Reliable sources revealed to Hespres that the control services of the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI) have recently intensified their tax inspections against several real estate developers and companies specializing in the construction of luxury housing. These companies are now in the crosshairs after suspicions of manipulation of tax declarations and blocking of the “ the prior notice » provided for by article 234 bis of the general tax code. These fraudulent practices would have been brought to light thanks to declarations made by these promoters at the tax counters in Casablanca and Marrakech.
Initial investigations indicate that the projects concerned are mainly located in residential areas whose town planning has been modified, particularly those where villas have been converted into apartment buildings. These transformations were closely scrutinized by the tax authorities, who highlighted serious inconsistencies in the declarations of the sale prices of real estate.
Analysis by tax auditors revealed that property prices declared by developers were often well below market reference prices, reviewed regularly by the General Directorate of Taxes and the National Land Conservation Agency. Such discrepancy immediately raised suspicions as to the existence of practices of “ black silver “, where undeclared amounts would be discreetly imposed on customers, under dubious titles.
This fraud has gained momentum in recent months, fueled by skyrocketing land prices and rising costs of building materials and labor, particularly in the luxury housing sector. This situation would have been exacerbated by the absence of new high-end properties on the market, particularly in Casablanca and Marrakech, where demand remains extremely high.
In addition, certain real estate developers have been accused of circumventing the provisions of Law No. 31-08 relating to consumer protection, by directing their clients to specific notaries. These promoters also violated the rules by failing to request a “ prior notice » with the tax administration before the conclusion of sales, a procedure supposed to guarantee the tax transparency of transactions. Instead, developers used their dominant market position to push customers to forgo this crucial step, under the pressure of rapid decisions linked to the scarcity of goods.
The tax services have also confirmed having received several complaints from customers who had to cancel their purchases, for fear of undergoing a tax review afterwards. A situation which perfectly illustrates the excesses of a sector where the temptation to commit fraud seems omnipresent.
The legislator, aware of the risks of such practices, established the procedure of “ the prior notice » to regulate the taxation of real estate profits, as stipulated in article 234 bis of the general tax code. This mechanism aims to guarantee the regularity of transactions by allowing promoters to know in advance the amount of tax due, thus avoiding any unpleasant tax surprises. The tax administration is, moreover, required to respond to the request within a specific deadline, thus ensuring a certain legal certainty for taxpayers.
Sources confirm that cases of “ black silver » are mainly concentrated in sales of so-called “ means » et « de luxe », where the amounts involved are significant. But faced with these new fraudulent practices, certain promoters seem to have found solutions to launder these sums: in addition to the main sales contract, they require their customers to sign additional contracts, under “ additional finishing work » or « materials to order ”, which can represent up to 25% of the value of the property. These contracts are carefully concealed in order to circumvent tax audits.
