President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi approved Law No. 8 of 2022 called the “Hotel and Tourist Establishments Law,” after the approval of the General Committee of the Egyptian House of Representatives. The law included regulating licensing procedures, activities, and fees for various services.
In the second chapter of the law, related to licensing procedures, the facility’s license application is submitted to the competent ministry on the form prepared for this in accordance with the controls and procedures determined by the executive regulations of this law, and the competent ministry shall notify the license applicant of the initial acceptance of the application or its rejection by a reasoned decision within a date not exceeding 30 One working day from the date of submitting the application, otherwise the application is considered initially accepted.
And in Article (10) the competent ministry is obligated to notify the license applicant within one week from the date of its approval of the request in principle or by law, of the expiry of the period referred to in Article (9) of this law without a response, of the general and special requirements of the facility to be licensed.
Article (9) The license applicant shall, within a week from the date of his notification of the general and special requirements prescribed for the facility to be licensed, pay an inspection fee of not less than five hundred pounds and not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds. These authorities must provide the competent ministry with the approval or refusal with a reason, or the request for fulfillment once, within a period not exceeding forty-five days from the date of its receipt, otherwise this is considered an approval of the request.
Once the license applicant fulfills these requirements, the competent ministry shall grant him the license within a period not exceeding thirty days. If it is found that the license applicant did not fulfill the requirements legally required, the competent ministry must notify him of the conditions that were not fulfilled within the same period stipulated in the fourth paragraph of this article. The license applicant may request a period of time to complete the conditions that have not been fulfilled and to re-examine after paying the same fee stipulated in the second paragraph of this article.
Article (11) The licensing of the facility is issued after paying a fee of no less than one thousand pounds and not exceeding one million pounds, provided that this fee of this value includes all the fees legally prescribed to the relevant authorities. The relationship is within the limits of the categories established in the laws and decisions regulating these bodies.
Article (12) It is not permissible to make any fundamental amendment to the facility or its licensed activity without the approval of the competent ministry in accordance with the procedures and after payment of the inspection fee stipulated in Article (10) of this law.
In (Chapter Three) of the accreditation offices, the permanent committee licenses the accreditation offices in return for paying a fee of no less than 5,000 pounds and not exceeding fifty thousand pounds, and this license is renewed annually in return for paying half the value of the fee to be granted, and the license is issued to accreditation offices that have experience Necessary to practice this activity in accordance with the controls, procedures, and conditions determined by the Permanent Committee, among which are the cases in which an annual insurance policy must be concluded to cover the risks and damages resulting from the activities carried out by these offices, and the basis for determining the consideration for the services they provide. Licensed accreditation offices, and the executive regulations of this law specify the data to be recorded in this register.
Article (14) The accreditation offices, on their responsibility, issue to the license applicant an acceptable certificate of accreditation valid for a period of one year, including a statement that the facility fulfills the requirements for licensing in accordance with the provisions of this law and its executive regulations, provided that it sends a copy of it to the competent ministry with a copy of all documents attached to it. issued by the accreditation certificate in the manner and on the dates specified by the executive regulations.
Article (15): The certificate issued by the accreditation offices regarding the establishment’s fulfillment of the licensing requirements required by law is acceptable to the competent ministry, without prejudice to the right of the competent ministry to examine this facility in coordination with the relevant authorities in accordance with the provisions of this law.
The competent ministry may decide the invalidity of any certificate that it considers that it does not comply with the regulations and procedures established by law.
Article (16) Accreditation offices shall, in the exercise of their work, abide by the rules of professional responsibility set by the executive regulations of this law, including in particular the following
1 – Implementation of the provisions of relevant laws and resolutions.
2- Exerting due diligence in examining, completing and accrediting.
3- Avoid conflict of interest.
4 – Maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the information of the accreditation applicants.
5- Notifying the Permanent Committee of the prices of the services it provides to its clients for approval.
6- Preparing a database of all applications submitted to the office, the result of the examination and study, and its duration.
(Chapter IV) includes the provisions of “Miscellaneous Provisions”, which state: The competent minister or his authorized representative shall, based on the presentation of the central administration of hotel establishments, shops and tourism activities in the competent ministry, issue the following decisions: Managing the facility or the supervisor of the works in it and its employees according to the nature and type of the facility and the licensed activity, and setting the price policy with regard to accommodation prices and the consideration for services rendered by hotel establishments to their guests, including the minimum level thereof, in a manner that ensures the protection of legitimate competition and the prevention of practices harmful to the Egyptian tourism industry After the approval of the Ministerial Committee, and temporary permits for establishments that are held casually on occasions, holidays, and exhibitions, in return for paying a fee of not less than ten thousand pounds and not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds, in the manner indicated by the executive regulations of this law.
Conditions and specifications for dividing establishments into grades and classifying them according to the appropriate grade.
Article (21): The establishments are obligated to install internal and external surveillance cameras and all security requirements in the places and activities determined by the Permanent Committee in accordance with the special requirements it sets in this regard in coordination with the concerned authorities in the country, and with these requirements a decision is issued by the competent minister.
Article (22): The operators of hotel establishments or those responsible for managing them must notify the competent ministry in the first week of each month by registered letter with acknowledgment of arrival, with a statement about the guests in the previous month. facility in its jurisdiction.
Article 23: Tourist establishments may not serve alcohol or hookah except with a special license issued by the competent ministry and in accordance with the special requirements it sets in this regard, in return for paying a fee of no less than one thousand pounds and not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds, the categories of which are determined by a decision of the permanent committee. This license is renewed annually in return for paying half the value of the fee prescribed for granting it.
Article (24): Gambling may not be practiced in establishments except for non-Egyptians, in accordance with the conditions and controls issued by a decision of the competent minister, provided that this decision includes specifying the establishments in which gambling may be practiced and the royalty due on them not exceeding half of the gaming revenues. gambling.
Article (25): The facility’s license may be assigned to those who meet the general and special conditions required by this law to grant the license, in return for paying a fee of not less than ten thousand pounds and not exceeding two million pounds, and the licensee remains responsible for implementing the provisions of this law until they are completed. Approval of the waiver and completion of the procedures, and the executive regulations of this law specify the conditions, procedures and documents necessary to accept the waiver.