Egypt receives 1.5 tons of gold under zero-custom gold import initiative

Egypt received 1.5 tons of gold four months following the government’s launch of the zero-custom gold import initiative, according to an official at the ministry of Supply and internal Trade on Tuesday.

Launched in May, the tax-free gold import initiative exempts travellers bringing gold into the country from customs duties and other fees, except for value-added taxes. The initiative aims at achieving stability in gold prices within the markets and reducing smuggling of half-manufactured and manufactured gold. Since the start of the initiative, gold prices in Egypt went down by around 13.6 percent.

According to a recent report by the World Gold Council, the demand for gold bars and coins in Egypt jumped by more than 300 percent on a yearly basis to over 10 tons in the second quarter of the year.