Daily Star reported that Egypt plans to cut import tariffs on some capital and intermediary goods to zero level from between 2% and 5% to boost investment.
The Egyptian government expects that the changes will affect a number of industries including automotive, spinning and weaving, dairy and food production as well as spare parts for a number of household goods.
Egypt will also review import duties charged at 10% on some goods. It gave the cost of the reductions as EGP 1.2 billion but did not say what period of time this would cover.
Official at the ministry of finance could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Egyptian government said earlier in December 2008 that it plans tax exemptions and tariff reductions worth EGP 2.2 billion as part of a package to stimulate the economy, with EGP 1 billion exempting investors from sales tax on capital goods for a year starting in January 2009.
The measures are part of a EGP 15 billion stimulus package the government announced for the current 2008-09 fiscal year. The majority of the spending will go to infrastructure projects.