CABINET WATCH- Tougher (and more expensive) penalties for insulting state employees on duty under legislative changes to penal code: The Madbouly Cabinet greenlit in its weekly meeting yesterday amendments to the penal code to give the state sharper teeth to clamp down on insult and batteries against government employees on duty, according to a statement. The penalties apply to verbal insults and disrespectful gestures against state employees including court officials, police officers, healthcare workers, teachers, and academics. Also covered: Assaulting or resisting police officers, and encounters with public employees that result in injuries are among violations. These crimes now incur prison terms anywhere between one year and ten, and fines of up to EGP 100k. The penalties are tougher in cases pertaining to the harassment of judges or court employees while a court is in session. The amendments will now be up for a final vote by the House of Representatives before being signed into law by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

The changes are significant: As the century-old penal code currently stands, the fines for offending state employees are sometimes as low as EGP 200-500, meaning the new figures can be up to 500 times higher in some instances. Prison sentences are also generally lighter at the moment, ranging between three months and 10 years.

Penalties for vandalizing state-owned property: The changes set prison terms of up to one year and fines of EGP 100-200k for vandalizing properties and vehicles either fully or partially owned by the state, including educational facilities and public hospitals. If the action of vandalism is considered a terrorist act, the perpetrator can face a life imprisonment sentence.

Also approved by cabinet yesterday: Companies will be exempt from a requirement in the Unified Tax Act to hand the Tax Authority (TA) a detailed breakdown of its transactions with a subsidiary or related party based abroad if these transactions are worth less than EGP 8 mn. If proposed amendments to the act approved by cabinet yesterday pass the House, companies that are not exempt would be required to pay between 1-3% of the value of the transactions if they fail to submit the breakdown to the TA.

Other decisions from the cabinet table:

• Approving amendments to a law governing the Financial Regulatory Authority to require the FRA to improve how it measures its performance and compile an annual report that will be reviewed by the president, prime minister, and House of Representatives;
• Ratifying an Egypt-UAE double taxation treaty and agreement to prevent income tax evasion signed in Abu Dhabi last November.