E-commerce customs in Morocco in 2026: are small parcels still exempt?

The volume of small cross-border parcels (orders of a few items with a low unit value) has exploded with the spread of Asian (AliExpress, Temu, Shein) and North American platforms. Until 2022, these consignments benefited from the exemption granted to occasional consignments of a non-commercial nature with a value of 1,250 MAD or less. This flow weighed on customs revenue and created a distortion of competition to the detriment of Moroccan retailers, who pay customs duties, VAT and tax on their sales. It was to put an end to this that the exclusion of online purchases from the exemption was decided in 2022.

Article 190-e)-2° of Decree No. 2-77-862 granted an exemption from duties and taxes to occasional consignments of a non-commercial nature with a value not exceeding 1,250 MAD. Foreign platforms and their buyers made massive use of this tolerance for commercial purchases. From 1 July 2022, the ADII specified that purchases made via e-commerce platforms are excluded from this exemption, whatever their value. In practice:

• Any parcel resulting from an online purchase abroad is declared and taxed on arrival in Morocco, even for a value of a few tens of dirhams
• Import duties depend on the tariff heading of the product (from 2.5% for certain products to 40% for clothing and many finished products)
• Import VAT of 20% (or the reduced rate applicable to the product) and the parafiscal import tax of 0.25% are added to the duties, the whole being calculated on the customs value (price paid, including transport and insurance costs)
• The 1,250 MAD exemption remains for genuinely non-commercial consignments between private individuals (gifts, personal effects), under customs control

No new measure has been introduced in 2026: the regime resulting from the 2022 reform continues to apply in full.

Consumers ordering on foreign platforms must anticipate:

• Payment of import duties, 20% VAT and the 0.25% parafiscal tax on delivery, to Barid Al-Maghrib (Amana) or the express carrier (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Aramex), which clears the parcel through customs on behalf of the recipient
• Customs clearance fees charged by the carrier, which are added to the duties and taxes
• Customs clearance delays linked to the inspection of consignments and the verification of the declared value
• Compliance with the Office des Changes e-commerce allowance: online payments abroad by bank card are capped at 20,000 MAD per person per year since the IGOC 2026 (15,000 MAD until 2025), independently of the tourist allowance
• The prohibition on importing certain products without authorization (medicines, counterfeit products, non-approved telecommunications equipment)

E-commerce operators (marketplaces, foreign sellers shipping to Morocco, Moroccan dropshipping companies) must:

• Accurately declare the nature, origin and value of the products shipped; undervaluation engages the liability of the shipper and the recipient
• Inform the Moroccan buyer that duties and taxes will be due on receipt, failing which the sale is misleading under Law 31-08, which requires the total price and charges to be indicated
• For digital services sold to Moroccan consumers by non-resident providers (subscriptions, apps, online content), register with the DGI and pay Moroccan VAT, in accordance with the scheme introduced by the 2024 Finance Law
• Comply with consumer protection obligations (7-day right of withdrawal, warranties) and data protection obligations (Law 09-08), detailed for an online shop in the CNDP obligations of a website

A Moroccan marketplace may incur liability depending on its role (mere technical intermediary or seller), under the general law of obligations and Law 31-08. Its terms of use must clearly allocate customs, tax and warranty obligations between the marketplace and the sellers.

The exclusion of online purchases from the exemption strengthens the competitiveness of local Moroccan e-commerce by reducing the price gap that resulted from small parcels not being taxed. Moroccan e-commerce companies, registered in the Commercial Register and paying VAT and IS, regain more balanced competition, while consumers increasingly favour local shops that deliver quickly, in dirhams and with no surprises on receipt.

A Moroccan e-commerce company must:

1. Import under the ordinary rules: registration in the Commercial Register and Common Company Identifier (ICE), import commitment domiciled with its bank for goods, customs declaration (DUM) by a customs broker or via the BADR system, payment of import duties, VAT and the parafiscal tax, in accordance with the import-export conditions applicable to Moroccan companies
2. Recover import VAT, which is deductible for a company subject to VAT, and factor the cost of import duties into its selling prices. A company is subject to VAT from the first dirham of turnover; a retail trader who is a natural person is subject to it from 2 million MAD of turnover and may opt in below that threshold; new taxpayers file quarterly returns via SIMPL-TVA (see VAT registration and returns)
3. Prefer grouped imports to dropshipping from abroad: with dropshipping, the customer becomes the importer and pays the duties on delivery, which worsens the shopping experience and the return rate
4. Keep accounts in accordance with Law 9-88 incorporating the customs items, and retain the documents (DUM, receipts) for 10 years (Article 211 of the CGI)
5. Comply with payment and exchange rules: approved payment gateway (CMI, banks, payment institutions), payment of foreign suppliers by the bank on import supporting documents (see how to pay a foreign supplier from Morocco), repatriation of export earnings in accordance with the IGOC
6. Inform the consumer in accordance with Law 31-08: all-inclusive price, delivery charges, lead time, right of withdrawal, general terms and conditions of sale

The Customs Code punishes false declarations of value, type or origin, undervaluation and importation without declaration with fines calculated on the duties evaded or the value of the goods, confiscation of the goods and, in the most serious cases (smuggling), prison sentences. The DGI also penalizes VAT breaches (surcharges and late payment penalties). Carriers and customs agents may be held jointly and severally liable for the duties and taxes.

Charikaty is a private Moroccan legal-tech platform specializing in company formation and compliance. To import, invoice and recover VAT under your own identifier, here is what you need: a company registered in the Commercial Register, with its IF, its ICE and its professional tax (taxe professionnelle). With Charikaty, you do everything online, simply and quickly: for e-commerce players, our SARL formation service sets up your company entirely online (OMPIC negative certificate, electronically signed articles of association, registration in the Commercial Register, IF, ICE and professional tax, CNSS affiliation), including if you are an MRE launching a business in Morocco from abroad. If you are still hesitating about setting up a structure, compare with e-commerce without a company in Morocco. We then refer you to our partners (customs broker, chartered accountant) for your import operations and your accounting. More than 250 companies have already been set up with Charikaty.