As per Egyptian ICT companies’ request, the Information Technology Industry Development Agency "ITIDA" has extended the registration and submission deadline for the required documents from companies, in order to get benefit from the advantages offered by Export IT program that offer subsidies on export IT products and services, until the end of September.
ITIDA is currently studying the documents submitted by 80 companies, matching the documents required for admission if they meet with the Program’s terms and conditions, which was launched in June this year, for the third year in a row.
This program offers up to 10% of maximum VAT on exports of the benefiting companies as direct subsidiary. According to the program criteria, the subsidiary value is calculated on those export operations for which a company has obtained financial value during 2011, its maximum may reach U.S. dollars 500 thousand per each company for its export operations in 2011. Companies shall receive the subsidiary paid in cash.
So far, the estimated exports volume of applying companies is about LE2.6 billion of IT products and services. Among those products and services that were supported by the program for companies that applied last year were software products development, training services, application development services, consultation services, business systems and regional and global support centers outsourcing services, electronic content, communications, call center services and embedded software products and services, in addition to enabling communication and IT enabled services, given that Export IT does not pay subsidies to hardware-related operations and equipment.
ITIDA has previously demanded the companies to take into consideration their data entry and update on the Agency’s website as well as registration in Export IT 2012, among required documents for admission to the program was the program application, the financial report, final accounts, income tax report, a newly issued commercial register, tax card and other documents that could be obtained from the Agency’s website. ITIDA has chosen the 16th of last August as the date for receipt of required documents.
Export IT program has begun its work in 2010, when 68 companies applied to take advantage of the program, only 57 companies were accepted and received over LE21 millions worth of subsidiary. In 2011, the number of applying companies was 88, yet only 76 companies have managed to get the benefit of the program with a total of about LE29 millions.