Morocco: the tax authorities launch a massive offensive against "frozen" companies suspected of fraud

According to Hespress, the tax inspectors found that these companies, which benefit from the temporary cessation of activity measure provided for in Article 150 bis of the General Tax Code, were engaged in organized tax evasion, manipulating invoices and legalizing fictitious commercial transactions. Based on the information provided by the risk analysis and programming service of the Directorate General of Taxes, the inspectors are conducting verification missions on the activities carried out by these companies over the past four years. The inspectors discovered suspicious requests from companies to benefit from this measure, with the production of false documents intended to make it appear that they were unable to pay suppliers and service providers.

According to the same sources, the companies concerned made false declarations about the reasons for the cessation of activities, trying to deceive the vigilance of the tax control services. In accordance with Article 150 bis of the Tax Code, taxpayers who benefit from this measure must file a declaration with the tax administration, within a maximum of thirty (30) days from the date of cessation, containing their full name or company name, their tax identification, the nature of the interrupted activity, the start date of the temporary cessation, its planned duration and its reasons. They are required to inform the tax administration within the same time frame in the event of a resumption of activity, under penalty of the sanctions provided for in the Tax Code.

Some fraudsters have gone beyond the simple benefit of the temporary cessation of activity to the point of disappearing from the market after the tightening of measures against the trade in falsified invoices, and after the tax authorities, in application of Articles 192 and 231 of the General Tax Code, have imposed criminal sanctions on the persons involved in this trade, and forwarded their files to the competent prosecutor’s office.