New customs system in effect in Egypt" from 10/01/2021

Starting from the 1st of October, the new Egyptian Customs system ACI (Advance Cargo Information) will come into operation, aimed at the dematerialization of documents and facilitating trade.

The new system requires the exporter to register cargo shipments destined for Egypt on the Cargo X blockchain platform at least 48 hours before the shipment's departure.

To access the system, the exporter must register on the Cargo X platform (company account registration and subsequent registration of authorized operators to use the platform within the company).

From the 1st of October, it will be mandatory to follow the following procedure: -The exporter sends the invoice or pre-invoice of the export operation to the importer who inserts it into the 'National Single Window for Egyptian Foreign Trade Facilitation' (NAFEZA) to obtain pre-approval for import from the Egyptian Customs and the ACID (Advance Cargo Information Declaration) number to be communicated to the exporter; -The exporter proceeds with the loading of the shipment documents (commercial invoice, Bill of lading, and any other documents to be agreed with the importer) identified with the ACID number on the Cargo X platform at least 48 hours before the export shipment's departure. The original documents for accompanying the shipment are delivered to the carrier and guarantee that the goods are correctly cleared at the destination.

The ACI system will only involve goods entering Egypt through seaports from the 1st of October 2021. Later on, there is no information yet about the timing, the procedure will also be extended to goods entering Egypt from airports and land routes.

All the necessary information is available in English on the dedicated page of the Egyptian Government: https://www.nafeza.gov.eg/en/pages/15