Two months instead of one for the 2025 sticker. The 2025 Finance Law relaxes the deadlines for payment of the annual tax on vehicles. A real plus for owners. That said, pay the TSAV on time, otherwise beware of penalties! The State remains firm despite the new deadlines.
Are you planning to purchase a new vehicle in 2025? Here is what will change when paying for your sticker. The Finance Law (LF) 2025 brings a notable change concerning the payment of the special annual tax on vehicles (TSAV). A measure which aims to reduce litigation linked to penalties resulting from delays in the issuance of registration documents by the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA).
“The LF 2025 extended the deadline for payment of the special annual tax on vehicles from 30 to 60 days following the date of the receipt for the submission of the file for the issuance of the registration document with NARSA concerning vehicles put into circulation in during the year”, specifies the summary note of the tax measures of the Federal Tax Act No. 60-24 for the 2025 budget year.
This point deserves to be developed in order to clarify the precise date from which the new period of 60 days begins to run for the payment of the TSAV. In fact, the starting point is not the date of actual entry into circulation of the vehicle, nor the date of purchase, but rather “the date of the receipt for the submission of the file for the issuance of the registration document with NARSA.
Let’s take the example of a taxpayer who purchased a new vehicle on March 15, 2025 and put it into circulation the following week. If he submits his registration file to NARSA on April 1, 2025 and obtains a receipt on this date, his 60-day period for paying the TSAV will begin from April 1. Thus, in this specific case, the taxpayer will have until May 31, 2025 (April 1 + 60 days) to pay their tax to the collector or NARSA, without risking an increase or late penalty.
This new deadline, longer than the old 30-day deadline, aims to take into account possible administrative delays in the processing of registration documents by NARSA. It thus offers a more comfortable period for new owners to pay their TSAV, while preventing them from being penalized by delays in issuing their vehicle registration certificate. As indicated above, until then, owners of new vehicles had only 30 days after submitting their file to NARSA to pay the TSAV.
A deadline often considered “too short” by some, exposing taxpayers to increases and penalties in the event of administrative delay. From now on, this new period of 60 days, which will begin to run from the date of submission of the receipt for filing the registration file by NARSA, will offer a welcome respite to new owners.
A measure reserved for new vehicles put into circulation in 2025
This measure exclusively concerns vehicles put into circulation during the year 2025. Vehicles already in circulation are not affected and remain subject to the old deadlines. Let’s take two concrete cases: a taxpayer buys a new car in January 2025 and puts it into circulation on February 15, 2025. He will then benefit from the new period of 60 days from the date of the receipt for submitting the registration file to NARSA to pay his 2025 TSAV. Another taxpayer has already owned a rolling vehicle since 2021. For the payment of its TSAV 2025 due in January, it will remain subject to the old deadline prior to the LF 2025, i.e. 30 days.
This difference in treatment depending on the year of entry into circulation aims to facilitate the transition for new owners, without calling into question the usual procedures for vehicles already in service before 2025.
Owners of old vehicles therefore do not have to worry about a change in deadline this year. They will continue to pay for their vignettes under the same conditions as in previous years. Only lucky buyers of new vehicles registered for the first time in 2025 will benefit from this measure, giving them two months instead of one to pay their TSAV after submitting their registration document.
“This is excellent news for motorists, who too often see themselves penalized for delays beyond their control,” reacts a tax expert, who adds: “With two months instead of one, they will have significantly more room to settle their TSAV without risking fines.”
Dissuasive penalties in the event of late payment
As a reminder, the TSAV is due each year by owners of passenger cars, vans, trucks, road tractors, trailers and semi-trailers in service. Its amount varies depending on the fiscal power.
For vehicles with diesel engines of less than 8 HP, the tax is 700 DH, while for those with 15 HP and more, it can reach 20,000 DH for diesel vehicles. Although the LF 2025 grants a longer period to new owners to pay the TSAV, we must not lose sight of the fact that financial sanctions are provided for in the event of non-compliance with the deadlines.
In the event of non-payment on time, the increase applied is 15% for the first month of delay, followed by a penalty of 0.5% per additional month or fraction of a month. It is also stipulated that a minimum amount of 100 DH must be paid in the event of delay.
Let’s take the example of a taxpayer having to pay 2,000 DH of TSAV for his new vehicle, with a deadline expiring on May 31 according to the new calendar. If he does not pay this amount before June 1, he will first have to pay an increase of 15%, or an additional 300 DH (2,000 x 15%). His due will then reach 2,300 DH. And if the delay continues beyond June 30, penalties of 0.5% per month will be added, i.e. 11.5 DH more for the month of July (2,300 x 0.5%), 11.5 DH again for August, etc.
After a year of delay, the cumulative penalties would represent almost 140 DH extra. In addition, even if the initial amount of the tax is modest, the taxpayer will have to pay at least 100 DH in penalties in the event of delay, regardless of the duration.
Thus, for a TSAV of 200 DH one month late, he will ultimately have to pay 230 DH (200 + 30 increase) plus the minimum of 100 DH, for a total of 330 DH. These penalties aim to encourage owners to respect the new deadlines granted by the Finance Act. They illustrate the firmness of the tax administration to combat any late payment that generates disputes. Taxpayers must therefore remain vigilant and take careful note of the deadlines.
A measure to be implemented on the ground
This new extension of the TSAV payment deadline is a step in the right direction to simplify tax procedures for motorists. Provided that the competent public services ensure effective implementation of this provision on the ground.
Indeed, if the intention of the legislator to make life easier for taxpayers is laudable, it is still necessary that the administrations responsible for the concrete application of this measure fully play the game so that it produces all its beneficial effects.
The success of this reform will greatly depend on the coordination and responsiveness of several key players. Firstly, the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) must ensure rapid processing of vehicle registration documents, so that the starting point of the 60-day period for payment of the sticker is not delayed by delays. administrative. Local collections and TSAV payment counters must also be duly informed and trained to avoid any confusion when receiving payments from taxpayers.
Finally, communication work must be carried out to clearly explain this reform to motorists and facilitate their understanding of the new procedures. Without these coordinated operational implementation efforts, the risk would be to see this positive measure remain a dead letter or be applied erratically depending on the region.
Bilal Cherraji / ECO Inspirations
