Undeveloped land in Morocco: the Ministry of the Interior tightens the tax screw

Faced with an uneven application of local taxation, the authorities are reminding municipalities of the provisions of Law No. 14-25. Many owners have recently received tax notices for the tax on undeveloped land (TNB), illustrating a desire to mobilize this tax lever often neglected by certain local authorities.

The circular insists on setting a rigorous scale taking into account the level of equipment of the plots. According to L’Economiste, the supervisory authority recommends applying a logic of "progressivity" rather than systematically opting for the maximum rate, in order to respect the financial capacities of taxpayers while ensuring tax equity.

The ministry also calls for the immediate activation of the commissions provided for in Article 42 of the law. These multi-sectoral structures must verify the real purpose of the land and the connections to the networks to avoid unduly taxing non-taxable areas or confusing different categories of urban planning documents.

Finally, municipalities are urged to accelerate the processing of exemption requests that have remained unanswered. Regarding the waiver of penalties, the walis are now empowered to rule on amounts exceeding 50,000 dirhams, while the governors deal with files below this threshold, thus ensuring faster processing of appeals.