Egypt suspends import of hundreds of GCC products due to issues with registration compliance

The firms will not be permitted to export to Egypt’s local market because their certificates have expired, which has resulted in them violating resolution no. 43/2016 concerning the amendment of rules governing the registration of factories eligible to export their products to the Arab Republic of Egypt, the GOEIC said in a statement.

The list includes companies from the UAE, the UK, the US, Germany, China, Turkey, Italy, Malaysia, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, and South Korea.

The Egypt Ministry of Trade and Industry’s decree no. 43/2016 includes the establishment of a register of factories and companies that own trademarks eligible to export products through the GOEIC.

The ministry issued a press statement on 17 April clarifying that the decree was issued to halt or write off companies exporting to the Egyptian market and does not target specific companies or products of specific countries.

The decision stipulates that these products imported for the purpose of trading may not be released unless they are produced by registered factories or imported from companies that own the mark or their registered distribution centres for some of the commodities specified by the ministry in its decree.

Additionally, the decree specified some goods that require the registration of factories imported to Egypt with the GOEIC, including dairy products, imported fruits, oils, sugar products, carpets and floor coverings, clothing, textiles and furniture, lighting devices for home use, home and office furniture, children’s toys, household appliances, glass, rebar, chocolate, and paper.

The ministry explained that it also issued decree no. 195/2022 last March, which included amending rules governing the registration of factories qualified to export their products to Egypt, and contained in ministerial decree no. 43/2016 with the aim of facilitating procedures for companies and setting specific timelines for registration.

Companies wishing to export to Egypt must renew documents that have an expiration date within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of expiry.

The press statement highlighted that the factory registration unit at the GOEIC reviews documents submitted by companies for registration in order to ensure that the company or factory is an existing entity and subjects its products to quality control systems, and it includes a list of documents that need to be renewed — namely quality certificates, trademarks, and industrial registry.

The ministry pointed out that if there is a document that has expired, a warning will be sent for a period of two weeks on the authority’s website, and if it is not renewed, the suspension procedures will be started for a year. The corporate commissioners are fully aware of these procedures as they sign declarations to renew all expired documents.

With regard to the names of some companies that were included in the list issued by the authority recently — whether suspended or struck off — these companies did not provide the required documents, and so legal measures were taken to implement the rules of the registration system, bearing in mind that the GOEIC writes off the names of companies that reconcile their positions on a timely basis.

Since the beginning of the current year, 122 companies have reconciled their status, according to the statement.

The official spokesperson for the ministry affirmed that the economic and commercial relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are witnessing a remarkable development in light of the friendly relations that link the leadership, government, and peoples of the two brotherly countries.

From this point of view, the official spokesperson denied the issuance of any decisions by the ministry that would prevent the export of Saudi products to the Egyptian market, stressing the ministry’s keenness to provide the necessary facilities for Saudi companies, whether they are investing in or exporting to the Egyptian market.