Morocco Tightens Tax Evasion Laws, Criminalizes Fake Invoice Schemes

Trouble is in store for companies that issue fictitious invoices. The legislator has rearranged Article 192 of the General Tax Code. The novelty concerns the application of criminal penalties "when a person helps a taxpayer to evade his tax obligations in order to unduly claim deductions or refunds," says l’Économiste. It also involves the criminalization of the issuance of fictitious invoices. From the first offense, the perpetrators of the fraud will be sentenced to prison within five years following the conviction to a fine. Another change: prior consultation with the Fraud Commission is no longer necessary. Henceforth, the Minister of Finance or the tax administration can initiate "the judicial procedure by directly seizing the public prosecutor," after receiving complaints relating to fictitious invoices.

Still in search of efficiency in the fight against fictitious invoices, the legislator has rearranged Article 146 of the General Tax Code by integrating two provisions. The first relates to the rejection of the "deductibility of an invoice if the tax authorities find two inseparable deficiencies: when it is issued by a supplier who does not file tax returns and does not pay his taxes." The second is the adoption of "name and shame". Understand: the publication on the DGI portal of a list of the tax identifiers of up-to-date companies after a final criminal judgment (article 231 of the CGI). This provision was introduced by the 2021 Finance Act.