Egypt announced that the exceptional customs exemption for mobile phones imported with a passenger will end on January 21, 2026.
Egypt’s customs authority and its telecom regulator ended the special customs exemption for mobile phones that travellers bring into the country, starting at 12 noon on Jan. 21, 20261.
The Egyptian Customs Authority, which collects import taxes at the border, made the announcement together with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), which oversees phones and phone networks1. Both bodies published the notice on Jan. 20, 2026, one day before the change2.
In short, a traveller arriving in Egypt can no longer bring in one foreign phone free of tax. The phone now carries customs taxes and fees, and the owner must pay them to keep using it on Egyptian networks.
What is changing for phones carried by travellers?
Since January 2025, Egypt has run a control system for mobile phones that come from abroad2. The authorities call it the governance system for imported mobile phones. It records each foreign phone that connects to an Egyptian network.
How the phone exemption ended
When that system began, the government added a temporary exemption. It let each passenger bring one mobile phone free of customs duty2. The exemption was meant to last only until Egypt had enough locally made phones that pay no customs duty1.
That exemption ended at 12 noon on Jan. 21, 20263. From that moment, a phone that arrives in a passenger’s bag is treated like other imported phones. Its owner must pay the taxes and fees that apply to it.
The customs notice does not state the rate of tax or the amount of the fees. It also does not list which phone models are covered. It speaks of mobile phones in general.
Who still enters Egypt with a tax-free phone?
Two groups keep a limited exemption. The customs notice names Egyptians who live abroad and tourists who come to Egypt1.
A traveller’s phone, by who carries it
| Question | Most travellers | Tourists and Egyptians abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free phone after Jan. 21, 2026 | No | Yes, for 90 days |
| Taxes and fees due | Yes | Not during the 90 days |
For these travellers, the phone stays free of customs tax for 90 days3. This lets a visitor use a personal phone during a normal stay. The notice does not say what happens to the phone of a visitor who stays longer than 90 days.
The Cabinet’s information centre, known as IDSC, repeated these points in a question-and-answer guide after the deadline3. The guide confirms the same noon deadline and the same 90-day rule for tourists and Egyptians abroad.
Why did Egypt end the phone exemption now?
The government links the decision to the growth of phone factories inside Egypt. The customs notice says 15 global phone makers have entered the Egyptian market since the control system began1. Together, these factories can make 20 million phones a year1.
Egypt’s local phone industry
The notice says this output is more than the local market needs1. It describes 2025 as a year of a "qualitative leap" for Egypt’s phone industry. The newest global models are now made in Egypt, according to the notice.
The authorities say the local phones are made by the same global makers, or under their direct technical supervision1. They say the phones have the same technical specifications and quality standards as those made abroad. The notice adds that they are sold at competitive prices in all shops and official company branches.
For the government, this ends the reason for the exemption. It was a bridge until local phones were available. With 20 million phones a year of local capacity, the authorities decided the bridge was no longer needed.
How do phone owners pay the taxes and fees?
The customs notice lists several ways to pay the taxes and fees on phones from abroad1. These are:
- The government’s "Telephony" mobile app
- Digital payment through banks
- Electronic wallets on a phone
What a phone owner must do
Owners also get time to pay. The notice gives a grace period of up to ninety days from first activation1. First activation means the first time the phone connects to an Egyptian network. During those 90 days, the owner can settle the phone’s status before the authorities take any regulatory action.
The notice does not spell out that action. Still, the owner has a clear date by which to pay: 90 days after the phone first connects.
The authorities also promise a new option. They say owners will be able to pay the taxes in instalments "in the coming period"1. The notice gives no start date for instalments.
What does the change mean for phone sellers and small importers?
The exemption covered only phones carried by a passenger. It was limited to one phone per traveller, so it never suited commercial shipments of phones. The control system for foreign phones has applied since January 20252.
The change still matters to small traders. Some people used the one-phone exemption to bring phones in for resale. That route is now closed. Every phone that enters in a traveller’s bag, except those of tourists and Egyptians abroad, now pays the same taxes as other imports.
This puts imported phones and locally made phones on a clearer footing. Locally made phones are not subject to customs duty, the notice says1. A shop that sells phones made in Egypt no longer competes with tax-free phones carried in by passengers.
For a buyer, the price gap between a foreign phone and a local phone now includes the full tax. For a seller of foreign phones, the taxes on each unit must be settled within the grace period.
Where can phone owners get help with the Jan. 21 rule?
The customs authority set up a hotline for questions about the Telephony app. It also lists four WhatsApp numbers for help: 01033151553, 01152118155, 01501592162 and 012000385801.
The NTRA also lists the change among its press releases2. Its release carries the title "End of exceptional exemption on imported mobile phones carried by passenger following success of local manufacturing at competitive prices"2.
The next step in the documents is the instalment plan. Once it starts, phone owners will be able to spread the taxes and fees over time instead of paying them in one sum within the grace period1.
Sources
- ↩ Ministry of Finance – Egyptian Customs Authority. https://customs.gov.eg/Home/NewsDetail/161
- ↩ Press Releases – National Telecom Regulatory Authority https://www.tra.gov.eg/en/media-center/press-releases/
- ↩ “Q&A” about the end of the exceptional exemption for imported mobile phone devices…. https://www.idsc.gov.eg/infograph/details/6010