Law 148 of 2026: a unified departure fee and a cement levy

The cement levy is now EGP 35 on every tonne of cement produced, where it was computed on the clay used by the factories with a minimum of EGP 35 per tonne of cement, and the fee on leaving the country is now EGP 100 in all cases, after the removal of the reduced rate of EGP 50 for foreigners arriving for tourism to seven governorates. Both changes were made by Law 148 of 2026 amending certain provisions of Law 147 of 1984 imposing the state financial resources development fee; Law 148 was published in the Official Gazette, issue 30 bis (A), on 28 July 2026 and applies from the day following its publication (article 2 of Law 148). It replaced items 5 and 19 of article 1 of Law 147 and is one of seven laws published in the same issue, reviewed together in Egypt's July 2026 tax package.

Item 19 obliges cement factories to remit the fee due to the Egyptian Tax Authority (the ETA) on the cement they produce. Item 5 now reads (unofficial translation): "EGP 100 on leaving the territory of the Republic, excluding drivers of public passenger and goods vehicles, Egyptian and foreign, and workers on routes or trucks that habitually cross the borders of the Arab Republic of Egypt."

Item 19 before and after the amendment

Before the amendment, item 19 was headed "quarry exploitation licences", in the text substituted by article 1 of Law 153 of 2018, published in the Official Gazette, issue 25 bis (P), on 27 June 2018:

"EGP (100) on every tonne of clay used by cement production factories, at a rate of 1/3 tonne for every tonne of cement. In all cases, the minimum of this fee shall be EGP 35 on every tonne of cement produced. The competent tax office shall collect this amount from the factories on the cement they produce."

Law 148 changed the heading to "producer of cement of all kinds", and the text now reads:

"EGP 35 on every tonne of cement produced, and factories are obliged to remit the value of the fee due to the Egyptian Tax Authority on the cement they produce."

On the previous text's own terms, EGP 100 per tonne of clay, at one third of a tonne for each tonne of cement, comes to EGP 33.33 per tonne of cement. That is below the minimum, so on that computation the amount due on each tonne of cement produced was EGP 35 under that text as well. What Law 148 changed is the heading; the base and the rate, now a flat EGP 35 per tonne of cement produced instead of a charge computed on clay; and the collection wording: the text now obliges the factories to remit to the ETA, where it previously charged the competent tax office with collecting from them.

The fee in production cost

The fee is due "on every tonne of cement produced", and factories remit it "on the cement they produce", so the event that triggers it is production, not sale, delivery or receipt of the price. The obligation sits with the producer, not with the distributor or the purchaser, and does not wait on a sale being completed. This link to production was already in the previous text, in its minimum and in its collection.

In our view, the fee is due on a tonne that goes into closing inventory although no revenue has yet arisen on it, and it is a cost of production that enters the valuation of closing inventory, not a selling expense. Treating it as a selling expense takes it out of closing inventory, so the current period bears a levy on output not yet sold. Law 148 does not change this treatment, nor does it in itself call for an update to the standard cost per tonne, since on the arithmetic above the amount due per tonne was EGP 35 before and after it.

The departure fee

The amendment neither introduced the departure fee nor raised its general amount. Item 5, as substituted by article 2 of Law 31 of 2023, published in the Official Gazette, issue 24 (supplement), on 15 June 2023, set "EGP 100 on leaving the territory of the Republic, except for foreigners arriving for the purpose of tourism only to the governorates of Cairo, Giza, the Red Sea, South Sinai, Luxor, Aswan and Matrouh, for whom the fee shall be EGP 50".

The new text drops that category and keeps the rest of the wording, including the exclusion. A foreigner arriving for tourism to one of those governorates, who paid EGP 50 on departure, now pays EGP 100, twice the previous amount. The exclusion does not depend on nationality: the text names Egyptians and foreigners together.

What we recommend

• For cement producers: tie the computation to the production quantity record rather than to sales invoices, and set the remittance cycle to the ETA against output.
• In the accounts: charge the fee to production cost and include it in unit cost when valuing closing inventory.
• For tour operators: update programme pricing and existing contracts to reflect EGP 100 rather than EGP 50 for each traveller to whom the reduced rate applied.
• For cross-border road transport operators: schedule the staff to whom the departure fee exclusion applies and document their status.

The firm's Tax Department reviews the computation of the fee and its accounting effect on production cost and inventory valuation.

Mahmoud Nassef, Founder Partner
Chartered Accountant, Ministry of Finance, Egypt

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.