The Federation of Egyptian Industries’ (FEI) tax committee has laid out its recommendations and reservations on the Finance Ministry’s draft of a new Customs Act, Youm7 reports. These appear to be minimal, with its major concerns boiling down to ensuring compliance of the law to the Investment Act, clearly defining production inputs, and making sure that penalties under the act are not extreme. Committee chair Mohamed El Bahey had said that their points of concern include stipulations requiring importers to submit letters from an accredited bank acting as a guarantor for the cost of customs duties and taxes, in addition to higher penalties for customs evaders and smugglers. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait had previously told us that the ministry would introduce a “whitelist” of importers who benefit from expedited clearance of goods. The committee’s report was sent to the FEI’s board before being passed on to the ministry.

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