The amendments to the finance bill (PLF) for the year 2025, proposed by deputies during a meeting held Tuesday by the Finance and Economic Development Committee in the House of Representatives, mainly focused on a series of customs and tax measures.
These amendments, discussed in the presence of the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, proposed measures aimed at repressing customs offenses, defining customs duties, as well as increasing import duties on certain products and taxes. Internal Consumption Regulations (TIC) applicable to electronic cigarette refill liquids.
Concerning customs measures, the majority groups proposed splitting the sanction linked to the unjustified possession of customs stamps, or their supply or use, into two separate sanctions, due to the nature of these offenses and the fact that the possession or provision of customs stamps may not be linked to a commodity or means of transport.
The parliamentary groups thus called for penalizing the offense of unjustified possession or provision of customs stamps, in the absence of goods or means of transport, with a fine equal to twice the value of the goods or means of transport concerned by fraud for offenses involving the use of customs stamps.
In addition, they proposed a fine ranging from 200,000 to 800,000 dirhams for offenses related to the wrongful possession or supply of these stamps.
The majority groups explained that this amendment, accepted by the government and adopted unanimously by the committee, aims to reduce the sanction for the use of customs stamps to a fine equal to the value of the goods or means of transport affected by fraud, instead of twice this value, in accordance with the orientation aimed at reducing sanctions for customs offences.
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Regarding the modification or cancellation of detailed declarations, the Socialist – Opposition Ittihadi group proposed an amendment establishing that in the event of an administrative error leading to the cancellation of detailed declarations, the amount of duties unduly collected be returned. , adding compensation for the same amount declared.
This amendment was rejected by the government which explained that it is illogical to compensate an economic operator for the error made, while specifying that the reimbursement of duties unduly collected is made within one week.
In terms of customs duties, the Justice and Development group proposed an amendment aimed at removing the provisions of the 2024 finance law relating to the reduction of the share of import duties from 40% to 30%, as set at article 4 of the finance law 25.00.
This also involves not applying the 30% quota to the products listed in Article 24 of the tariff of import duties, as well as to products which were subject to the 40% import duty before entry. into force of the amending finance law of 2020.
The parliamentary group stressed that this measure contributed to the increase, during the first eight months of 2024, in imports of products affected by this reduction to approximately 11.98 billion dirhams (billion dirhams) compared to 10.18 billion dirhams during the same period. period of the past year, an increase of 17.6%, noting that this resulted in a loss of MAD 1.17 billion in import duty revenue.
Regarding import duties on certain products, notably wires, cables and other insulated electrical conductors, the Justice and Development group has proposed an increase from 2.5% to 17.5%, in order to support the electricity industry. optical fiber cables, after the positive effects of the increase in customs duties in 2024, which allowed an improvement in production by 50% to 45,000 km, used in telecommunications and Internet networks and for the needs industrial.
According to the group, this amendment, accepted by the government and adopted unanimously by the commission, will make it possible to support and protect the national product bearing the “Made in Morocco” label, to strengthen the establishment of production units. production in Morocco and reduce the growing trade deficit, particularly in the context of the decline in Moroccan imports from 315 million dirhams (MDH) in 2023 to 286 MDH in 2024, in addition to protecting and increase employment in this sector.
On another subject, which is linked to ICT, the opposition groups proposed, in their amendments, an increase in taxes on refill liquids for electronic devices called electronic cigarettes and similar devices, as well as for accessories for tobacco for shisha or hookah, warning of the dangers of consuming these products for the health of children and adolescents, and of the proliferation of their advertising on social networks.
The opposition judged in its amendments that it is necessary to increase taxation on these products in order to limit the spread of electronic cigarettes and to reduce their consumption to protect their users from health risks, due to the fact that they contain toxic chemical substances, noting that the State could mobilize additional resources by increasing the ICT applied to these products, which would thus reduce their consumption.
For his part, Mr. Lekjaa affirmed that public health is a priority for the government, considering that “taxation is not the only means (…) illicit trafficking of these products would also be a problem that must be addressed face”. And to add that there is a “global” logic of taxation which governs these products.
With MAP
