Company incorporation through GAFI in Egypt: steps and documents

Executive summary

• The Investor Services Centre is the unit through which the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) provides company incorporation services (article 21 of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017; article 1 bis of Companies Law No. 159 of 1981).
• GAFI's 2026 guide sets out two routes: its online portal for every legal form, and incorporation at the Centre itself for joint stock and one-person companies only; the service time is one working day.
• A bank certificate of capital deposited is required for a joint stock company or a partnership limited by shares (10%, raised to 25% within three months and to 100% within five years) and for a one-person company (the full capital), and for no other form.
• The guide asks for no lease from any legal form, but a lease or title deed is attached to the tax registration application, depending on the nature of the activity.
• A foreign founder files a passport and a security-clearance form, and a foreign agent must hold a valid residence permit.
• After registration: tax registration within 30 days of starting activity, social insurance within two weeks, and VAT registration once sales reach EGP 500,000; since Law No. 150 of 2026 a temporary eight-month tax card may be requested, which cannot be used to issue electronic invoices or receipts.

Two routes to incorporation

Under article 21 of the Investment Law, the Investor Services Centre "provides services for incorporating companies and establishing their branches" and other company matters, and article 1 bis of the Companies Law gives GAFI incorporation and post-incorporation services. GAFI's 2026 guide sets out two routes:

1. The online portal, for every form: an account and workspace on GAFI's portal, to which the documents are uploaded for review; the fees are then paid by credit card and the documents e-signed, and the company's documents are sent to the workspace. It is the only route the guide shows for the LLC, the partnership limited by shares, partnerships and the individual establishment. 2. The Centre itself, "for one-person and joint stock companies only": the front-desk lawyer checks the trade name and the documents and issues the contract and the registration forms, which are e-signed, and the fees are paid; the notarisation documents are then signed at the investment notarisation office in the incorporation hall, staff of the incorporation follow-up unit complete the commercial registration on the partners' behalf, and the commercial register is handed over as soon as the procedure is complete.

The guide sets the service time at one working day for every form.

Documents by legal form

The minimum capital figures and their legal basis are in Company forms in Egypt.

The extract confirms that the company's auditor is entitled to audit and certify the accounts of capital companies, so the auditor is chosen before incorporation. The lists for capital companies and the one-person company also ask for a legal adviser to the company registered at least at Court of Appeal level.

None of the guide's incorporation lists asks for a lease or proof of possession of premises, and the company must show its head office on its contracts, invoices and papers (article 6 of the Companies Law). However, "the lease/title contract" and the commercial register are among the documents attached to the tax registration application, depending on the nature of each activity (article 24 of the executive regulation of the Unified Tax Procedures Law, Minister of Finance Decree No. 286 of 2021).

What applies to a foreign founder

A foreign national files a passport instead of a national ID, whether founder or agent; the guide requires a foreign agent to hold "a valid residence permit", and every form's list asks for a security-clearance form for foreign founders or partners and, in a one-person company, for a foreign manager as well.

Article 3 of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 provides that "the State guarantees the foreign investor treatment similar to that granted to the national investor", and grants non-Egyptian investors residence for the project's duration "without prejudice to the laws regulating it". Neither the Companies Law nor its regulation sets a nationality condition for a founder or manager since Ministerial Decree No. 256 of 2018 removed the requirement that one LLC manager be Egyptian (article 281 of the regulation), without prejudice to the special laws on certain activities and their licensing conditions.

Fees as published in the 2026 guide

The guide sets out the incorporation fees for capital companies and the one-person company in a single table whose figures depend on the law under which the company is incorporated:

Partnerships have a separate table (commercial register entry EGP 64, or EGP 76 where there are foreign partners), as does the individual establishment.

Registrations that follow incorporation

The guide does not mention a tax card in the incorporation service, which ends with the commercial register and the company's documents. Tax registration is the taxpayer's own obligation: it must apply to the competent tax office "within thirty days of the date of starting the activity" (article 25 of Unified Tax Procedures Law No. 206 of 2020); the office issues the card within five working days of the application, and no governmental or non-governmental body may deal with the taxpayer except through the tax card or the registration certificate, "provided that the tax card forms part of the procedures of incorporation or of licensing to practise the profession or activity, or its renewal" (article 27). The Egyptian Tax Authority (the ETA) states in its FAQ that the registration application is made online on its website.

By exception to article 27, Law No. 150 of 2026 added article 27 bis: the ETA may, on the taxpayer's application, grant "a temporary tax card valid for eight months for the purposes of completing the incorporation and licensing of its activity"; amounts falling due to the ETA during its validity are payable from its expiry, the card may not be used "to issue electronic receipts or invoices", and the Head of the ETA sets its form and procedures by decision (see the temporary tax card).

A company registers for VAT once its sales of taxable and exempt goods and services reach EGP 500,000 in any financial year or part of one, within thirty days of reaching that threshold (article 16 of Law No. 67 of 2016); an importer of taxable goods or services for trading purposes, an exporter or a distribution agent registers "whatever the volume of its transactions".

A company that employs one or more workers covered by Social Insurance and Pensions Law No. 148 of 2019 is an employer (article 1): it must apply to the National Organization for Social Insurance for subscription "within two weeks of the date of starting the activity", and file each worker's details within two weeks of the worker joining (articles 17 and 19 of the executive regulation, Prime Minister's Decree No. 2437 of 2021).

What this requires

• Settle the legal form and the law under which the company will be incorporated first; the route, the documents and the fees all depend on them.
• Obtain the bank certificate where the form requires it and, for capital companies and the one-person company, choose the auditor and obtain the extract from the Register of Accountants and Auditors before applying.
• Prepare foreign founders' passports and security-clearance forms, and check that a foreign agent's residence permit is valid.
• Do not delay incorporation for a lease, but secure one before applying for tax registration, or assess the need for a temporary card if premises or licensing will take longer, bearing in mind that it cannot issue electronic invoices.
• Diarise the post-incorporation deadlines: tax registration within 30 days and social insurance within two weeks of starting activity, and track the EGP 500,000 VAT threshold.
• Keep regular accounting records and books from the start of activity; they are required of every taxpayer carrying on a commercial, industrial, craft or professional activity, without prejudice to Law No. 6 of 2025 (the first paragraph of article 38 of Law No. 206 of 2020, as replaced by Law No. 150 of 2026; see mandatory commercial books).

The firm's Corporate Legal Department follows the incorporation through the Investor Services Centre, prepares the documents for the legal form chosen, and coordinates with the auditor and the authorities responsible for the registrations that follow incorporation.

Mahmoud Nassef — Chartered Accountant (Egyptian Register), Founder Partner

Member, Egyptian Society of Accountants & Auditors
Member, Egyptian Tax Society
Member, Egyptian Society for Public Finance and Taxation

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Disclaimer: This bulletin is prepared for general information on the legislation in force at the date of its publication. It does not constitute a professional opinion or tax or legal advice on any particular matter, and it should not be relied upon in place of advice based on an examination of the circumstances of each case. Nassef & Partners International accepts no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, in reliance on its contents. The positions stated remain subject to subsequent legislation and decisions.