Egypt will launch a new mechanism to combat mobile phone smuggling in the coming days.
The Egyptian government has developed An electronic application that allows individuals By registering their mobile phones without incurring additional customs fees to address this issue under the name My phone.
Although individuals will not pay taxes on a single personal phone, they will be required to pay a customs duty of around 38.5% if they bring more than one phone into the airport.
Imported phones in Egypt
According to Egyptian media, phones that enter without registration will receive a message requesting payment of customs fees within 90 days.
Sherif El-Kilani, Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Tax Policies, announced in an interview with the Information and Decision Support Center that Egypt will launch a new mechanism to combat mobile phone smuggling in the coming days.
95% of mobile phones are smuggled
Al-Kilani said: “This initiative was launched due to the spread of the phenomenon of mobile phones entering the country illegally, which harmed the country’s public treasury, as 95% of mobile phones entering Egypt are smuggled, and only 5% pay the required customs fees.”
Al-Kilani added that the smuggled phones will be invalidated if the fees are not paid within that period.
Many countries, including India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, and EU member states, impose customs duties or taxes on mobile phones when they are imported. These taxes vary depending on the country’s regulations and the value of the device.
