Complaint

Complaint number
NTB-001-155  
NTB Type
2.6. Additional taxes and other charges  
Complaint
On November 3, 2023, the Egyptian Official Gazette published Law No. 177 of 2023 amending provisions of the Value Added Tax Law promulgated by Law No. 67 of 2016, including the provisions related to the tiers of cigarette taxation. The amendments to Serial 1/B of Law No. 177 of 2023 bluntly prohibits imported cigarettes from of the first tier and restricts them to “cigarettes produced by local factories”, which favors and gives preferential treatment to local products.

It is worth noting that the addition of the aforementioned provision has significant repercussions on the competitive ability of other companies, especially that the first tier has the lowest priced cigarettes in the market and are more economical for citizens. Consequently, this contradicts COMESA national treatment article, causing harm through the discrimination of specific products that may lead to market monopolization.

Various companies manufacture their brands in factories in COMESA member states and import and sell it in Egypt. However, the recent tax amendments that imposed a value-added tax on low-priced cigarettes prevent companies from importing cigarettes and limits sales to local production.  
Progress update note
 
Policy or regulatory NTB
Yes 
Location
Egypt: Egyptian Tax Authority (Government institution)  
Reporting Country or Region
Zambia  
Country specific trade issue
No  
Date of incident
2023-11-03  
Status
New  
Product Description

Computer-assisted translation

 
Total value
0  
Date reported
2024-03-05 16:40  
Modified
2024-03-05 16:40  
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