Background:
In 2001, Egypt and the EU cooperated to sign the
"Euro-Mediterranean Agreement Establishing an Association
between the European Communities and their Member States and The
Arab Republic of Egypt." The agreement came in to force in
June 2004, after its ratification by EU member states and Egypt. It
aimed at promoting healthy political dialogue as well as constant
cooperation – and most importantly, the gradual establishment
of a free trade area over a period of twelve years. Moreover, Egypt
is a signatory of the World Trade Organization's General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), meaning that it is required
to reduce tariffs to meet an international standard of 0-40%. This
includes vehicles, which previously faced very high custom tariffs.
In 2010, cars less than 1600 cc were due a customs charge of 40% of
the price of the vehicle and a sales tax of 15%, while cars over
1600 cc were subject to a 150% of purchase price and a sales tax of
35%. Car owners also had to pay a license fee based on the engine
capacity of their vehicle and on where it was assembled.
However, when it comes to the practical implementation of the
twelve-year-old treaty, there has been much speculation around the
actual reduction of the prices of vehicles.
For example, in December 2017, the Minister of Trade and Industry
stated that the Egyptian government had decided to postpone
applying the 10% cut due to be reduced as per the Egyptian-EU
partnership agreement. The minister confirmed that the decision was
taken in agreement with the EU, and after a number of market
studies conducted by the Ministry of Trade. This is because, as per
the original agreement, the Egyptian government maintains the right
to suspend reductions for a period not exceeding one year. Indeed,
there was no 10% reduction on imported European cars in 2018.
The ministry had done this in 2012 as well, after the revolution.
This meant that customs are due to drop by an accumulated 30% in
2019.
Plans for 2019:
It is for this reason that the elimination of all tariffs on EU
cars is expected to take place in 2019. Sticker prices of vehicles
imported from the EU are due to drop by 10-15%, given that the USD
exchange rate for customs remains stable at its current level.
However, cars imported from Europe will still be subject to value
added tax depending on their category.
The explanatory memorandum accompanying the Custom Tariff Report of
2017/18 explains that Egypt is going through a time of evolution
and modernization in light of a worldwide movement towards a more
open economy. Indeed, Egypt must comply with its international
obligations and treaties, but this must be balanced with a need to
maintain Egypt's own economy, especially at a time of economic
hardship. This in turn may mean that even if customs are removed,
it would be beneficial for the Egyptian economy to recover this
money through imposing other fees.
Our suggestion would be to impose a higher initial licensing fee on
imported cars or amend the U.S. Dollar custom exchange price to be
the same as general U.S. Dollar exchange price published by the
Central Bank of Egypt for some specific products such as cars. This
would recover some of the money, which Egypt is in need of, but
will only be applicable to license registration in the first year,
and will affect cars depending on their origin and price. While
this may keep car prices high for the time being, it would only be
a temporary solution until the economy is more stable.
All in all, Egypt is heading towards a more fortuitous car sales
market, especially after they had been reduced by 99,000 vehicles
sold in 2017 compared to 142,000 in 2016. However, this move must
also be balanced with the need to strengthen Egypt's economy in
a well-rounded manner. For that reason, we suggest the maintenance
of high license fees on EU-imported vehicles.
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