The House of Representatives passed amendments to the value-added tax on cigarettes Sunday, resulting in an increase of at least 12% in the official prices of cigarettes. The amendments allow them to adjust cigarette prices without moving into higher tax brackets. According to the Plan and Budget Committee report, the expected revenue from the tax increase is EGP 8bn. The shortage in supply led to an increase in unofficial selling prices to consumers over the past months, exceeding the official prices set by more than 100%, which raises questions about the possibility of increasing official prices shortly. Youssef Al-Banna, a financial analyst at Naeem Securities, said that the current fluctuation in cigarette prices is mainly due to a lack of supply.
