Import fraud: tax authority audits dozens of companies over ten years
The tax authority has launched a fiscal adjustment operation targeting companies that have abused import exemptions to embezzle several million dirhams.
Tax authority tracks import tax exemption fraud
The Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) has launched a vast adjustment operation against companies suspected of embezzling millions of dirhams by illegally exploiting tax exemptions on imports, according to fr.le360.ma.
According to the daily newspaper Assabah, cited by fr.le360.ma in its editions of 10 and 11 October, DGI inspectors have used digital tools and artificial intelligence to identify the companies at fault. These companies were importing equipment and goods with full tax exemptions, before reselling them at substantial profit margins — margins inflated by the amounts that should have been paid to the tax authority.
The fraud mechanism exploited a regulatory loophole: the legislation granted exemptions from taxes and duties on imports of goods intended for investment, without precise conditions. The fraudsters declared that imported goods were intended for investment purposes, only to resell them on the market afterwards.
Dozens of companies, from different regions of Morocco, reportedly appear on the list established by the DGI. Competent authorities plan to audit their accounts over the past ten years. False declarations have already been identified, and improperly applied exemptions have been found, in breach of current legislation.
To close this loophole, the 2024 finance law introduced the 60-month rule, which now requires companies to retain investment movable assets for this period in order to maintain the benefit of VAT exemption.
DGI services are currently working to bring all companies that have circumvented the regulatory framework back into line, according to sources from the daily newspaper.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)