Egypt moves to tame lawless e-commerce sector
While Egypt's e-commerce activities witnessed significant growth in 2017, laws governing electronic sales and purchases are expected to further boost the sector.
Egypt's e-commerce sector greatly expanded over the course of 2017. According to a statement issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Dec. 27, Egypt expects to double its e-commerce by 2020 under a national strategy by the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and UNCTAD.
The ministry is working to promote electronic transactions in rural areas and improve high-speed broadband services there. The joint effort aims to modernize Egypt’s Post Authority, bolster the legal and regulatory framework for e-commerce, build trust in online payments, encourage government employees to use e-procurement and strengthen training and apprenticeships in areas like online store management, digital marketing and data analytics.
Ali al-Kayal, a member of the parliament’s Industry Committee, submitted a bill Dec. 10 to regulate e-commerce transactions. Kayal told Al-Monitor over the phone, “All of the parliament’s committees agree on the need for a bill to protect the state's lost funds and impose taxes on electronic transactions that can amount to billions of [Egyptian] pounds.”
He added, “The bill also aims to protect citizens from fraudulent transactions,” saying the legislation will enable consumers to recover their money in case of fraud.
