Deadline for customs-free car import initiative not to be extended

In a statement on Tuesday, Maait said that the number of applicants for the scheme, which began on 15 November, has so far reached 34,000. He added that the country’s customs authority has since been releasing the imported cars daily.

Government officials expect 500,000 to one million Egyptian expats to take advantage of the scheme and hope it will attract foreign currency worth around EGP 50 billion ($2.5 billion).

The government had approved a draft law allowing Egyptian expats — estimated at around 14 million — to import one private car per person into Egypt free of customs duties and taxes, based on a set of conditions, to help out with a hard currency crunch.

Since the onset of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Egypt has been suffering from a drop in foreign currency.

According to figures from the Central Bank of Egypt, foreign reserves registered $34 billion in December 2022, down from $40.9 billion in February.