The plan follows a recent approval by the People's Assembly – while ratifying the new State budget - of amendments into Tax Law articles related to new incomes, said Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali, the Minister of Finance. The amendments stipulate that all business and industrial employers as well as professionals (lawyers, doctors, engineers, engineering consultants, etc.) will have to issue receipts for any purchases, or fees/commissions charged  to provide services. The receipt must show clearly the date of the purchase, or the service, and the exact amount paid. The seller or service-provider will have to present the billing documents to the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) whenever they are required to.

According to this legislative amendment, failure to issue a receipt falls within the scope of tax evasion, which is punishable by the law, Mr. Ahmed Refaat, Head of ETA pointed out. The amendment aims at rewarding the committed taxpayer, and urging defaulting ones to follow in their footsteps. By so doing, taxation would reflect actual transactions, whether profit-making or loss-making, and prevent the exaggerated estimation of income tax bases, since the accounting process would rely on real income or actual cost documents. All these new procedures will come into force as of next July.