VAT and invoicing in Egypt (2026): e-invoice and e-receipt

VAT in Egypt (ضريبة القيمة المضافة) was introduced by Law No. 67 of 2016 and is administered by the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA, مصلحة الضرائب المصرية). For a small business the defining feature is that invoicing is digital: business invoices go through the ETA's e-invoicing system, and sales to consumers through the e-receipt system. This guide covers rates, registration, returns, the 2025 changes, both electronic systems and a worked example in Egyptian pounds. Rules are as of October 2026.

VAT in Egypt at a glance

Input VAT on exempt supplies, or on supplies that bear only the table tax, cannot be recovered. VAT on services bought from non-resident suppliers without an Egyptian establishment is accounted for by the Egyptian business customer under the reverse charge.

What changed in 2025

• Law No. 157 of 2025 raised VAT on construction services from 5% to 14% and allowed input VAT recovery on them. Advertising services are generally taxed at 14%, and a 10% one-time table tax applies to crude oil.
• Decree No. 418 of 2025 lets certain continuous construction contracts apply 14% to 36% of the invoice value, without input VAT recovery.
• Instruction No. 45 of 2025 sets the criteria and documents needed to zero-rate exported services.

Who must register for VAT

• Resident businesses: registration is required once annual turnover exceeds EGP 500,000.
• Foreign businesses register as soon as they carry out a taxable activity in Egypt. Non-resident suppliers of services to Egyptian consumers use a simplified registration system.

VAT returns and payment

• Frequency: monthly.
• Deadline: within one month after the end of the reporting period, through the ETA's online portal.
• Payment: at the same time as the return.
• Late filing and late payment bring interest and additional penalties.

Invoices: the ETA e-invoice is your tax invoice

Since Decree No. 188 of 2020, business invoices in Egypt are electronic. The system was rolled out in phases from November 2020, starting with large taxpayers, and by 2023 all VAT-registered businesses were required to use it. Only e-invoices are recognised as support for deductible costs, and government bodies have refused paper invoices since 1 October 2021.

How an e-invoice works:

1. 1Your software creates the invoice in the ETA's format (JSON or XML).
2. 2You sign it digitally, with a USB token or a hardware security module.
3. 3You submit it to the ETA, which validates it, gives it a unique identifier (UUID) and passes it to your customer, who can accept or reject it within a short window.
4. 4The validated invoice can be shared as a PDF with a QR code.

The content of the invoice is whatever the ETA's document format requires: the issuer and the receiver, the date and your internal number, a description of each item, quantities and prices, each tax and the totals. Credit and debit notes are electronic documents in the same system, so a mistake is corrected with a note, not by editing a validated invoice.

Records: the general statute of limitation for tax assessments is five years (six where there is tax evasion), and e-invoices must be kept for at least five years in a form that allows immediate access during an audit.

E-receipts for sales to consumers

The e-receipt (الإيصال الإلكتروني) system extends the same idea to business-to-consumer sales. After a pilot in 2022, the ETA has brought in businesses in successive phases. In practice:

• Each point-of-sale device must be registered and linked to your tax registration number before it issues receipts.
• Receipts are sent to the ETA within 24 hours of issue, in batches.
• For a receipt to an individual of EGP 150,000 or more, the buyer's national ID is required (current receipt versions).
• A return receipt can be issued up to 540 days after the original sale.
• The receipt carries a QR code that lets the customer check it on the ETA portal.

E-invoices and e-receipts must go through software connected to the ETA's systems with your digital signature. Clientlly is not connected to the ETA and is not certified for Egyptian e-invoicing or e-receipts, so you need an integrated solution for that part.

Worked example in Egyptian pounds

A small furniture maker files its monthly return:

• Sales: EGP 300,000 before VAT. Output VAT at 14%: 300,000 × 0.14 = EGP 42,000. Customers pay EGP 342,000.
• Purchases: wood, fittings and services for EGP 150,000 plus EGP 21,000 VAT, backed by e-invoices from registered suppliers.
• VAT due: 42,000 − 21,000 = EGP 21,000, filed and paid within one month after the end of the month.

To find the VAT inside a price: EGP 1,140 × 14 ÷ 114 = EGP 140.

Common mistakes

1. 1Claiming input VAT on a paper invoice. Only validated e-invoices support the deduction.
2. 2Missing the 24-hour window for e-receipts after a weekend or a connection problem.
3. 3Forgetting the table tax on products that carry it, or recovering input VAT where the table tax alone applies.
4. 4Applying the old 5% rate to construction services after the 2025 change.
5. 5Not registering the point-of-sale device before it starts issuing receipts.
6. 6Letting the digital signature certificate expire, which stops invoice submission.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly numbers your invoices sequentially in each series, applies Egypt's VAT rates on every invoice and links credit notes to the original invoice. It keeps sales and purchase VAT books per rate, including exports and reverse charge, reads the VAT from scanned purchase receipts, and prepares tax reports for you and your accountant with Excel and PDF exports. You can import clients, suppliers and products from Excel or CSV, get low-stock notifications and reorder suggestions, and follow your business in the mobile app. See the accounting module and our guide to moving from Excel to business software.

Clientlly does not submit e-invoices or e-receipts to the ETA: the legally valid documents must be issued through an ETA-integrated solution.