G/LIC/Q/EGY/2  
 
30 March 2020  
(20-2534) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Import Licensing  Original: English  
 
IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF EGYPT  
REPLIES  BY EGYPT TO THE QUESTIO NS FROM THE EUROPEAN UN ION 
The following communication, dated 18 March 20 20, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Egypt . 
 
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At the outset, Egypt would like to thank the European Union for its questions and interest regarding 
the Import Licensing regime in Egypt.  
 
Recognizing the importance of transparency, Egypt is currently taking stock of all the trade related 
regulations including import licensing procedures that have not been previously notified in order to 
prepare and submit the appropriate notifications in th e context of the relevant WTO committees. 
However, this task requires huge human and technical capacities especially in light of the complex 
and detailed structure of the notification requirements. In addition, constant change of people in 
charge in differ ent ministries and the transfer of functions among the different bodies constitute 
main challenges in this regard.  
 
Having said that and without prejudice to Egypt’s future notifications on Import Licensing, the 
following section will address the specific questions from the European Union.  
 
EU question No 1 : Could Egypt provide detailed information on the import licensing procedures in 
place, submitting detailed information as per Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement (ILA)? To 
be recalled that Artic le 5.2 of the ILA requires that:  
 
2.   Notifications of the institution of import licensing procedures shall include the following 
information:  
(a) list of products subject to licensing procedures;  
  
(b)    contact point for information on eligibility;  
  
(c)    administrative body(ies) for submission of applications;  
  
(d)    date and name of publication where licensing procedures are published;  
 
(e)    indication of whether the licensing procedure is automatic or non -automatic according 
to definitions contained in Articles  2 and  3; 
  
(f)    in the case of automatic import licensing procedures, their administrative purpose;  
 
(g)    in the case of non -automatic import licensing procedures, indication of the measure 
being implemented through the licensing procedure; and  
 
(h)    expected duration of the licensing procedure if this can be estimated with some 
probability, and if not, reason why this information cannot be provided.  
 
  G/LIC/Q/EGY/2  
 
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  Egypt’s Reply :  
 
As mentioned in the previous section, Egypt is currently in the process of taking stock of the relevant 
trade related regulations including import -licensing procedures in order to prepare and submit the 
appropriate notifications in the context of the relevant WTO committees.  
 
However, it is w orth mentioning that the general principle is that imports are not subject to import 
licensing procedures except where necessary to ensure the appropriate application of SPS, national 
security, safety, religious and environmental measures.  
 
EU question No 2 : Could Egypt clarify which is the applied law governing the import licensing 
procedures?  Should traders refer only to the Import and Export Law No 118/1975 and the Ministerial 
Decree No 770/2005 and Ministerial Decree No 902/2015? Or are there any other r elevant pieces of 
legislation?  
 
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
As a general rule, the Import and Export Law no.118/1975 and its executive regulation in Ministerial 
Decree no. 770 /2005 issuing the Executive Regulation to Implement Import and Export Law 
no.118/1975 inclu ding their amendments and complementary decisions are the main regulations 
governing import restrictions and licensing. However, it is worth mentioning that for many of the 
measures included in Ministerial Decree no. 770 /2005, the regulations and procedur es and the 
administration of those licensing procedures fall under the auspices of many authorities including 
Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Health 
and Population.  
 
Furthermore, some products are  subject to other regulations set by these regulatory authorities and 
other regulatory authorities such as the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the 
case of wireless telecommunication devices.  
 
EU question No 3 : Could Egypt submit all re levant information justifying the import prohibitions 
applied to chicken offal and limbs 32, fowl livers, and various hazardous chemicals and pesticides, 
he two -stroke motor bicycle engines, toys in the form of pistols or rifles, bracelets listed as organi zing 
body energy, and some incandescent bulbs and laser pens?  
 
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
Imports of products stated in Annex 1 of the Decree 770/2005 and its amendments are suspended 
for SPS, national security, safety, religious and environmental measures.  
 
EU que stion No 4 : Could Egypt submit all relevant information regarding the import licensing 
procedures for the importation of some agricultural commodities including wheat grains, corn used 
for the feed industry, and soya bean seeds for oil extraction? Could Eg ypt clarify whether the legal 
basis is the Prime Minister Decree No. 2992/2016 and Ministerial Decree No. 24/2017? Could Egypt 
clarify why the importation of these goods are allowed only upon approval from GOEIC?  
 
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
Prime Minister Decree No.  2992/2016 Organizing Imports of Strategic Agricultural  Commodities and 
Ministerial Decree No.24/2017 set out the import permit requirements for the strategic agricultural 
commodities wheat grains; corn used for the feed industry; and soya bean seeds. The importation 
of these commodities is prohibited without an import permit from the General Organization for Export 
and Import control (GOEIC). However, this does not apply to commodities imported by governmental 
bodies.  
 
GOEIC is the sole authority to inspe ct the consignments upon their arrival according to the specified 
Egyptian standards and the other requirements set by Plant Quarantine. The importer may request 
that the goods be subject to pre -shipment inspection, in this case pre -shipment inspection sho uld 
be carried out by one of the international surveillance and inspection companies registered at GOEIC. 
Yet, pre -shipment inspection does not preclude inspection at the port of entry.  
 G/LIC/Q/EGY/2  
 
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  The importation of these commodities have been subjected to such a pr ocedure to in order to 
facilitate trade by having one entity responsible for the process.  
 
EU question No 5 : Could Egypt provide detailed information on the procedures to be followed for 
importing into the free zones, submitting detailed information as per Article 5.2 of the Import 
Licensing Agreement?  
 
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
The procedures for importing into the free zones are governed by Law No. 72/2017 promulgating 
the Investment Law  and its Executive Regulation in Prime Minister Decree 2310/2017 , in particular 
Chapter 4 in section III of the Investment Law and the relevant provisions in the Executive 
regulation.   
 
As per Article 39 of the Law, the commodities exported abroad by the Free Zone projects or imported 
for the purposes of pursuing their activities shall not be subject to the rules governing import and 
export, or to the customs procedures related to the exports and imports. Such co mmodities shall 
not be subject to customs duties, the Value -Added Tax, or other taxes and duties.  
 
Free zones are a special regime where dealings are conducted in accordance with special customs 
and tax provisions. The main purpose of the rules and procedu res governing imports into the free 
zones is to ensure that they are not illegally transferred from the free zones into the country.   
 
EU question No 6 : As additional certificates may be requested by the customs authorities, could 
Egypt clarify what are t he additional certificates needed for the importation of each type of product?  
 
Mandatory registration requirement of company prior to the importation set up by the 
Decree 43/2016  
 
The EU would also like to receive further clarifications with reference to  the mandatory registration 
requirement set by Decree No 43/2016 entered into force on 16 March 2016. It sets the mandatory 
registration of companies in order to create a registry of factories exporting certain products 
(agricultural products, cosmetics, t oys, textiles and garments) to Egypt. Among the documents 
required for the registration, the Decree includes a certificate that the producer  and/or the 
trademark owner maintain "a quality control system." All the documents to be provided have to be 
certifi ed by a Chamber of Commerce, approved by an Egyptian embassy and translated by an 
accredited translation center.  
 
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
Although the question is not specific to import licensing procedures, additional certificates may be 
required for some specific purposes such as:  
 
- Chemical analysis certificates are requested for imports of food additives and other materials 
used in the food processing industry;  
 
- Quality control pre - shipment inspection certificates are required for a number of product s;  
 
- Sanitary certificates are also required for a number of plant and animal products.  
 
EU question No 7 : Could Egypt clarify how these requirements are in compliance with  the provisions 
of the ILA, in particular with reference to articles 1, 2 and 3?   
Egypt’s Reply :  
 
With respect to Ministerial Decree no. 43/2016, Egypt does not consider that Decree no. 43/2016 is 
an import licensing procedure within the meaning of Articl e 1 of the ILA. Ministerial Decree no. 
43/2016 does not require that importers submit an application or other documentation to the 
relevant authorities as a prior condition for importation. Rather, it only requires registration of 
manufacturing plants and the companies owning the trademark to ensure that the entities exporting 
maintain a quality control system.  Registration according to Ministerial Decree no. 43/2016 remains 
valid as long as the submitted documents are valid.  G/LIC/Q/EGY/2  
 
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  Once the manufacturing plant h as been registered and the company owning the trademark has 
fulfilled the registration requirements, any importer can import the relevant products without any 
need to submit any application or other documentation to the relevant authorities as a prior cond ition 
for importation.  
It is also worth noting, that Egypt is fully committed and in full compliance with the national 
treatment principle. Egyptian manufacturing plants and companies are subject to registration, 
surveillance and inspection requirements by  numerous Egyptian regulatory authorities to ensure 
their compliance with the relevant regulations.    
 
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