Imported phones: the 38.5% fee and Telephony app, and your shop

In January 2026 Egypt closed the last door that let travellers bring in a phone without paying. Any phone entering with a traveller now carries a fee, and it is paid and registered online only. This matters even if you never import anything, because customers walk in with phones that came from abroad.

This post explains the system plainly, what the sources actually say, what to do when someone offers you an imported phone, and how to cost it.

What changed

The registration system started in January 2025, run by the Egyptian Customs Authority with the NTRA. A Telephony app for iPhone and Android was launched to register phones brought from abroad. A grace period let each traveller bring one phone in free.

Then the exemption expired at noon on Wednesday 21 January 2026, confirmed by Customs and the NTRA.

How much, and where it is paid

According to The National, any device entering with a traveller is subject to a one-time 38.5% charge of its cost, covering customs and taxes. Registration and payment happen only through digital channels such as the Telephony app, the Finance Ministry e-gateways and licensed banking apps. No manual registration at the airport.

One note: a different report quoted the NTRA in April 2025 giving 37.5% including VAT and fees. The latest figure we found is 38.5%, so check the app before you calculate on any number.

Who is exempt

• Tourists: foreign visitors can use their devices with a foreign SIM without fees.
• Egyptians living abroad and tourists get a 90-day exemption from arrival.
• Phones activated before January 2025: no fees, and no need to register on the app.

So an old imported phone that was working before that date is fine. A phone that came in later without registration may get blocked.

Why this matters at your counter

The system ties each phone to its IMEI. An IMEI is a 15-digit unique identifier, and a dual-SIM phone has a separate one per SIM. In April 2025 the NTRA warned that non-compliant devices could be permanently suspended from the network.

If you buy an unregistered imported phone and resell it, the customer may end up with a dead phone, and they will come back to you.

Before you buy an imported phone from someone

These are practical suggestions from us, not legal text:

1. Ask whether it was registered and the fee paid, and how long it has been in use.
2. Ask to see proof of registration or payment from the app.
3. Write down the IMEI and the seller's name and details, and take a photo.
4. If it is a new phone that entered after January 2025 and there is no paperwork, pass.

Costing imported stock

If you buy from a supplier or pay fees yourself, those fees are part of the phone's cost, not a side expense. Price on the purchase price alone and you will think you are earning more than you are.

In Mobilat, on a purchase invoice you can add shipping and customs and they are spread across items by value. Average cost updates with every invoice, so the profit in your reports is real. Cost is also frozen at the moment of sale, so later price changes don't rewrite the profit of a sale already made.

Limits

• Mobilat does not check a phone's registration status. You do that with the paperwork and the app.
• The catalog has a tracking type per item so serials can be added later, but don't treat it as an IMEI register today. Keep your own record.
• Rules on this have changed before. Check with the NTRA before any big deal.

Bottom line

Imported phones are now more expensive and more closely watched. Shops that buy with clean paperwork and put fees into cost sleep better. You can try Mobilat free for 14 days and see the real cost of each phone.