Morocco’s Real Estate Developers Reach Tax Agreement with Government

Only "active real estate developers" and "those who have not been subject to any of the control procedures provided for in the General Tax Code" are concerned, says L’Économiste, adding that "the campaign to regularize real estate developers covering the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years excludes the year 2019 from the corrective declaration".

The daily specifies that the "additional tax that will be the subject of a regularization will be calculated by applying a contribution rate on turnover: 3.10% of the turnover which is less than or equal to 20 million DH". However, warns the newspaper, "the turnover cross-checked by the tax administration and not declared by the developer for the non-prescribed fiscal years, will be subject to a contribution rate of 30%!".

L’Économiste indicates that "the declaration and payment of the rights were on December 15 in accordance with the change made by the Amending Finance Act", while noting that "developers are not required to adhere to this agreement, and go directly to a corrective declaration.

In this case, they will first have to "make the adjustments and spontaneously pay the additional tax, before enjoying the benefit of the automatic cancellation of increases, fines and penalties" explains the same source. Otherwise, "subscribe to the declaration, but taking into account the information and data available to the tax administration to obtain the cancellation of increases, fines and penalties as well as the exemption from tax audits".

In any case, the tax authorities are required to produce the statement of irregularities after examining the declarations, which takes time, as an explanatory note is required, to be produced under the supervision of a counsel chosen from among the chartered accountants or approved accountants.