Morocco Tax Reassessment 2026: Procedure and Appeals

The first letter initiates the adversarial tax reassessment procedure. Under Article 220 of the CGI, it must set out the nature, grounds and detailed amount of the proposed adjustments. For a business, the reader must be able to identify the financial year, tax, accounting entry or transaction concerned and the calculation method. A general statement such as “unsupported expenses,” without an usable breakdown or explanation of the alleged irregularities, may be challenged for insufficient reasoning.

The decisive date is neither the date printed on the letter nor the date on which it was sent. The period begins after notice has been validly served in accordance with Article 219 of the CGI. The address used, the capacity of the person who received the item, the date of first attempted delivery and the statements on the acknowledgement of receipt must be checked. Failing to collect the mail does not necessarily protect the taxpayer: depending on the circumstances, a refused or unclaimed item may be deemed validly served.

Upon receipt, retain the complete letter, its appendices, the envelope and the acknowledgement of receipt. Scan these documents and record the deadline in a calendar shared with the accountant or adviser. In practical terms, a meeting announced by the inspector, a telephone call or an informal request for an extension does not stop the thirty-day period. The response must be filed or sent by a method that provides proof of its date and, as far as possible, its contents.

Each adjustment must then be reconciled with the accounting records and the documents audited. Did the inspector reject an expense because there was no invoice, challenge the existence of the supplier, add back a current account balance or reconstruct turnover? The response depends on the precise grounds. An internal table listing the financial year, tax, amount, DGI position, taxpayer’s argument and corresponding appendices prevents contradictions between the first response, the tax commission proceedings and any future court appeal.

Caution is required when alleging procedural defects automatically. A typographical error that does not affect comprehension does not necessarily result in cancellation of the tax. The safeguard breached must be identified: service at an address that cannot legally be asserted against the taxpayer, bases that cannot be reconstructed, absence of grounds, failure to comply with a mandatory deadline or breach of audit safeguards. The argument must be raised promptly, without abandoning the defence on the merits if the court ultimately finds that the irregularity is not material.

After the first notice, Article 220 of the CGI allows the taxpayer thirty days to communicate their acceptance or observations. The period begins upon valid receipt, assessed in accordance with Article 219. When the final day raises an issue because it falls on a public holiday or non-working day, the calculation must be checked with the department and the adviser. As a precaution, do not wait until the day before the deadline: file the response several days in advance and obtain a dated receipt.

When the taxpayer responds in time and the inspector rejects all or part of the observations, the DGI sends a second reasoned notice within the period prescribed by Article 220. The sixty days frequently cited here correspond to the period allowed to the tax authorities after receipt of the response. They do not constitute a new general sixty-day period granted to the taxpayer. The second letter must explain the bases maintained and indicate the appeal route before the competent commission.

The operational timetable for the adversarial procedure is as follows. <table><thead><tr><th>Stage</th><th>Deadline</th><th>Legal provision</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Response to the first notice</td><td>30 days</td><td>Article 220 CGI</td></tr><tr><td>Second DGI notice</td><td>60 days</td><td>Article 220 CGI</td></tr><tr><td>Referral to the specified commission</td><td>30 days</td><td>Article 220 CGI</td></tr><tr><td>Appeal against the commission’s decision</td><td>60 days</td><td>Article 242 CGI</td></tr></tbody></table> Each period begins with the event prescribed by the relevant provision; this table therefore does not replace verification of service.

The Regional Tax Appeals Commission (CRRF) is indeed governed, in the consolidated version of the CGI applicable in 2026, by Article 225 bis. This framework was introduced by Article 6 of Finance Law No. 50-21 for financial year 2022, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-21-115 of 10 December 2021. The CRRF did not entirely replace the Local Tax Commission (CLT): it removed some cases from its jurisdiction, including certain tax audits of accounts below the statutory turnover threshold and disputes concerning income and profits from movable capital.

The allocation of jurisdiction between Article 225 for the CLT, Article 225 bis for the CRRF and Article 226 for the National Tax Appeals Commission (CNRF) must be checked in the consolidated CGI applicable on the appeal date. The reference threshold used for certain audits is 10 million dirhams in declared turnover for each financial year audited, with national jurisdiction above that threshold or for categories specifically assigned to the CNRF. For cases at the threshold or involving several financial years, check the second notice and request proof of transmission from the registry of the competent tax commission.

Tax commissions are specialised administrative bodies, not courts. The CLT is governed by Article 225 of the CGI, the CRRF by Article 225 bis, and the CNRF by Article 226. Since the reform introduced by Finance Law No. 50-21 for 2022, the CLT is no longer a mandatory stage in every audit. Jurisdiction depends on the subject matter, the type of audit, the turnover declared, and the categories expressly assigned to the CNRF.

In practice, the CLT retains, in particular, certain disputes relating to professional income subject to regimes specified by law, income and profits from real property, and registration duties. The CRRF examines, in particular, appeals relating to income and profits from securities and certain accounting audits involving taxpayers below the statutory threshold. The CNRF directly hears major audits, certain specific transactions, and the review of the taxpayer’s overall tax position provided for in Article 216.

The referral must cover all adjustments that remain disputed. It states the references of the second notice, the tax bases maintained, the grounds for disagreement, and the amounts requested. Attach both notices, the previous responses, the adviser’s power of attorney, and a schedule of exhibits. Filing must take place within thirty days under Article 220. Obtain dated proof and immediately verify any objection raised by the department regarding the recipient body or territorial jurisdiction.

The commissions primarily assess questions of fact: whether a service was actually provided, the value of an asset, the evidential reliability of the accounts, the margin coefficient, or the reconstruction method. They may not decide questions that the CGI reserves for the interpretation of legislative and regulatory provisions. The CNRF is therefore not a general appellate body for decisions of the CLT or CRRF. Depending on the case, the legal issue must be brought before the Administrative Court after the tax assessment has been issued.

The taxpayer may submit observations and be assisted or represented in accordance with the applicable rules. A short brief, a quantified table, and a few decisive documents are often more useful than a disorganised file. The decision must state reasons and be served. If it upholds the adjustments, or if the commission fails to rule within the statutory time limit, Article 242 may allow judicial proceedings to be brought. The date on which the decision was served must then be kept just as carefully as the dates of the DGI’s letters.

The first error is failing to respond because oral negotiations are supposedly underway. Silence upon expiry of the time limit under Article 220 allows the tax assessments to be issued on the notified bases and may bar referral to the commission. A subsequent administrative claim may remain possible in certain situations provided for by the CGI, but it does not automatically restore the safeguards that were lost. Any discussion with the inspector must therefore be accompanied by a written submission filed in the proper form and within the applicable time limits.

The second error is defending only the procedure or only the figures. A serious defect in service may affect the reassessment, but it will be dismissed if service is found to have been valid. Conversely, producing invoices without challenging a reconstruction method leaves certain heads of adjustment unresolved. A complete defence assesses the notices against Article 219, the audit against Articles 212 and 213, the limitation period against Article 232, and then each transaction against the applicable rules on deductibility and evidence.

The third error is changing the explanation during successive appeals. An amount described as a shareholder’s loan in the first response cannot become a customer advance before the commission without a precise justification. The contracts, accounting entries, returns, and bank transactions must all tell the same story. Before filing, the lawyer and chartered accountant compare the legal chronology with the accounting data. This cross-review prevents a legally persuasive argument from relying on an incorrect amount or date.

For a Moroccan residing abroad, Article 23 of the CGI must be examined: it refers, in particular, to a permanent home, the centre of economic interests, and presence in Morocco exceeding 183 days during any 365-day period. A tax treaty may resolve dual residence. For example, the Franco-Moroccan Tax Convention signed on 29 May 1970 applies its own treaty criteria; for another country, the treaty actually in force must be consulted rather than applying this convention by analogy.

A tax lawyer can usefully become involved as soon as the audit notice is issued where numerous fiscal years are involved, the accounts are at risk of being rejected, or the case includes international financial flows. The lawyer reviews the notices, preserves the necessary reservations, and prepares the proceedings before the commission and the court, as well as stay applications. The chartered accountant extracts the entries, tests the calculations, and explains the accounting methods. To assess an appropriate strategy without presuming the outcome, the taxpayer may consult a tax lawyer on AvocatLib.