On 28 July 2020, the Egyptian Tax Authority (“ETA”) issued the decree no. 386 of 2020 (the “Decree”) in application of the Ministry of Finance decree no. 188 of 2020, obliging a number of companies listed under the Decree and VAT registered companies to issue e-invoices with regards to sold goods and services as of 15 November 2020.

The Decree obliges certain companies – as a first phase, one hundred thirty-four companies - to issue e-invoices with regards to sold goods and services after satisfying the requirements and technical conditions (the “Requirements”) set out in the Decree, including, inter alia, the following:

a)         Obtaining an e-signature certificate;
b)        using the “GS1” coding system or an internal coding system, which shall be connected with the “GPC” categorizing system;
c)         registering the company under the ETA e-invoicing system; and
d)        appointing and registering at the ETA a responsible person for the e-invoicing system within the company.

The Decree permits companies, which are not listed under the Decree to issue e-invoices provided they satisfy the above-mentioned Requirements.

It is worth noting that the Minister of Finance Decree no. 188 of 2020 adds that e-invoices must include the issuer’s e-signature and the unified code related to the goods or services, subject of the e-invoice, which is certified by the ETA.

In clarification of the Decree, the ETA has issued the Taxpayers Readiness Guide, which is attached hereafter in Arabic and English. You can find it by following this link.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team members Mohamed abdelgawad and Malak Khalil.