The Egyptian Ministry of Finance is negotiating with approximately 18 banks to electronically collect 100% of dues from taxes and customs. The move would save the state's public treasury an estimated LE4 billion, according to Ahmed Salem al-Baz, adviser to the Minister of Finance and President of the Electronic Government Collection and Payment Unit. The potential move would be the first step toward electronically collecting the rest of government fees. Al-Baz in an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm said the electronic revenues for taxes has reached around LE2 billion since the introduction of the new system in October 2009. Revenues from customs has reached around LE2.7 billion from around 32,000 transactions, al-Baz said. The electronic system processes transactions in five days, according to al-Baz, while processing checks--the previous standard form of payment--took around one month. Growth in the electronic system of payments stand to benefit all parties involved, al-Baz added by decreasing cash circulation and, as a result, limiting inflation. The new system also prevents cashier collusion and corruption. Al-Baz said banks will enjoy a larger customer base because of the electronic system. Translated from the Arabic Edition. .
