Wednesday 23/July/2025 – 03:20 PM
A number of Egyptian youth received surprise messages stating that customs taxes are entitled to their mobile phones, despite their assertion that they legally recorded them at the airport and that they are covered by the tax exemption in force in Egypt.
Despite registration and exemption … complaints due to sudden customs fines on phones
An Egyptian youth working in the field of digital media expressed his strong dissatisfaction after he was surprised to register a customs fine estimated at 20,000 pounds on his mobile phone, despite his assertion that he is a tax registrar and exempt from paying the fees in accordance with the laws of his country.
In the Post, published by the young man named Abdel Rahman Mustafa through social media platforms, the young man said that he does not possess this amount at all, and that he bought the phone for the purpose of work, not to lime or boast, stressing that the tax exemption law is what prompted him to take this step.
He added that he was surprised by the application of a new law retroactively that caused the imposition of the fine despite his commitment to all legal procedures, which sparked his frustration and pushing him to express his feeling of injustice.
He stressed that he did not violate the law, and that the phone represents a basic work tool like the camera for the photographer, noting that the sudden fine destroyed his professional plans and affected his financial stability.
Asma, one of the affected, said that she bought a phone from Saudi Arabia and his record upon her arrival at Cairo Airport, where the employee assured her that there are no additional fees, but after only one day, she received a message that it should be paid for a tax, or the phone would be closed within 90 days.
As for Basant, she said that she was in the United States about two months ago, and she bought only one phone and recorded it at the airport according to the law that allows the citizen to enter a phone exempt from the fees once every year. But she was surprised by a message calling her to pay customs duties, and when she contacted the hotline, she was told that the decision on exemption was canceled only one day ago and that she was required to pay.
