Egypt introduces unified VAT refund system to accelerate procedures, improve efficiency: ETA head

“Rasha Abdel Aal, head of the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA), announced the issuance of new executive instructions establishing a unified and comprehensive framework for all tax authority units responsible for handling value-added tax (VAT) refunds. She said the move is intended to eliminate challenges affecting the speed and accuracy of VAT refund procedures, while providing integrated guidance covering all procedural aspects to facilitate processes for taxpayers and registered entities in line with legal requirements. Abdel Aal stressed that the new instructions align with the authority’s broader automation and digital transformation strategy, with an electronic completion system now being used to send and respond to all requests. The authority has also committed to responding within five working days. She added that analytical data related to import and export certificates will now be considered sufficient when such data matches information contained within the integrated digital system linking the Tax Authority and the Customs Authority. This will not affect the authority’s right to request certificates unavailable within the system or those that cannot be matched. Under the new rules, applicants seeking refunds will also be required to submit statements of electronic invoices without providing the invoices themselves. Regarding support for the export sector and compliant businesses, Abdel Aal explained that the updated framework will rely on comparing export values, including export support incentives, with the value of production inputs. The cost of sales for exported goods will be used in calculating input values to ensure compliance with the legal requirement that export values should not fall below input costs. The head of the Tax Authority added that the framework grants priority to companies included on the “white list”, with VAT refund requests to be processed first, while audit and verification procedures continue afterwards. Abdel Aal said the instructions also introduce binding timelines requiring VAT refund departments and supporting units to complete refund applications in less than the 45-day period stipulated by law. Under the new measures, the refund period has been reduced to 20 days, while the timeframe allocated for reviewing applications and completing documentation has been cut to two working days, down from five. She further explained that refund departments are now required to notify applicants via email of any missing documents on the day following the expiry of the two-day review period. Applicants will have a maximum of 10 working days to submit outstanding documents, with reminder emails sent three working days before the deadline to help avoid rejection of refund applications. The post Egypt introduces unified VAT refund system to accelerate procedures, improve efficiency: ETA head first appeared on Dailynewsegypt .

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