the documents at least 48 hours before the goods arrive. It has applied to sea freight since 1 October 2021 and became mandatory for air freight on 1 January 2026.
For defined product groups the manufacturer or trademark owner must be on the GOEIC register (Decree 43/2016). These include dairy products in small retail packs, cosmetics, household appliances, furniture, textiles and footwear. Goods from an unregistered manufacturer are not released for sale.
Duty is charged on the CIF value, typically 0–60 %; passenger cars, luxury goods and alcohol up to 135 %. Machinery for industrial use 0–5 %. Industrial goods of EU origin are duty-free under the Association Agreement (the last phase-down, for cars, ended in 2019).
The invoice, certificate of origin and transport document (B/L or air waybill) must carry the ACID number. A shipment whose documents lack it is rejected.
Bringing their goods into the EU
The EU–Egypt Association Agreement has applied since 2004 and creates a free-trade area: industrial goods from Egypt enter the EU duty-free, with quotas and reduced rates for agricultural goods.
Origin is proved under the Euro-Mediterranean rules (the PEM Convention) with an EUR.1 or EUR-MED certificate. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia are parties to the Agadir Agreement, so origin can be cumulated between them and the EU.
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