Finance Min. Adjusts VAT to Benefit Industry

The Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said on Friday that an amendment to the executive regulations of the value-added tax (VAT) law will be made so that the permissible percentages of losses or forgone production will be calculated according to the nature of each industry, and with what is issued by an industrial control decision in the light of the actual inspection.

Maait added during a meeting with Mohamed Al-Suwaidi, President of the Federation of Industries that the percentage of loss account is taken according to a decision by the Industrial Control Authority according to the nature of the industry.

The minister stated that the VAT law aims to encourage investment as it stipulates the exclusion of machinery and equipment from the general price of tax, and sets a reduced tax rate for machinery and equipment used in the production of a good or service performance by 5 percent.

The minister affirmed that the investor has the right to refund that tax in the case of using machines and equipment to produce a taxable good or service when submitting the first tax return, noting that this feature was not present in the previous sales tax law.

He added emphasized that accounts payable will not be seized except within the limits of the tax due, in the cases specified by law.

He explained these cases are the issuance of Forms 19 of Income Tax, and 10 for VAT, without appealing it within the legally prescribed dates, the internal and appeal committee’s decisions, a final court ruling, and the decision of the dispute-ending committee.