Cairo 10/29/2023
Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, issued Resolution No. 149 of 2023 prohibiting every natural or legal person from engaging in trade, exporting or importing precious metals and stones of value except after registering with the Jewelry and Scales Stamping Department using the form prepared for this purpose and attaching a copy of the commercial registry, the tax card and a statement. The headquarters designated for the trading process, the branches, if any, the trademark, and the responsible manager of the commercial facility.
The decision also obligated those to whom it was addressed to notify the Stamps and Weights Authority of any change or amendment to the data related to their activity that occurs. The decision gave those to whom it was addressed a period of six months to register with the authority.
For their part, members of the Board of Directors of the General Division for Gold and Jewelry of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce praised the ministerial decision, which they described as achieving an important shift in regulating the movement of gold and gold jewelry trade in internal markets.
Engineer Hani Milad Gayed, Head of the General Division for Gold and Jewelry at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, says that the decision will contribute significantly to achieving discipline in the local markets and will also guarantee the rights of the merchant, the consumer, and the state. He pointed out that controlling the markets from any attempts to tamper with consumer rights and regulating the movement of internal trade is one of the most important files adopted by the Division’s Board of Directors during its current session.
Gaid pointed out that the markets had suffered during the recent period from unregulated and illegal practices that harmed the rights of consumers. The Division had issued a statement on the seventh of October warning consumers against dealing with illegal entities that are not officially registered for trade and circulation of gold, in view of the complaints the Division had received. Regarding consumers being exposed to systematic fraud on fake pages on social networking sites, some electronic platforms that are not licensed to trade gold and gold jewelry, and some outlets that are not legally registered, The complaints included purchasing gold jewelry that did not meet specifications in terms of weight and caliber. Purchasing stolen gold jewelry and bullion that does not conform to sales specifications.
The Division also appealed to all consumers not to buy gold jewelry and bullion from stores other than those subject to supervision and inspection from the Stamp and Weights Department and the state agencies responsible for following up and applying quality standards to protect consumer rights and preserve money and savings from falling under these practices. So that the regulatory authorities can carry out their work and carry out their assigned role of oversight and provide the protection that the state guarantees for consumer rights.
Milad called on all merchants to quickly register with the chambers of commerce, either at the headquarters of the chamber of commerce affiliated with it or at the headquarters of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, obtain the division’s membership card, and register with the Stamps and Weights Authority, so that no merchant falls under the penalty of legal penalties or works unofficially.
For his part, Engineer Lotfi Al-Munib, Deputy Head of the Division, said that the Division has adopted a set of files since the current session of the Board of Directors was held, the most important of which is regulating internal trade to protect the merchant and the consumer, guarantee the rights of the state, and end tax disputes related to the practice of trading and production of gold moguls. In addition to the file of developing and supporting local small and medium enterprises to produce gold jewelry and the file of exporting Egyptian gold jewelry to international markets, indicating that the decision issued today is a step on the path to continuous integration between government agencies and the private sector to regulate the movement of gold and jewelry trade in Egypt, and it demonstrates the extent of concerted efforts to achieve these goals. .
