Egypt to repay participants in tax-free car import initiative after slashing cost

The decision applies to 84,000 Egyptian expats who applied for the initiative.

The car import initiative, which took applications between October 2022 and May 2023, allows Egyptians living abroad or their families to have one personal-use vehicle shipped to Egypt without paying customs duties or taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT).

Participants are required to invest the saved customs duties and taxes in foreign currency in an interest-free five-year certificate of deposit, which can be recovered in Egyptian pounds at the end of the period according to the exchange rate at that time.

On 8 May, Maait announced that the car import initiative brought in $713 million in transfers since its launch or nearly 30 percent of its original target.