Second phase of Tax Authority’s e-filing rollout to take place in 1Q2021: More than 2.5k companies will be required to submit tax returns and sales receipts electronically when the government rolls out the second phase of its e-filing system in 1Q2021, said Mohsen El-Gayar, Director of Taxpayer Services at the Tax Authority, according to Al Mal. The authority hasn’t decided how many phases it will use to fully roll out the system to all Egyptian businesses, El Gayar said.

About the system: Companies will be able to submit tax returns and sales receipts electronically on the system, which will also give businesses the ability to complete audit requests online, eliminating the requirement to maintain physical receipts of sales invoices. This all comes as part of the government’s planned unified digital tax payment system, which will enable businesses to file and pay income tax, stamp tax, VAT and real estate tax through a single online platform.

We had last week reported that the system would be introduced across the board starting from 15 November, thanks to some ambiguities in the statement issued by the Finance Ministry. Only the 134 companies that included MM Group, El Sewedy Cables, Beni Suef Cement, Coca-Cola and P&G Egypt will be required to electronically file before the end of the year.