Are the customs and taxes on imported mobile phones being applied retroactively? Recent changes to the custom and tax regime on mobile phones imported through unofficial channels have seen some buyers receive notifications of unpaid fees on phones imported prior to the decision’s implementation — January 2025, the Chamber of Commerce’s mobile division head, Mohamed Talaat, told EnterpriseAM. Some phones previously exempted from the fees have also been impacted.

An official at the Egyptian Customs Authority told us that the authority has nothing to do with it. The ECA is only a collection agency and hasn’t taken decisions regarding imported mobile phones.

Things have escalated: Some customers who bought parallel-market imports locally with the promise that the devices would not be subject to additional fees — went back to the sellers to demand refunds after receiving the notification of unpaid dues. That’s pushed some unofficial retailers out of the market.

REMEMBER- Imported mobile phones are subject to customs and taxes totaling 38.5% — including a 5% development fee tax — as part of government regulations to support its drive to grow the local mobile phone assembly industry. The levies were introduced late 2024 and at the time was said to apply only to new mobile phones imported and activated starting 2025.

What’s next? “We are trying to sit down with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority to discuss these new controls and are in contact with the ICT Ministry in hopes of resolving this issue,” Talaat said.

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