Export Documentation

 The British Embassy in Cairo would like you to be aware of the following regulatory changes announced by the Central Bank of Egypt:

The Central Bank of Egypt has stopped the usage of documentary collection for all imports into the country with immediate effect from 12 February 2022 leaving letters of credit as the only acceptable method for payment. This came with a few exceptions which included branches of foreign companies and their affiliated companies. Documentary collection will only be accepted for goods shipped to Egypt before the date of this decree (12 Feb 2022). This decree came as Egypt is making the usage of the ACI system mandatory as of 1 Mar 2022.

The British Embassy has asked us to share an FAQ document in relation to these regulations, which were sent to them by the Central Bank. The Embassy is currently analysing the impact these measures will have on business, so please contact us at inji@theebcc.com if your business is affected by these changes or if you need any further information/clarification.

Click here to download the FAQ

Please click below to learn more about the new export regulations and the Advanced Cargo Information System. 

 The Egyptian Consulate has raised its fees for commercial and non-commercial documents. You can find out more here. 

We would also like to highlight that the new Advanced Cargo Information System (ACI) will have effect only on Sea shipment transactions, effective from 1st October 2021, NOT on exports by Airfreight and all other modes of shipment; they will be outside the scope of the new measures until new announcements by the Egyptian Government. 

 

Please note, the Chamber is open as usual but currently only processes export documents twice per week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On 5 December 2020, the UK & Egypt signed a new bilateral Trade Agreement. The UK-Egypt Association Agreement provides continued preferential access to both markets and replaces the EU-Egypt Association Agreement from 1 January 2021. 

The Chamber promotes trade with Egypt by providing export documentation services for UK exporters to the Egyptian market.

We work closely with all Regional Chambers of Commerce across the UK, as well as the Egyptian Consulate in London to provide a quick and efficient export documentation service.

If you are a UK exporter, you will need to get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce. The International Trade Department of your Chamber will prepare your export documents and deliver them to us. Once these export documents are fully legalised, we return them to your local Chamber.

The process takes an average of 5 business days. We further offer free express service & amendments for exporters as part of our corporate membership, see Membership

Legal Requirement

Export documentation satisfies the requirements of Customs authorities in Egypt as well as Egypt’s Ministry of Trade & Industry. Ultimately you will not be able to export without the right paperwork; incorrect paperwork can prove costly both in time, money and resource.

Your legalised documents will satisfy your clients in Egypt that the products exported are wholly obtained, produced and/or manufactured in the UK. This verification helps determine the applicable customs tariff.

Furthermore, legalised documents provide assurance to protect you and your product in case of legal disputes.

New Trade Regulations - ACI Pre-Shipment Procedures, binding implementation starts on 1 October 2021

The Egyptian Government has recently issued a new decree aimed at simplifying shipping procedures for export to the Egyptian market. Nafeza – or the National Single Window – uses the CargoX platform which can be used by exporters to submit their shipping documents digitally.

We would like to highlight that these new measures will have effect only on Sea shipment transactions, effective from 1st October 2021, NOT on exports by Airfreight and all other modes of shipment; they will be outside the scope of the new measures until new announcements by the Egyptian Government.

New ACI Pre-Shipment Procedures Explained

Official Decree 328 for the year 2021: trial implementation period of ACI system is extended until 30/09/21. Binding implementation starts from 01/10/21.  

Other Trade Regulations

Since December 2015 it is mandatory for all UK exporters to legalise their Certificate of Origin and have their local Chamber certify the corresponding invoices. The new decrees and regulations are issued by the Egyptian Government, below are the recent changes to regulations for trade with Egypt:

Ministerial Decree 202: Regarding the legally required documents for export to Egypt

Ministerial Decree 991: Special conditions regarding the exportation of certain commodities 

Ministerial Decree 43: Regarding the registration of qualified factories for export into Egypt

Customs Codes: For products requiring registration in Egypt 

 

Online Access for Regional Chambers

 

Note that all export documentation is accepted for certification by the Chamber and legalization by The Consulate of The Arab Republic of Egypt in London on the strict condition that the Chamber shall be entitled ( but not obliged ) to require the exporting party to pay promptly, in addition to the charges then currently imposed by the Consulate, all and any increase in legalization charges announced, imposed or implemented by the Consulate in the United Kingdom at any time after receipt by the Chamber of such export documentation but before the export documentation has been duly legalized.