New fees under Egypt’s resource development law do not apply to commodities

New fees to develop state resources approved by the Egyptian House of Representatives' Budget and Plan Committee do not apply to basic and essential goods for citizens, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has said.

In a statement on Friday, Maait also denied applying the new fees on durable goods, soft drinks, cosmetics or perfumes, noting that the amendments will only cover “non-essential” goods, including caviar and smoked salmon.

The minister added that the amendments to the Resource Development Law raise departure fees for Egyptians by LE 50, while departure fees for foreigners remain unchanged.

Amendments to the law of tax on entering theaters and other entertainment places approved by the parliamentary committee also raised the fees for a number of entertainment activities, including ice skating, singing parties and disco from LE 1 to LE 20.

Meanwhile, approved amendments to the income tax law include increasing tax exemption limit by 50 percent to LE 36,000 annually in order to achieve social justice, Maait said.