Morocco: Is your company in the tax authorities’ sights? 130,000 companies targeted

In Morocco, nearly a third of the 400,000 registered companies are now classified as "inactive". According to Les Inspirations Eco, these entities have not filed any tax returns or paid taxes in the last three years. While some reflect real bankruptcies, known as "sudden death", many hide sophisticated financial arrangements designed for tax evasion.

Among the practices denounced are "shell companies" and "false loss-makers", whose accounting results are manipulated by specialized firms. However, "the most formidable setup remains the phoenix company", notes the magazine. This technique consists of transferring the assets of a struggling company to a new healthy structure, leaving the debts and creditors, including the state, without any recourse.

Faced with these abuses, the authorities are strengthening the legal framework to increase transparency, particularly in free trade zones. The criminal liability of tax intermediaries is now engaged in case of complicity in fraud. The concealment of income or the falsification of documents is no longer tolerated, with advisors now considered as "vulnerable persons" under close supervision.

This increased vigilance aims to restore confidence in the economic system and protect suppliers often harmed by these sudden disappearances. For the administration, this mass of inactive companies is a warning: behind the administrative silence lie complex mechanisms capable of destabilizing the country’s financial balance.