The House of Representatives under Hanafi Gebali initially approved new amendments to the 2020 Unified Tax Procedures Law which were submitted by the government.
On December 6, the parliament referred the amendments to the budget and planning committee and the office of constitutional affairs and economic affairs committees for review.
The amendment complies with international agreements that were signed by Egypt and other countries who are members of the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, he said at a debate on the new amendments.
The amended law would add a paragraph to article 78 of the CBE law, which stipulates that articles 140 and 142 of CBE’s law on secrecy of banking accounts will not prevent banks from exchanging secret information on the personal accounts of their clients in compliance with international tax agreements effective in Egypt.
The Finance Ministry has earlier dismissed as groundless reports that the new amendment will breach the secrecy of the personal banking accounts of ordinary citizens.
It said the new amendment is just related to exchanging information in line with international agreements effective in Egypt and is by no means related to disclosing information on the personal accounts and deposits of citizens with Egyptian banks or divulging their industrial, commercial and professional secrets.
