G/LIC/Q/EGY/6  
 
23 April 2021  
(21-3465) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Import Licensing  Original: English  
 
IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF EGYPT  
REPLIES OF EGYPT TO THE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION  
The following communication, dated 20 April 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Egypt.  
 
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Egypt would like to thank the European Union for the additional questions raised in G/LIC/Q/EGY/4.  
The following are a preliminary set of replies to the questions raised and Egypt welcomes further 
requests for clarification.  
EU addition al questions  
EU Question No 1: Could Egypt submit the following information on import licensing of 
ducklings and canned meat under Prime Minister 's Decree No. 2080/2018 and 
Prime  Minister 's Decision No. 222/2018:  
(a) Which concrete products are subject to import licensing under each act?  
(b) What is the reason for limiting the quantity of imports of products covered by these 
acts?  
(c) Please list all dates on which the two committees created by the above acts met 
since their establishment (separately for each committee)?  
(d) What is the procedure to inform importers about the meeting dates of the 
committees and about the outcome of the importers ' requests for import permits?  
(e) Under which conditions import permits are approved under each act?  
(f) Are there any appeal mechanisms foreseen for importers, in case their import 
requests are rejected?  
(g) How many requests for import permits for goods originating from the EU have been 
rejected since the creation of the two committees and on whic h grounds (separately 
for each committee)?  
(i) When will Egypt submit the notification of these laws to the WTO?  
Reply:  
(a) Prime Minister 's Decree No. 2080/2018: covers live animals, meat, and meat products.  
Prime Minister 's Decree No. 222/2018: covers Po ultry and its products.  
(b) These decrees do not limit the quantity of imports of the products and do not create any 
quantitative restrictions. They aim at aim at regulating the imports of the covered products to 
ensure that the imports of such products don 't lead to the introduction of any diseases and 
also to ensure that they meet the required standards stipulated by The General Organization 
of Veterinary Services.  G/LIC/Q/EGY/6  
 
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  (c) Dates on which the 2 committees were held in 2021 and 2020:  
i. 22 February 2021 the two committees were convened.  
ii. 20 July 2020 and 23  August 2020 for the committee established by Prime Minister's 
Decree No. 222/2018 which covers poultry and its products and its processed products.  
iii. 11 March 2020 and 20  July 2020 for the co mmittee established by Prime Minister's 
Decree No. 2080/2018 which covers live animals, meat products and processed meat 
products.  
The two committees are usually held every three  months, (as the validity of the import permit 
is three  months) and/or when n eeded and according to the number of import requests 
submitted to the two committees.  
(d) Importers are informed about the meeting dates of the committees and the outcomes of their 
requests for import permits through referring back and following up with the Central 
Administration of Veterinary Services, or the office of the Head of the General Organization of 
Veterinary Services(GOVS), or the office of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Land 
Reclamation.  
(e) Import permits are approved based on t he epidemiological situation of the exporting country 
and meet the required standards and requirements stipulated by The General Organization of 
Veterinary Services (GOVS).  
(f) According to Prime Minister's Decree Nos. 222/2018 and 2080/2018 requests for i mport 
permits are not rejected except for reasons related to the epidemiological of the exporting 
county or not fulfilling the set requirements including the capacity of the refrigerator 's facilities 
and capacity of the quarantine areas.  
(g) There has been  no rejection of requests for import permits for goods originating from the EU. 
Nevertheless, the acceptance of requests could be delayed based on the decision of the two 
committees for reasons related to logistical reasons including the capacity of the re frigerator 's 
facilities and the capacity of the quarantine areas.  
(h) The two decrees shall be part of the regulations that will be notified to the Import Licensing 
Committee.  
EU Question No 2: Could Egypt submit all relevant information justifying the imp ort 
prohibitions applied to sugar under Decree Nos. 259/2020 and 420/2020 extending the 
import restrictions?  
Reply:  
Currently, there is no import prohibition on sugar. The recent Ministerial Decree No. 117 for year 
2021 issued March 2021 has extended the a pplication of the Ministerial Decree No. 606 for the year 
2020 issued 3 December 2020 which had already relaxed the temporary import restrictions on sugar.  
As is the case for imports of raw sugar in the previous two Decrees ( Nos. 259/2020 and 420/2020),  
Decree Nos. 606/2020 and 117/2021 allow for the importation of white sugar through obtaining an 
import approval from the Minister of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Supply and Internal 
Trade.  
Taking into consideration that the measure is temporary i n nature its duration is three months.  
The decree aim s at the organization of the internal market in order to ensure that all traders have 
a share in the market which will have a positive impact on trade. It is also important for statistical 
purposes to k eep track of the expected volume of imports over a period of time especially in times 
of the pandemic we are all suffering from.  G/LIC/Q/EGY/6  
 
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  EU question No 3: Could Egypt submit the following information on food import licensing 
under Decree No. 6/2020:  
(a) Has Egypt notified this new Decree to WTO?  
(b) How has Egypt ensured predictability for companies given that the Decree entered 
into force one day after its publication? A 6 -month transition period was provided 
only for companies that have already carried out import activities. What about the 
rest of the companies?  
(c) Could Egypt clarify under which conditions an importer can be included in the White 
List?  
(d) Could Egypt clarify what happens after the 30 days during which NFSA should take 
action on a license request in case no such action is taken (meaning the request is 
neither approved nor rejected)?  
(e) There is a possible double registration for food products falling under both, Decree 
Nos. 6/2020 and 43/2016. It seems that both exporters and importers of  the very 
same food articles will need to be registered – exporters at General Organization for 
Export and Import Control and importers at the National Food Safety Authority - 
creating a substantial and unnecessary burden. Could Egypt clarify whether and 
when NFSA will completely take over the registration of food products?  
Reply:  
(a) The decision has been notified WTO SPS and TBT committees in documents G/SPS/N/EGY/116 
and G/TBT/N/EGY/277 respectively.  
(b) In order to ensure predictability and transparenc y, the decision has been published in the 
Official Journal on 16 July 2020. It is also published on the website of NFSA. The decision has 
provided a six months transitional period for currently operating food importers to obtain the 
stipulated license and be registered at the authority in order to ensure the smooth flow of 
Trade and avoid any trade disruptions.  
New food importers, which have not practiced import activity before, will register from the 
beginning at NFSA after submitting the required document s and adhering to the requirements 
stipulated in the decision. Furthermore, they are exempted from presenting a statement of 
previous import activity.  
(c) Concerning the white list of importers this will be established by NFSA and it will duly issue 
the requirements.  
(d) The decision stipulates a timeline of 30 days in which NFSA will inform the applicant if whether 
his documents satisfy the requirements. If the submitted documents fulfil the requirements 
the applicant will be registered in the regist ry of licensed importers and published on the 
website. If the applicant does not meet the requirements he will be informed of the reasons 
and required corrective action in case of not satisfying the food safety requirements.  
Also, the importers have the ri ght to appeal against NFSA's decisions in both cases whether 
NFSA does not make a decision on the license request within 30 days or their license request 
is rejected in accordance to Article 18 of the Law No. 1/2017 regarding grievance against 
NFSA's decis ion. Article 18 of Law No. 1/2017 states that "the grievance committee shall have 
sole competence to consider the grievances filed by parties concerned against NFSA 's 
administrative decisions on food safety in accordance with the provision of the present l aw, 
other food safety related laws and the executive decrees related thereto".  
Furthermore, the importer may always send their enquiries concerning the pending license 
requests through NFSA 's website which will be replied to expeditiously.  
(e) There is no double registration for food products falling under both Decree  Nos. 6/2020 and 
43/2016. The objective, the scope and the mandate of application of both decrees are 
different.  G/LIC/Q/EGY/6  
 
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  Decree No. 6/2020 lays down rules governing the licensing of food importers and food 
business establishments which work in the area of importation of food into Egypt in order to 
ensure the safety of imported food products and reduce the risk associated with it. This decree 
will also enhance the efficiency of clearance time of imported  food by ensuring that foreign 
suppliers in the exporting countries apply the necessary food safety measures and 
international best practices.  
On the other hand, Ministerial Decree No. 43/2016 covers the registration of the 
manufacturing plants and the co mpanies owning trademarks qualified to export their products 
to Egypt. It does not deal with the registration of importers and the scope of food products 
therein is rather limited.  
EU Question No 4: Could Egypt explain whether Decree No. 43/2016 limits th e number of 
suppliers that can be registered under one trademark? We have received information that 
some EU exporters are being refused registration of new suppliers on the basis that the 
number of those already registered under a specific trademark is too  high.  
Reply:  
Decree No. 43/2016 stipulates no such limits. It would be beneficial if EU can share with Egypt the 
specific cases. Decree No. 43/2016 clearly sets out the requirement from Trademark owner 
companies and places no such restrictions. The provis ion on the registration of companies owning 
the trademark has been added in order to ensure the flow of exports of those companies.  
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