Morocco Overhauls Duty-Free Shop Regulations to Tighten Controls

In its circular No. 6542/313 published last Tuesday, the ADII indicated that the new provisions, which repeal those of December 1, 2010, bring changes regarding the "formalities for the admission and exit of goods from the warehouse", "the keeping of accounts", "the sale and financial settlement of goods" and the "strengthening of customs and exchange control mechanisms".

"Operators of duty-free shops are required to keep any document related to the operations carried out under the provisions of this instruction, in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Code relating to the preservation of documents. Authorized agents in accordance with the provisions of the Dahir of 30/08/1949 have access to the points of sale and may at any time proceed to control the documents and the cash register," specifies the note which sets new operating modalities for the shops and defines new obligations for the operator in customs, foreign trade and exchange control matters.

The customs administration adds that "the goods stored in the aforementioned sales outlets can only be sold exclusively to travelers departing or arriving directly from abroad", and that the settlement of the goods must be made by foreign banknotes, or by international payment card, in accordance with the texts governing the current exchange. The note requires the operator to pay in full to the bank the foreign currencies collected as soon as they reach a value of 600,000 dirhams. However, it is authorized to keep a petty cash fund of small foreign currencies worth 20,000 dirhams.

As for travelers coming from abroad, the ADII and the Foreign Exchange Office authorize them to transport goods purchased in the "Duty free shops" provided that their value does not exceed 2,000 dirhams. Travelers can also use the local currency to buy Moroccan products within a limit of 500 dirhams per person. Previously, this limit was set at 250 dirhams. Formerly filled with cigarette cartons or bottles of alcohol, these duty-free shops now offer luxury products such as perfumes and cosmetics (28% of the market), wines and spirits (18%).