260K business have been registered under the value-added tax (VAT) with 200K more expected to be registered in the coming period, said senior Tax Authority official Mohamed Showqy. From these new entrants around 138K will be businesses which have recently met the EGP 500K threshold to be taxed, Al Mal reports. The ministry has been sifting through all available tax records to draw up a shortlist of companies that must register for the VAT and has been informing these companies that they must register within the month allotted.

In other VAT news, mobile network operators have begun issuing and distributing new mobile recharge cards under the new post-VAT pricing scheme agreed upon with the Finance Ministry, Al Shorouk reports. The costs of the cards will rise 10%, with 4% of these being reimbursed to the consumer through extra airtime. Sources stated, however, that the MNOs do not plan to print the new prices on the cards themselves, raising concerns that retailers will use the opportunity to price gouge. At a press conference yesterday, Tax Authority chief Abdel Monem Mattar stated that prices of mobile phone bills should rise between 5-7% as a result of the VAT, and urged consumers to be well-informed on the official pricing. Mattar also warned that cost of transporting goods will also rise, as the 13% baseline VAT will apply to the purchase price of trucks. The same could not be said of cars, which has seen its fixed tax rate drop. Air Conditioners, some refrigerators and television sets have also seen the fixed rate drop.