Egypt no longer uses the former General Sales Tax system. It was replaced by Value Added Tax in September 2016.
For current calculations, use the Egypt VAT Calculator.
What happened to GST in Egypt?
Egypt’s General Sales Tax was governed by Law No. 11 of 1991. In 2016, the country introduced Value Added Tax under VAT Law No. 67 of 2016, which repealed the former General Sales Tax law.
The VAT law took effect on 8 September 2016. The standard VAT rate was initially 13% for the 2016/2017 fiscal year and increased to 14% at the beginning of the 2017/2018 fiscal year.
Why did Egypt replace GST with VAT?
The former General Sales Tax had a relatively limited tax base, particularly because many services were outside its scope.
VAT was introduced as part of a broader tax reform intended to:
- Cover a wider range of goods and services
- Reduce the cascading of tax between stages of production and distribution
- Allow businesses to deduct eligible tax paid on their purchases
- Improve tax administration and compliance
- Increase government revenue and help address Egypt’s budget deficit
Under VAT, tax is generally collected at different stages of the supply chain, while registered businesses can deduct eligible input VAT. This makes VAT broader and more systematic than the former General Sales Tax.
Does Egypt currently have GST?
No. Egypt’s current general consumption tax is Value Added Tax, locally called ضريبة القيمة المضافة.
The standard VAT rate is 14%, although exemptions, zero-rating and separate Table Tax rules apply to certain goods and services.
Use the current Egypt VAT Calculator to add or remove the standard 14% VAT from a price.
Official information
For official details, consult the Egyptian Tax Authority and Egypt’s VAT Law No. 67 of 2016.