Egypt e-invoicing Nov 2020

Egypt has introduced electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) from 15 November 2020 in a first trial phase of select, large businesses. This will eventually be extended to all VAT registered businesses.

E-invoices must contain a unique electronic signature of the supplier, along with a standard, unified code to identify the goods or services supplied. These electronic tax invoices must be approved by the Egyptian Tax Authority beforehand. This is similar to the Italian SdI e-invoice model.

Further details are pending from the Egyptian Tax Authority. However, Egypt has so far opted to name the first wave of companies that must comply with the new rules. Initially, there are 134 identified companies.

Taxpayers must first register with the tax office to gain their e-invoice credentials and API access. The includes obtaining an eseal certificate. The taxpayer is then set for daily reporting of sales invoices, confirming as valid and obtaining unique numbers to add to each invoice. This can be done through a government portal, but there are also free mobile phone-based app's.

The authorities have provided an API and software development kit for businesses to start reporting invoices via XML or JSON. The invoice contains the regular mandatory fields, and product descriptions must follow the Global Product Classification system for a commodity code.