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Tuesday, 19 February 2019

Egypt, Uber sign agreement to pay VAT retroactively

Uber has agreed to charge and remit VAT in Egypt: Ride-hailing app Uber signed on Sunday an agreement with the Finance Ministry that will see the ride-hailing service charge and remit value-added tax (VAT) on its operations in Egypt, state-run news agency MENA quotes Tax Authority head Abdel Azeem Hussein as saying. Reports in the domestic press have Finance Minister Mohamed Maait confirming the agreement. A senior government official told us in parallel that the agreement will see Uber remit VAT retroactive to 2016. The news comes as Uber raised its fares last week.

Background: Rival service Careem has been tacking VAT onto the cost of its rides since early 2018, Hazem Ghorab, the company’s head of corporate comms in Egypt, told Reuters. The Tax Authority had issued a directive requiring ride-hailing apps to charge VAT on transactions last year.

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