Moroccan Customs Launches Major Probe into Suspected Import Fraud Scheme

Alerts from local markets, reporting an unusually high flow of certain raw materials, incompatible with production levels and recorded legal import volumes, have led to the opening of an in-depth investigation. Based on precise data provided by the customs administration’s risk management and monitoring unit, as well as updated information from the central commercial operations control service, customs controllers are thoroughly examining documents related to suspicious import operations conducted by companies benefiting from the "temporary admission carnet" regime, via the ports of Casablanca, Tanger Med, and Agadir, reports Hespress.

Thus, they discovered that small and medium-sized enterprises operating in industrial sectors deemed strategic, particularly textiles, which would have reaped undue profits by marketing goods benefiting from customs exemptions, were importing raw materials without paying customs duties, then directly selling them on the local market, in total violation of the rules of said regime. However, the "temporary admission carnet" regime allows the import of raw materials without payment of duties and taxes, provided they are re-exported after processing.

Customs controllers have identified more than 160 companies suspected of using this type of customs fraud. Explaining the fate of significant quantities of expensive raw materials (fabrics, sewing accessories) imported under the temporary regime and benefiting from a provisional exemption, some Casablanca-based companies claimed that the goods sold on the market were considered as waste due to their deterioration during transport from abroad.

However, examination of export declarations, as well as verification of the deterioration rate allowed for each sector — deducted from imported quantities — reveal serious shortcomings. Several industrial units have committed major customs violations. "Files have already been transferred to the litigation and recovery services, to negotiate amicable settlements and proceed with the payment of fines and penalties incurred," adds the same source.