Eastern Company announced that beginning today (July 1), prices for the Egyptian cigarette maker will be capped at EGP 45 ($0.90) per pack following recent tax bracket changes. Company CEO Hany Aman said the company had reached the upper limit of the previous tax bracket, and maintaining those prices was causing losses as rising raw material and transportation costs significantly increased production expenses.
The new tax laws cap the lowest-tier cigarettes at EGP 48 ($0.96) and the mid-tier at EGP 69 ($1.38). Previously, the lowest tier retailed for EGP 38 ($0.76) per pack, with 60-65% of the price collected being tax. This past weekend, the government amended the Value Added Tax (VAT) on cigarettes, which will increase the minimum and maximum retail prices by 12% annually for three years starting in November.
Sales were paused on Sunday and Monday to adjust pricing, with the new rates taking effect on Tuesday. Aman said the company is still assessing the full impact of the updated tax regulations and may provide further updates soon.