Five unnamed companies are being prosecuted for missing the deadline to sign up for the government’s new unified tax platform, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement. The Egyptian Tax Authority had issued warnings to the companies before taking legal action, the statement added. The electronic platform’s pilot phase was launched on 1 January, with 11k of the country’s largest taxpayers required to file returns and pay taxes through the digital system. The move to the unified tax platform will help the state ensure better oversight and put an end to tax evasion, the ministry has previously said.