The ministerial decision states that it is not permissible to release these products imported for the purpose of trading unless they are produced by registered factories or imported from companies that own the mark or their registered distribution centers, for some of the commodities specified by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in its decision.
According to the authority’s website, the list included the most prominent importing companies whose products were banned from entering the Egyptian market, namely, “Unilever, the British multinational company, the South Korean LG company, Dania Foods Ltd., Mobaco for Industry and Trade, Saudi Almarai, and the Advanced Furniture Industry Company.” Jordan, the Middle East Pharmaceutical Industries of Saudi origin, and the Arafat Corporation for Import and Export.
In early March, Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea issued a decision to amend some provisions and items of Ministerial Resolution No. 43 of 2016 regarding amending the rules governing the registration of factories qualified to export their products to Egypt, noting that the decision comes within the framework of the state’s efforts to facilitate procedures for the business community and facilitate the movement of import and export .
The minister said that the decision stipulates the cancellation of the third paragraph of Article One of Resolution 43, which stipulates that “a decision shall be issued by the Minister concerned with foreign trade, who shall be exempted from any or all of the registration requirements in the cases he decides.” The decision stipulated replacing the text of item (Third) with Article Two of Resolution No. 43 so that “registration in the aforementioned register shall take place as soon as documents are submitted in full, provided that the person concerned delivers evidence of registration within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of completing the required documents, and in In case of doubt about the authenticity of the submitted documents, registration in the register shall not take place until after verifying their authenticity, and it is permissible, upon the request of the registration applicant, to inspect the company or factory to ensure the authenticity of the documents, after the approval of the minister concerned with foreign trade.
Jameh added at the time that the decision added 3 new clauses to the second article of Resolution No. 43 stipulating that “it is permissible to submit documents for registration through the embassies and consulates of the governments of the countries concerned,” and to “renew documents that have a validity date within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of expiry. validity, and “publishing what is recorded or written off monthly in the Egyptian Gazette and on the website of the General Organization for Export and Import Control,” pointing out that the decision added two new articles numbered (the second bis) and (the second bis 1), where the second article bis 1 states: “Establishing a committee by a decision of the minister concerned with foreign trade to look into grievances about non-registration or removal from the registry and submit the grievance to the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector to be presented to the Grievances Committee, provided that the grievance is resolved within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of its submission, and the grievant is notified the reasons for non-registration or cancellation, and the corrective measures that must be taken on his part to re-register.” The second article bis states that “the write-off from the register shall be carried out by a reasoned decision issued by the President of the General Organization for Export and Export Control This is in cases where any of the registration conditions are missing. The cancellation decision may be appealed to the aforementioned grievance committee within 60 days from the date of notifying the person concerned.