Deputy Minister of Finance for Tax Policies Amr El-Monayer said that the proceeds of the Tax Dispute Committees amounted to EGP 15bn. The committee had received some 14,000 cases on income and sales taxes and solved 5,400 requests of them. He added that the disputes committee are working to complete the remaining requests, noting that the parliament has approved extending the Tax Dispute Law for two years. The official announcement will be made within days. According to the law, the request to settle a dispute can be submitted by the taxpayer or their representative to the Egyptian Tax Authority. The requests should include the subject of the dispute, the number of the suit or appeal or the request for conciliation, and copies of supporting documents must be attached to this application. There are 15 Tax Dispute Committees in different areas of Egypt working on solving income tax disputes and four committees working on Value Added Tax (VAT) disputes. El-Monayer said that the committees have received 50% of the total requests over the last three months, in July, August, and September 2017, since the law was imposed. Moreover, he explained that as soon as the law is extended, a supreme committee will be formed to oversee the its implementation, which will also extend to cover real estate tax disputes. The supreme committee will ensure that all subcommittees are following the same policies. The Ministry of Finance expects, with the beginning of the application of the law, the proceeds to reach EGP 15-18bn. The Ministry of Finance had formed 25 committees to solve tax disputes, including 15 committees focused on income tax and 10 committees on sales taxes. In addition, the committees also look into other types of tax, such as commercial and industrial profit taxes, income, salaries, sales and stamp taxes, real estate wealth, and even disputes that may arise during the validity period of the law set for a year during the application of VAT. The financier has the right to return to the court to settle the dispute, as the law governing the termination of disputes provides for case suspension for a period of three months that could be renewed once. If a settlement approved by the financier is not reached during that period, the dispute is then reconsidered by the court. Meanwhile, if a solution is reached, the court concerned with the arbitration is advised with the settlement.
