The House of Representatives, headed by Hanafi Gebaly, approved Sunday, a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of the Unified Tax Procedures Law promulgated by Law No. 206 of 2020. The House of Representatives had referred the draft law, in its session on 6 December, to the Joint Committee of the Plan and Budget Committee and the two offices of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs and Economic Affairs Committees to discuss it, study it and prepare a report on it. This amendment is an international obligation of Egypt's that must be fulfilled. It gives Egypt the right to reciprocate treatment with 172 countries in the world that have joined this international agreement. The law will ensure that the Egyptian Tax Authority will have the exchange of information for tax purposes between the tax authorities in the countries that have international tax agreements with Egypt, and within the limits stipulated in the provisions of these agreements as well as with legal persons, allowing the exchange of information among themselves for the purposes of applying the law, and without violating the commercial, industrial or professional secrets of the taxpayer. The Ministry of Finance had confirmed that this amendment does not affect the confidentiality of the bank accounts of Egyptians, partners, or institutions operating in Egypt, and is limited only to assisting some foreign countries in verifying the commercial transactions of their nationals to deal with the possibilities of tax evasion. It allows the disclosure of information in banks for the purposes of exchanging information in implementation of the provisions of international tax agreements in force in Egypt. The amendment to the law stipulated: Article One: A second paragraph shall be added to the text of Article No. (78) of the Unified Tax Procedures Law promulgated by Law No. 206 of 2020, stating, "The provisions of Articles No. 140/142 of the Central Bank and Banking System Law promulgated by Law No. 194 of 2020 regarding the disclosure of information with banks, for the purposes of exchanging information, in implementation of the provisions of international tax agreements in force in Egypt. Article Two: This law shall be published in the Official newspaper, and shall come into force as of the day following the date of its publication. Hanafy Gebaly, Speaker of the House of Representatives, confirmed that the draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of the Unified Tax Procedures Law promulgated by Law No. 206 of 2022 does not affect the banking transactions of citizens within the country and the confidentiality of their accounts. During the discussion of the draft law, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said that the draft law amending the unified tax procedures is very accurate, technically and legally, and has important implications for the state. It is in implementation of Egypt's international obligations and the agreement it recently approved and the multilateral agreement on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters, especially that within days, Egypt will be part of the peer assessment at the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Gebaly explained that the draft law is limited to exchanging information between countries with the aim of combating tax evasion and monitoring evaders concealing their wealth and financial assets.
