The Executive Regulations of the Ri

The ride-hailing apps law was issued last year following widespread debates by virtue of Law No. 87 of 2018 that regulates land transportation services using information technology (the “Law”).[1] Popularly known as the “Uber and Careem Law” after the two main companies undertaking such services in Egypt, the Law grants the Prime Minister the authority to issue the necessary rules and regulations for its implementation, which came about last week by virtue of the Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2180 of 2019 (the “Executive Regulations”)[2] that was published in the Official Gazette.

General Provisions

• The Executive Regulations only apply to irregular transportation services. In cases of regular services with pre-announced routes, licenses must be obtained from the competent authority in the governorate or the Ministry of Transport (the “Ministry”).
• In addition, companies undertaking land transportation services using information technology (i.e., ride-hailing companies) may not adopt a passenger-loading system with loading zones.
• The new regulatory system went into effect a day following the publication of the Executive Regulations, i.e., on 19 September 2019.

Activity Licenses An application for licensing the undertaking of the activity is to be submitted to the Ministry accompanied by a set of documents listed in the Executive Regulations. Licenses are only issued following security approvals and are valid for a renewable five-year period. In addition, licensed companies may relinquish their licenses only with the Ministry’s approval.

Drivers and Vehicles

With regards to its drivers and vehicles, the company must, among other things:

• Carefully select drivers according to professional and ethical criteria;
• Ensure that the driver’s information is visible to passengers;
• Conduct random medical tests for drugs and alcohol on drivers;
• Train drivers and award them certificates for such training in addition to re-training them if more than three complaints are made against them in a single month;
• Inspect vehicles before using them for the service and abide by the Ministry’s requirements in this respect while ensuring that vehicles are air-conditioned; and
• Put forth a vehicle replacement policy that ensures that the age of vehicles does not exceed five years, with the compliance deadline for this being set at the end of 2024.

Supervising the Activity

Companies must submit complete, periodic data of their activities, as detailed in the Executive Regulations, to the Ministry in addition to keeping records of their activities for a period of at least six months. Additionally, companies must clearly announce their pricing systems on their websites and the Ministry must be informed prior to any amendments thereof, including special discounts. Companies must also allow for electronic payment methods through phones for their passengers. The Executive Regulations also mandate that companies implement systems for quality assurance and data confidentiality.

Relations with Traffic Departments

The Executive Regulations detail the procedures for registering vehicles and drivers at the relevant traffic departments and for issuing work cards to drivers. In addition, companies must submit to the Ministry a proposed plan to integrate taxis in their fleets. It is worth noting that this refers to the pilot merging/integration with the approval of the taxi owners.

Taxes and Insurance

As per the Executive Regulations, land transportation services that use information technology are not subject to the exemption from VAT that other land transportation services enjoy in general. Companies, vehicle owners, and drivers providing such services are also subject to the Income Tax Law. Furthermore, companies can only hire drivers after submitting proof of payment for their social insurance.   [1] Law No. 87/2018 regulating land transportation services using information technology, Official Gazette, Issue No. 23 (bis) (a), 11 June 2018. [2] Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2180/2019 with the necessary regulations and procedures for the implementation of Law No. 87/2018, Official Gazette, Issue No. 37 (bis) (a), 18 September 2019.