What non-compliance penalties does a business face in Morocco in 2026?

The General Tax Code 2026 provides for a graduated system of penalties, which apply to failures to meet the deadlines set out in the tax obligations of a new company:

• Late filing of a tax return (IS, IR, VAT): surcharge of 5% if the delay does not exceed 30 days, 15% beyond that and 20% in the event of ex officio assessment for failure to file, with a minimum of 500 MAD (Article 184); "nil" returns are also concerned
• Failure to pay or late payment: penalty of 10% (reduced to 5% if payment is made within 30 days), surcharge of 5% for the first month of delay then 0.5% per additional month or part of a month (Article 208)
• Under-declaration (understatement of profit or of output VAT) revealed by an audit: surcharge of 20% of the reassessed duties, increased to 100% where bad faith is established (Article 186)
• Invoices and identifiers: fine of 100 MAD per omission or inaccuracy of the ICE on invoices and returns (Article 198 ter); failure to present accounting documents kept in electronic form during an audit: fine of 50,000 MAD per financial year (Article 191 bis)
• Fraudulent practices (fictitious invoices, concealment): aggravated penalties and criminal prosecution for tax fraud

Where no return is filed after formal notice, Article 228 of the CGI allows the DGI to carry out an ex officio assessment (taxation d'office) on the basis of the information available to it; Article 229 provides for the same procedure where the company refuses to present its accounting documents or obstructs the audit. This procedure has serious consequences because it reverses the burden of proof. In the event of serious irregularities, the administration may also reject the accounts and reconstruct turnover (Article 213).

Article 211 of the CGI and Article 22 of Law 9-88 require accounting and supporting documents to be kept for 10 years, the period during which the administration can exercise its right of audit and its right to information (droit de communication); these rules fall under the accounting obligations of companies in Morocco. Since the 2026 Finance Law, accounts kept in electronic form must be capable of being submitted to the administration as an accounting entries file compliant with CNC Opinion No. 24. Any failure may justify a tax reconstruction and additional penalties.

A company that discovers an error or omission can file an amended return and pay the duties before any notice of tax audit (avis de vérification): the surcharges are then limited to late payment penalties, without the reassessment surcharge.

The Commercial Code (Law 15-95) requires registration within three months of incorporation, amending entries for any change and the annual filing of the financial statements (états de synthèse) with the registry within 30 days of their approval (Article 95 of Law 5-96; Article 158 of Law 17-95), a deadline included in the calendar of companies' annual obligations. Failure to complete these formalities exposes directors to fines and makes unpublished acts unenforceable against third parties. The Commercial Code also provides for cases of automatic striking off (radiation d'office) from the commercial register (Articles 54 to 57), in particular for a dissolved company whose liquidation has not been closed three years after the entry of the dissolution, or on the closure of insolvency proceedings; a company that is merely inactive is not struck off automatically.

Striking off has serious effects (inability to operate and to take legal action in the company's name, blocking of banking transactions) without, however, extinguishing debts or penalties. An inactive company that no longer files its returns also remains liable for the minimum contribution and tax surcharges until it has declared the cessation of its activity to the DGI (within 45 days, Article 150 CGI) and obtained its striking off.

Law 5-96 (Article 67 for the SARL) and Law 17-95 (Articles 352 et seq. for the SA) provide for civil liability actions against directors for mismanagement, exceeding their powers, or breach of the articles of association or of the law.

In insolvency proceedings (procédure collective), the Commercial Court may order a disqualification from management (interdiction de gérer) (commercial disqualification, déchéance commerciale) or an action for the shortfall in assets (action en comblement de passif) making the director personally liable for all or part of the company's debts (Book V of the Commercial Code). A director who delays declaring the cessation of payments worsens their position.