Feasibility Study for an Import and Export Company in Egypt

How an import and export company makes and loses money

A small import company buys goods from a factory abroad in dollars, ships and clears them, then sells them in pounds to wholesalers, factories or shops. Its profit is the gap between the selling price and the landed cost at its warehouse, and that cost is not fully known on the day of the contract: the exchange rate on the day of the transfer, freight, customs duty on the actual tariff line, VAT, and port charges.

That is why an import and export company feasibility study starts with three numbers: the landed cost per unit, the effect of the exchange rate moving between ordering and selling, and the cash locked up from the first transfer to the supplier until the last sale. An exporter faces the same problem in reverse: it pays in pounds and collects in foreign currency weeks later. Distributing the goods to retailers on credit after they arrive has its own arithmetic, covered in a trading and distribution company feasibility study.

The Importers Register: owning the company is not the same as holding an import card

According to the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC), the General Department of the Importers Register issues the registration card "so that goods imported for trading can be released"; a business chooses from 21 commodity groups, the card is valid for five years and renewable, and registration is under Law 121 of 1982 as amended¹.

Andersen Egypt (June 2026) summarises the registration conditions for limited liability companies and partnerships: at least one year since incorporation, paid-up capital of at least EGP 2 million, annual turnover of at least EGP 5 million, a responsible import manager of Egyptian nationality, and a cash deposit or bank guarantee of EGP 200,000. Joint-stock companies need issued capital of at least EGP 5 million². Then, on 21 July 2026, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade issued Decree 271 of 2026 with new executive regulations for the law, in force from 22 July 2026³. According to an unofficial English translation of the text (August 2026), the one year, capital, turnover and guarantee keep the same figures, one-person companies are covered, and the person responsible for imports is someone who works at the company permanently and is enrolled in social insurance⁴, so a salary and contributions in your fixed costs. Law 4 of 2026, published on 2 April 2026, allowed the amounts in Article 2 to be paid in their equivalent in freely convertible foreign currencies accepted by the Central Bank⁵.

From Maher Consulting Firm's files: in practice the card is issued to a company only after at least one year from incorporation, with turnover of at least EGP 5 million and capital of at least EGP 2 million. Until then, the common route is to incorporate with e-commerce or trading activity and import through a licensed Egyptian importer. If the import activity is added later, the one year counts from the original incorporation date. Foreigners can own 100% of the company, provided there is an Egyptian manager responsible for the import activity and the other card conditions are met.

So build into the study a first year in which you import through a licensed importer and add that importer's fee to the landed cost, then an expected registration date, and check the conditions when you apply, because the new executive regulations were issued in July 2026. Maher Consulting Firm can handle the company formation.

Exporting has a separate register: no one may export, whether local products or goods previously imported for trading, unless their name is entered in the Exporters Register⁶.

Customs value and advance cargo registration

• The customs base: the value for customs purposes is the actual value of the goods "to which are added all actual costs and expenses paid in connection until the arrival at the port of destination", so freight and insurance are inside the duty base. Foreign currency is converted at the exchange rate announced by the Central Bank of Egypt on the date the customs declaration is registered, or the rate announced by a decree of the Minister (Article 16 of Customs Law 207 of 2020)⁷, not at the rate on the day you paid your supplier.
• Advance Cargo Information (ACI): mandatory for sea shipments since 1 October 2021, and based on the commercial invoice and bill of lading being available at least 48 hours before shipment⁸. If the preliminary registration number is missing from the shipping documents, the goods are re-shipped abroad without being unloaded, at the carrier's expense (Article 39)⁷.
• Supplier factory registration: for goods covered by Decree 43 of 2016 as amended, imports for trading are released only if made by a registered factory or supplied by the brand owner or its distribution centres registered in that register⁹. Check your product before the first payment.

VAT for importers and exporters

The law requires every importer of a taxable good for trading, and every exporter, to register whatever the size of its dealings (Article 16)¹⁰, and the Tax Authority confirms that for importers and exporters "there is no registration threshold"¹¹. VAT on imported goods is due at customs release, its base is the customs value plus customs duty and other taxes and fees, goods may not be finally released before it is paid, and a registered person may deduct it from the tax on its sales¹⁰. So it is not a cost, but cash you pay at the port and recover from your sales over several months.

Exports are zero-rated, and tax previously paid on their inputs is refunded within 45 days of the application, provided the export proceeds are remitted to a bank supervised by the Central Bank and the value of exports is not less than the value of their inputs¹⁰. So an export study must time the remittance of proceeds and the refund, not only the sales margin.

Illustrative example: one container of kitchenware from abroad

This is an illustrative example. All its figures are assumptions to explain the method, not market prices or the duty rate of any specific tariff line, and it assumes the company is on the Importers Register; in your first year, add the licensed importer's fee:

• The shipment: 5,000 units at USD 8 free on board (FOB), so USD 40,000.
• Payment: 30% on order (month 0) and 70% before shipment (month 1) by bank transfer, with a 1% fee.
• Freight and insurance: USD 3,000 sea freight and insurance at 0.5% of goods plus freight (USD 215), paid in month 1. The value up to the port of arrival is USD 43,215.
• Exchange rate: EGP 53 to the dollar, an assumption for the calculation; use the rate on the day you pay.
• Customs duty: 20% of the value up to the port of arrival, an assumption; the actual rate depends on the tariff line.
• Clearance, port charges and inspection: EGP 60,000, and transport to the warehouse EGP 25,000, in month 2 with the duty and VAT.
• Sales: EGP 720 a unit before VAT, cash from wholesalers, spread over 3 months (about 1,667 units a month) from month 3.

Import VAT of 14% × (2,290,395 + 458,079) = EGP 384,786 is paid at the port and is not part of the cost, assuming no other taxes or fees in its base. Sales are EGP 3,600,000 and gross profit EGP 745,326, or 20.7%. Customs duty alone is 16% of the landed cost, and freight less than 6%.

Cash from the first transfer to the last sale

We charge financing on the negative balance at an assumed 20% a year. For comparison, on 24 September 2026 the Central Bank of Egypt kept the overnight lending rate at 20%, with its next meeting on 29 October 2026¹²; your loan rate is set by your bank. Receipts include the VAT collected from buyers:

The deepest cash need is EGP 3,288,871 in month 2, 1.55 times the price of the goods themselves, and the balance does not turn positive before month 5. Financing costs EGP 147,831, about 20% of gross profit, leaving EGP 597,495 from the container before fixed costs. The port VAT is recovered from the VAT on sales in months 3, 4 and 5. How to build the table is explained in cash flow for small businesses.

What if the pound weakens, duty is higher or sales are slower?

(Amounts in EGP.) A 10% rise in the dollar after the deposit raises the landed cost by 7.45%, because it hits the balance of the price, freight, insurance and the duty base at once (duty uses the rate on the day the declaration is registered), and cuts the gross margin from 20.7% to 14.8%. Keeping the same margin would need a selling price of EGP 773.65, which the market may not accept. A duty rate 10 points higher does almost the same. Slower sales do not touch the paper profit but delay the return of cash by two months. Combined, only EGP 37,566 is left from the container. In the base case, a rise of about 35% in the dollar after the deposit (from 53 to 71.57) wipes out the whole gross profit, and the lowest selling price that covers cost and financing is EGP 602.74 a unit. To set prices that cover these risks, see how to price your product.

The second container and fixed costs

We assume fixed costs of EGP 85,000 a month: warehouse rent 30,000, wages of EGP 30,000 for three staff (above the private-sector minimum wage of EGP 7,000 from 1 March 2025¹³), the employer's 18.75% social-insurance share of EGP 5,625¹⁴, and other expenses of 19,375. That is EGP 1,020,000 a year, which needs 1.71 of the example's containers to cover.

• With fixed costs the deepest cash need for the first container reaches EGP 3,548,145 in month 2.
• The timing of the second order is the lever: if you order the second container in month 3, when the first starts selling, the deepest need stays the same (EGP 3,288,871 without fixed costs); if you order it in month 2, before the first sale, it jumps to EGP 4,297,987. Ordering every 3 months, so 4 containers a year, keeps the deepest need with fixed costs at EGP 3,548,145, but the balance does not turn positive before month 14.

Your capital sets the size of the container, and the speed of sales sets how many you bring in a year. The difference between profit and working capital is explained in break-even and working capital, and funding the gap with a loan in a feasibility study for a bank loan.

Common mistakes in an import and export feasibility study

1. Calculating duty on the price of the goods alone instead of the value up to the port of arrival.
2. Assuming a duty rate without checking the product's actual tariff line.
3. One exchange rate for the whole study instead of a scenario for the pound weakening between order and sale.
4. Leaving import VAT out of the cash flow because it is deductible.
5. Planning on an import card from day one when the conditions require a year since incorporation and a minimum turnover, or forgetting the Egyptian manager responsible for imports when ownership is foreign.
6. Ignoring inspection and release time: in the example, each extra month at the deepest balance costs about EGP 54,815 in financing alone.
7. Ordering the second container before the first sells without capital that covers both.

Frequently asked questions about an import and export company feasibility study

Sources

1. General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC). المستوردين (in Arabic); General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC). القيد وإعادة القيد في سجل المستوردين (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
2. Andersen Egypt. الإطار القانوني للاستيراد التجاري (in Arabic) (2026-06-28) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
3. Baker McKenzie. Egypt: Temporary importer registration for foreign companies (2026-07-30) — secondary source; PwC Middle East. Egypt issues a new Executive Regulation for the Importers Register (2026-07-27) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
4. Consortio Law Firm. Egypt Importers Register: Decree 271/2026 English Text (unofficial translation) (2026-08-09) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
5. Amwal Al Ghad. الرئيس السيسي يصدق على تعديلات قانون سجل المستوردين (in Arabic) (2026-04-06) — secondary source; Al-Ahram Gate. إصدار قانون بتعديل أحكام "سجل المستوردين" وإقرار نظام "التصالح" في المخالفات (in Arabic) (2026-04-06) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
6. General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC). المصدرين (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
7. Egyptian Customs Authority. قانون الجمارك رقم 207 لسنة 2020 بكافة التعديلات (المادتان 16 و39) (in Arabic) (2024-10-20); Egyptian Customs Authority. Customs Law No. 207 of 2020 (English version, Articles 16 and 39) (2022-06-22). Checked 22 October 2026.
8. Egyptian Customs Authority. التسجيل المسبق للشحنات (ACI) (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
9. General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC). تسجيل المصانع (القرار الوزاري 43 لسنة 2016 المعدل بالقرار 195 لسنة 2022) (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
10. Financial Regulatory Authority. قانون الضريبة على القيمة المضافة رقم 67 لسنة 2016 وفقًا لآخر تعديل (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
11. Egyptian Tax Authority. ما هو حد التسجيل الإلزامي لضريبة القيمة المضافة، وما هي الأنشطة المعفاة منها؟ (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
12. Akhbar El-Yom. 29 أكتوبر.. البنك المركزي يحسم مصير أسعار الفائدة على الإيداع والإقراض (in Arabic) (2026-10-19) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
13. Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. الاجتماع الأول للمجلس القومي للأجور: رفع الحد الأدنى لأجور القطاع الخاص إلى 7000 جنيه (in Arabic) (2025-02-09). Checked 22 October 2026.
14. Andersen Egypt. Social insurance in Egypt (contribution rates under Law 148/2019) (2026-06-30) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.