Morocco's 2027 finance bill: a 5% advance at customs clearance for importing traders, and what it means for your cash flow
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Morocco's 2027 finance bill (no. 60-26), presented to Parliament on 23 October 2026, creates a tax advance for traders who import: 5% of the customs value, payable at every customs clearance. It is not an extra tax, but money you pay out before you have sold anything. Here is what the text says and what it changes for an online seller importing from China or Turkey.
In short
- Who: companies and traders importing goods for resale in the same state.
- How much: 5% of the customs value, paid to customs at clearance, on top of duties and taxes.
- When: for imports made from 1 July 2027, not from 1 January as some reports said.
- Recoverable: the advance is offset against the year's corporate or personal income tax, and any surplus is refunded.
- It is a bill: Parliament can still amend it.
What the text says
Article 7 of the bill adds to the General Tax Code (CGI) a paragraph 170-I-B for companies and a paragraph 173-IV for traders paying personal income tax. For companies (our translation from the French):
"Companies that import goods for resale in the same state must also pay spontaneously, at customs clearance, an advance on the corporate income tax of the current financial year, for each import operation, for a period of sixty (60) months from the date of the first import operation."
And for the base:
"The rate of this advance is set at 5% of the customs value used, or that could be used, as the basis for customs duties."
The customs value is the price paid to the supplier plus shipping and insurance up to Morocco. Import duty and VAT are not part of the advance's base.
On the date, article 7-IV-7 of the bill leaves no doubt: these provisions "apply to import operations carried out from 1 July 2027". 1 January 2027 is the general effective date of the bill's other changes to the tax code.
Who is covered, who is excluded
The advance is due for 60 months from the first import. After that, it only applies to importers who do not show customs a tax compliance certificate less than six months old.
The text sets two exclusions:
- imports under customs economic procedures (temporary admission, bonded warehouse…);
- capital goods.
It sets no minimum threshold and no other exception.
How you get it back
- Company: the advance is offset "against the provisional instalments and, where applicable, against the balance of the corporate income tax" of the year, "with a right to a refund". For a calendar financial year, an advance paid in July 2027 reduces the September and December instalments, then the balance paid in spring 2028.
- Trader paying personal income tax: the advance is offset against the year's minimum contribution, then against the income tax. The remainder is "refunded automatically on the basis of the annual income tax return", that is in 2028 for the 2027 advances.
The text sets no refund deadline.
Worked example
A batch with a customs value of MAD 50,000 (shipping and insurance included), an import duty of 17.5% and 20% VAT:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Customs value | MAD 50,000 |
| Import duty (17.5%) | MAD 8,750 |
| Parafiscal tax (0.25%) | MAD 125 |
| Import VAT (20% of MAD 58,875) | MAD 11,775 |
| Total paid today | MAD 70,650 |
| 2027 bill advance (5% of MAD 50,000) | MAD 2,500 |
| To pay out at clearance | MAD 73,150 |
Your landed cost does not change: the MAD 2,500 is a prepayment of your tax. But it stays tied up until it is offset or refunded. With one similar batch a month from July to December 2027, that is MAD 15,000 advanced over the year. If your tax for the year is lower, the surplus waits until 2028.
For a cash-on-delivery seller importing from China or Turkey
With cash on delivery (COD), money comes in late: delivery, collection by the courier, then the bank transfer. The advance lands at the worst moment, when the stock is paid for and not yet sold.
- Turkey: the free trade agreement lowers or removes the import duty on many products, with a proof of origin. But the advance is calculated on the customs value, not on the duty: under the text, a zero duty does not remove it.
- Groupage: if the goods are cleared in a consolidator's name, the consolidator is the one who "carries out the import operation" and would pay the advance, against its own tax. If it charges it back to you, for you it is a cost, not a recoverable advance. This is my reading of the text: have your customs broker confirm it.
- Prices: do not raise your prices by 5% by reflex. What goes up is your cash requirement: plan for it in the pace of your orders.
And the informal sector?
The bill brings back for 2027 a measure already applied by earlier finance laws. Under the new article 247-XVIII of the tax code, taxpayers who come forward "by registering on the business tax roll from 1 January 2027 are only taxable on the income earned and the transactions carried out from that date". The measure applies "from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027". For a seller still working without any status, 2027 is the most favourable year to register.
Another useful change: bank deposits join the payment methods that make an expense tax-deductible (article 11-II of the tax code).
What we do not know yet
- When the 60 months start: does an importer established for years start 60 months of advances, or is it exempt straight away with its certificate? The text does not say.
- Auto-entrepreneurs are not named. In trade, they pay 0.5% of their turnover (article 73-III of the tax code) and no minimum contribution: the advance would almost always exceed their tax, and how it would be refunded is unclear.
- Postal and express parcels imported by a trader: nothing is specified.
- The actual refund time.
- The vote: the Moroccan association of vehicle importers (AIVAM) is already asking for compliant operators to be spared.
I will update this article after the vote and the implementing circular.
This article explains a bill. It is not personal tax advice: for your own case, see your accountant.
Work out your case
The import cost calculator now has a "2027 finance bill" option. It shows the advance due at clearance, the cash tied up per item and the total to pay out, without distorting your landed cost.
Sources
- Ministry of Economy and Finance, finance bill no. 60-26 for 2027 (in French): article 7 (tax code art. 11-II, 82-I, 170-I-B, 173-IV, 241 bis-II-E, 247-XVIII; effective dates in IV-7).
- LesEco.ma, PLF 2027 : le double pari du gouvernement sur les importations et la production locale (in French).
- La Nouvelle Tribune, PLF 2027 : les détails du texte présenté par Faouzi Lekjaa (in French).
- LeSiteinfo, PLF 2027 : voici les principales mesures fiscales proposées (in French).
- Consonews, Automobile : le PLF 2027 renchérit la taxe de luxe et immobilise 5 % de la valeur des importations (28 October 2026) (in French).