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مصلحة الجمارك المصرية
Customs taxes were known as tithes or excises and were imposed on goods passing through the country, which was one tenth of the value of goods entering the country, and the tax was known to the Persians, Romans and Greeks. The tax was also known in the oldest civilizations in Mesopotamia in Iraq, and it is the first country to know the financial penal code. The Urnamu Law (a law issued by the Sumerian King Urnammu, founder of the third Arru dynasty 2111-2003 BC) was concerned with economic issues, and texts were found in the Code of Hammurabi concerned with economic issues, which are considered the oldest ancient laws.
Laws developed and the Twelve Tablets were issued, as that law included in (Justinian’s era) crimes that harm public governmental interests. Roman law defined customs crimes, and smuggling was closely linked to trade between countries. It also included penalties for economic crimes such as storing goods in order to raise their prices, and the penalty of confiscation and permanent exile. It is the law of Julia issued in 6 BC. Julius Caesar was the first to make the customs tax called tithes inclusive of all parts of the Roman Empire until Rome collapsed and the customs tax on goods was reduced to no more than 5% of the value of the goods.
The customs tax has taken a unified character in England, which is a specific percentage of the value of the goods paid by the merchant, and he is entitled to enter and exit the country. The provincial governors in France imposed royalties on goods entering their provinces in addition to customs taxes collected on goods entering or leaving French territory.
The customs tax was not known in the Islamic system until the era of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq and after his death in the year 13 AH. The financial resources of the country were limited to zakat, spoils, tax and tribute. Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq fought the apostates who prevented the payment of zakat and was determined to fight them. During the reign of the second Caliph, the Commander of the Faithful, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the state knew the system of tithing, i.e. the customs tax, and the reason for its appearance was a letter from the governor of Kufa (Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari) that he sent to the Commander of the Faithful, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, inquiring about what he should do with the merchants of Dar al-Harb entering Dar al-Islam (i.e., Muslim countries). ) Traders, while the Muslims are taken from them as a tribute for the goods they carry if they enter the House of War as traders (i.e. the countries between which there is war between them and the Muslims), so the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, ordered him to take tithes from the merchants of Dar Al-Harb as they do with Muslims and take half the tenth Of the dhimmis when they bring their goods into the Islamic state, and a quarter of a tenth of the Muslims as a customs tax when the goods enter the Islamic lands. When the Islamic state expanded, the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab instituted a tax system outside the Arabian Peninsula, which imposed three types of taxes:
There were some exemptions from the tithe tax, which are goods designated for gifts and goods imported for personal use (personal belongings in the language of the era).
The tithes, which are customs taxes, remained in place at the same rates that were in the era of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. The Franks used to call the customs tax in the name of Arabization according to their language, and hence the term “tariff” that is currently used in the Arabic language, while its source is French. The tithing system continued during the Abbasid era, the Tulunid State, the Ikhshidid State, the Fatimid, the Ayyubid and the Mamluk era, until the Ottoman State came and foreign privileges and the right of foreigners to trade within the Ottoman Empire appeared. Imports by 3% and export duties by 12%. The increase in this percentage when exporting led to placing restrictions that impeded trade progress in Turkey and therefore in Egypt, as it is a political subsidiary of it, until a Turkish-French treaty was concluded in 1761 to reduce export duties by 1% and increase import duties by 8% Until Muhammad Ali Pasha took over the rule of Egypt in 1805 until 1849 and reconsidered the taxes imposed before and imposed new taxes on the Mamluks and abolished the system of privilege in tax collection. Muhammad Ali was in imposing taxes restricted to the agreements concluded by the Sublime Porte with European countries in 1838 under pressure Britain to ensure freedom of trade and this treaty opened Egypt's markets to European trade and the import tax was only 5%, which led to the collapse of manufacturers Muhammad tried to implement the agreement, but he could not, as the European forces struck his military and naval forces until the import duties increased in 1862 on imported goods from 5% to 8%.
This era begins since the issuance of the Penal Code in Egypt in 1883, and before this date there was no independent customs legislation in Egypt or provisions that included combating customs smuggling. Customs taxes were collected by the person who was awarded the customs tax collection auction, called the obligor, and the rulers of the Mamluks divided the taxes. Customs duties with obligors, which led to rampant bribery among customs workers and increased evasion of customs tax. Turkey issued the Ottoman Customs Regulations on 4/4/1863 and informed foreign countries about it. The Egyptian government concluded other treaties between it and foreign countries, and the first of those treaties was the treaty that was concluded Between the Egyptian government and Greece in March 1884, and Egypt retained its freedom to raise import duties to 16%. On 4-2-1884, Khedive Tawfiq Pasha issued a high order on the Egyptian customs regulations. Then came the Penal Code in 1904, which included pictures of customs smuggling and non-tax smuggling, and it was issued after that. Law No. 9 of 1905 regarding the prevention of smuggling and imposing the status of judicial police on customs officials and workers. Penal Code No. 58/1937 was issued after the abolition of foreign privileges, whereby protection was imposed British rule over Egypt, then independence was declared, and the 1923 constitution was promulgated, and the political parties were multiplied. Its full legislative authority, as Law No. 58/1937 was applied to citizens and foreigners alike instead of the Penal Code issued in 1904. This law included the crimes of customs smuggling, and the jurisdiction remained under the customs regulation regarding customs smuggling cases. Several laws were subsequently issued dealing with customs smuggling provisions, the most important of which are Law 42/1944 on combating narcotics, Law No. 80/4747 on combating cash and Military Order No. 24/48/1944 on gold smuggling crimes. Several separate laws were also issued dealing with the apparent shortcomings in the aforementioned laws and the apparent deficiency in the customs regulations until Customs Law No. 63/66 and its amendments were issued and are still in force.