The Complete ACI/Nafeza Guide for 2026 (Including Air Freight)

Egypt's Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system requires every shipment entering Egypt to be registered on the Nafeza platform before it ships. The Egyptian importer obtains a 19-digit ACID number, valid for 6 months; the exporter transmits the documents through CargoX — for sea freight, at least 48 hours before the cargo ships from the export country; for air freight, before the flight. ACI has been mandatory for sea freight since October 2021 — and for air freight since 1 January 2026.

This guide covers both sides of the transaction: what the importer does on Nafeza, what the exporter must do to keep the buyer's ACID valid, and what the system does and doesn't mean if you export from Egypt.

(Regulatory facts in this guide verified as of July 4, 2026. Official sources linked at each claim.)

What is Egypt's ACI system, and what is Nafeza?

Before ACI, shipping documents traveled with the goods. An importer discovered a paperwork problem while the container sat on the quay, accruing demurrage. Advance Cargo Information reverses the order: shipment data and documents reach Egyptian customs before the cargo leaves the country of export, so the shipment is assessed through Egypt's risk-management system before arrival (Nafeza).

Nafeza (نافذة, "window") is Egypt's National Single Window for Foreign Trade — one electronic platform centralizing customs and regulatory procedures. Misr Technology Services (MTS) set up and operates Nafeza under the mandate of the Ministry of Finance (CargoX). Every ACI registration runs through it, and every ACID number is generated on it. The official regulatory guidance is published by the Egyptian Customs Authority.

What is an ACID number, and how long is it valid?

ACID stands for Advance Cargo Information Declaration. It is a unique 19-digit number generated on Nafeza when the Egyptian importer registers the shipment and the foreign supplier's details (CargoX Help).

Three rules govern how it is used:

• It is valid for 6 months from issue (Egyptian Customs Authority). A shipment that slips past that window needs a fresh registration.
• It must appear on all shipping documents — commercial invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, packing list. Goods arriving without it are refused discharge at Egyptian ports (AEB).
• It is tied to one specific shipment between one importer and one supplier. It is not a reusable account number.

What changed on 1 January 2026? Does ACI now cover air freight?

Yes — and this is the update most existing content misses. Since 1 January 2026, ACI registration is mandatory for air shipments to Egypt, extending a regime that had applied to sea freight since 1 October 2021 (Kadmar Circular No. 64/2025, CargoX, AEB).

In practice: the discipline container importers have run since 2021 — pre-registration, the ACID on every document, transmission through CargoX — now applies to goods arriving by aircraft, with the air waybill taking the bill of lading's place among the ACID-bearing documents. A reliability check for anything you read on this topic: if a source doesn't mention the 1 January 2026 air mandate, it was written for the 2021 sea-only regime and is out of date.

Who registers where? The importer's side and the exporter's side

Confusing the importer's role with the exporter's is the single most common ACI error. The split is fixed:

• The Egyptian importer registers on Nafeza. The importer (or their customs broker) enters the shipment and supplier data, obtains the 19-digit ACID, and sends it to the supplier abroad (Nafeza).
• The exporter transmits through CargoX. The exporter registers once on the CargoX platform and sends the ACID-bearing documents electronically to Nafeza — for sea freight, at least 48 hours before the cargo ships from the export country (Nafeza); for air freight, before the flight — at least 8 hours before takeoff (AEB). Per CargoX's published schedule, a sea ACI filing costs 160 units (≈USD) per ACID, plus a document-transfer fee of 3 units per document capped at 15 units per ACID; air filings are priced per CargoX's current schedule (CargoX pricing). CargoX is the document-transfer gateway officially authorized by MTS for ACI (CargoX).

The exporter's obligation, then, is not obtaining the number — that is the buyer's job. It is transmitting documents that match the registered data, on time, so the buyer's ACID stays valid and the cargo discharges without a stop.

How does an importer register a shipment on Nafeza, step by step?

For the Egyptian importer (or their broker), the flow as documented by Nafeza and CargoX:

1. Register the company on Nafeza with its company credentials (a one-time step).
2. Enter the upcoming shipment's data: the foreign supplier's details, the goods description, and the preliminary documents (proforma invoice and related paperwork).
3. Receive the 19-digit ACID generated on registration — valid for 6 months.
4. Send the ACID to the supplier, who must place it on every shipping document: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill.
5. The supplier transmits the documents via CargoX — for sea freight, at least 48 hours before the cargo ships from the export country (Nafeza); for air freight, before the flight — so they reach Nafeza and are assessed before the goods arrive.

One rule governs every step: the data on the documents must match the data registered. A correct ACID on a document whose contents diverge does not protect the shipment.

Exporting from Egypt? What ACI does — and doesn't — mean for you

Egyptian ACI governs goods entering Egypt. Your outbound shipment to Europe, the Gulf, or Africa needs no Egyptian ACID, and your foreign buyer does not obtain one from Nafeza. Anyone telling you otherwise has the roles reversed.

But the system reaches you in two real ways:

First, you are also an importer. Many agri-business and FMCG exporters import inputs — raw materials, packaging, spare parts. On those shipments you are the Nafeza party: you register, you obtain the ACID, and you chase your supplier to transmit through CargoX inside the deadline.

Second, the same document discipline waits for your exports on the other side. What ACI punishes at Egypt's ports — an invoice that says one thing and a packing list that says another — is exactly what your buyer's bank punishes when it examines Letter of Credit documents, and what destination customs punishes at release. Egypt's ACI regime is a working demonstration of the rule that governs all export paperwork: the document set tells one story, or the goods stop.

Why do ACI shipments fail? The document-consistency problem

This is where the system collects its cost. An ACID missing from one document, or commercial-invoice data that doesn't match what was registered on Nafeza, and the documented consequence is refusal to discharge (AEB) — a held container, demurrage, a waiting buyer, a trading relationship wearing thin.

The usual cause is not ignorance of the rules but how the documents get made: the proforma in one file, the commercial invoice in a second file edited by hand, the packing list retyped by a third person. Every manual copy is a chance to diverge.

That failure mode is precisely what Tawrida's export pipeline is built against: the shipment is one record moving from proforma to commercial invoice to packing list to container and vessel, so the complete ACID-referenced export document set — proforma, commercial invoice, packing list, LC tracking — is generated from one set of data, consistent by construction rather than by proofreading. Filing itself happens where it always does: the importer (or their broker) registers on Nafeza, and the supplier transmits the documents through CargoX. See how Tawrida's export pipeline works →

FAQ: Egypt's ACI system and Nafeza

How many digits is an ACID number? 19. It is generated on Nafeza when the Egyptian importer registers the shipment and supplier data (CargoX Help), and it is tied to that specific shipment — not reusable.

How long is an ACID valid? 6 months from issue (Egyptian Customs Authority). If the goods don't ship within that window, a new registration is required.

How long before shipment must documents be filed? For sea freight, at least 48 hours before the cargo ships from the export country, transmitted via CargoX to Nafeza (Nafeza). For air freight, the documents must be transmitted before the flight — at least 8 hours before takeoff (AEB).

What does CargoX cost the exporter? The exporter registers once on CargoX. Per CargoX's published schedule, a sea ACI filing costs 160 units (≈USD) per ACID, plus a document-transfer fee of 3 units per document capped at 15 units per ACID; air filings are priced per CargoX's current schedule (CargoX pricing).

Does the foreign exporter register on Nafeza? No. The Egyptian importer registers on Nafeza and obtains the ACID; the exporter registers on CargoX and transmits the documents through it (Nafeza, CargoX).

Does ACI apply to air freight? Yes — mandatory since 1 January 2026, extending the sea-freight regime in force since October 2021 (Kadmar Circular 64/2025, AEB).

Do I need an ACID to export from Egypt? No. ACI governs goods entering Egypt (Nafeza); your outbound exports need no Egyptian ACID. You will meet the system as an importer when you buy raw materials or packaging from abroad.

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