Egypt approves third phase of zero-customs car import initiative

The initiative, first launched in October 2022, allows expats to bring one personal-use vehicle to Egypt without incurring customs duties or taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT).

The government had set May 2023 as the expiration date for the initiative.

In October 2023, the Cabinet approved relaunching the initiative for three months until 30 January 2024.

Under the terms of the initiative, participants are required to deposit the equivalent value of the customs duties in foreign currency, which is subsequently refunded to them in Egyptian pounds.

The initiative generated in its first phase around $763 million from 151,000 participating expatriates, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait had previously said.

Furthermore, the second phase has witnessed a surge in demand, with registration applications increasing threefold during the first two months compared to the same period in the first phase, Maait stated earlier this month.

The zero-customs initiative constitutes one of many undertaken by Egypt to increase revenues to $191 billion by 2026 to address the pressing scarcity of hard currency and tackle the mounting external debt, which stands at $164.73 billion as of June 2023.