Plan contractor hiring in Egypt

Engage the Egyptian contractor through a written services agreement that identifies the supplier, the foreign business customer, the work, payment terms and contract duration. The supplier can be an individual or a company; establish which identity will appear on the invoice before approving the contract. For remote services exported from Egypt, that agreement also supports the supplier's VAT position. Finance should therefore describe who receives the service and where that customer is located with the same care it gives the price. Keep the agreed billing milestones alongside the contract so the invoice describes the service actually purchased.

Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, exported services guide

الفاتورة الإلكترونية

Electronic invoice

The contractor issues an electronic invoice for the exported business service, and finance should retain that invoice with the purchase records. Egypt separates business invoices from receipts for transactions with final consumers. The electronic-receipt rollout depends on the relevant inclusion decision, while the tax authority's current business-invoice guidance covers taxpayers engaged in B2B transactions. A professional's participation in a consumer-receipt phase therefore does not settle the document needed for this foreign business purchase. Obtain the actual export invoice from the supplier and check that it identifies your business and the service, including where the contractor also sends a convenient human-readable copy.

Issued by: The Egyptian supplier, to the foreign business customer.

Timing: For the exported service being invoiced.

Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, electronic document obligations, Egyptian Tax Authority, exported services guide, Egyptian Tax Authority, export invoice requirements

إثبات سداد قيمة الخدمة

Proof of payment for the service

The supplier needs evidence that the service fee was paid to support the exported-service records. A bank statement or payment confirmation can provide that evidence, so make the reference traceable to the invoice and share a usable confirmation after payment. Keep the written contract, invoice and confirmation together: each answers a different question about the customer, the service and the amount received. Where one payment covers several invoices, a reconciliation helps the supplier connect the receipt to each service. This is part of documenting the supplier's VAT position; the bank's own processing requirements should be dealt with separately.

Issued by: Payment evidence is obtained from the paying or receiving financial institution and retained with the supplier's export records.

Timing: After payment, alongside the corresponding invoice.

Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, exported services guide

A qualifying remote B2B service supplied from Egypt to a business customer outside Egypt carries zero Egyptian VAT. The customer's location is decisive for that rule, with exceptions for Egyptian immovable property and services requiring the physical presence of both supplier and recipient in Egypt. Describe the actual service before agreeing the tax line: a foreign billing address cannot turn a locally performed property service into a remote export. For an ordinary remote engagement, give the supplier the overseas customer's correct identity and address and retain the export documentation. The supplier remains responsible for applying the appropriate Egyptian VAT treatment.

Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, exported services guide

What an invoice has to show

• Foreign business identity in the export invoice

  The export invoice records the overseas company's identification number, registered name and foreign address, with a country other than Egypt. Supply those details accurately when the supplier prepares the invoice, especially if the purchasing brand and the contracting legal entity have different names. Egypt's export-invoice format has a foreign-recipient category, so the customer should be represented as the overseas business actually buying the work. Check the completed record against the agreement before booking it. If the supplier requests a local Egyptian number, clarify the foreign-recipient setup with them instead of substituting another group's registration.

  Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, export invoice requirements

• A detailed description and value of the exported service

  The electronic invoice must describe the exported service in detail and show its value and both parties' names and addresses. Match the description to the scope that earned the fee, so a reviewer can connect the billed work to the written export contract. A description that merely says services can leave the nature of the supply unclear, particularly where the engagement includes both remote work and activity tied to a location in Egypt. Ask the supplier to distinguish those items when applicable. Finance should be able to identify the work purchased without reconstructing it from internal chat or an unrelated project budget.

  Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, exported services guide

When invoices are settled

For a contract for work governed by Egyptian law, the fee falls due when the work is received unless the agreement or applicable custom provides otherwise. Agree an express payment date and an acceptance process if finance needs a different timetable. The local default also addresses completed work made available to the customer: unjustified refusal to receive it after formal notice can count as receipt. An unresolved internal approval should therefore be escalated promptly when the contractor says delivery is complete. In a cross-border agreement, record the governing law as well as the payment terms, because the Egyptian default does not automatically govern every overseas contract.

Sources: Egyptian Civil Code, contractor fees due on receipt of work

The currency on the invoice

Egypt's electronic export-invoice format accommodates a foreign-currency price and also requires its Egyptian-pound value. When the currency sold differs from EGP, the invoice records the foreign amount and an Egyptian bank exchange rate for the invoicing day. Finance should agree the commercial currency in the contract and check that the supplier's invoice preserves that agreed amount alongside the EGP data. This prevents the local tax-reporting value being mistaken for a revised price when exchange rates move. Keep the invoice calculation available for reconciliation, and agree any later commercial adjustment explicitly with the supplier.

Sources: Egyptian Tax Authority, export invoice requirements

Pricing a consultant's fee on assumed access to the simplified regime

A professional consultancy earning at least 90% of its annual turnover from one or two persons is excluded from the simplified regime, subject to any applicable ministerial exception. A substantial recurring engagement can therefore affect the consultant's eligibility even when turnover remains below the general ceiling. Ask the supplier to establish their eligibility before relying on a quote premised on that regime. The exclusion concerns professional consultancy and its annual customer concentration; it does not create a general rule that every freelancer with one customer is an employee. Keep the supplier's tax eligibility separate from the working relationship review.

Sources: Law 6 of 2025, small business tax regime

Treating a temporary tax card as readiness to invoice

An Egyptian temporary tax card cannot be used to issue electronic invoices or electronic receipts. The temporary card is available for eight months to complete business formation and licensing procedures, so its existence can mean the supplier is still establishing the activity. Check whether a card offered during onboarding is temporary and whether the contractor can issue the required export invoice. Complete that check before setting the first billing milestone. A purchase order approved on the strength of the temporary document can otherwise leave finance expecting an invoice that the supplier cannot issue using that card.

Sources: Law 150 of 2026, temporary tax cards