Service exports in Morocco in 2026: what tax and foreign exchange regime applies?

A service qualifies as a service export when:

• The service provider is established in Morocco (company, auto-entrepreneur or natural person acting in a professional capacity)
• The client (actual recipient of the service) is established abroad
• The service is intended to be used or exploited outside Moroccan territory, or relates to goods exported on behalf of a business established abroad (Article 92-I-1° of the CGI)
• The receipts are collected and repatriated to Morocco in foreign currency in accordance with the Office des Changes rules

A service provided to a Moroccan subsidiary of a foreign group, or invoiced to a foreign client but exploited in Morocco, is not a service export.

The main sectors concerned are:

Service exports benefit from the VAT exemption with the right to deduct provided for by Article 92-I-1° of the CGI (Article 91 of the CGI, sometimes cited, covers exemptions without the right to deduct). In practice:

• The invoice issued to the foreign client bears the statement "VAT exemption with the right to deduct, Article 92-I-1° of the CGI, export of services" and includes the mandatory particulars of Article 145 of the CGI (tax identification number, ICE, invoice number, precise description of the service)
• The VAT paid on purchases (equipment, software, subcontracting, premises, fees) remains deductible
• If the deductible VAT exceeds the VAT collected (often the case for an exporter), the company has a VAT credit
• Exporters may also ask the DGI for authorization to purchase under VAT suspension the goods and services needed for their export operations, up to the limit of the previous year's export turnover (Article 94 of the CGI)

The exporter remains a taxable person: it files its VAT returns (monthly if the previous year's taxable turnover reaches 1 million MAD, quarterly otherwise and for new taxpayers, Article 108 of the CGI) on SIMPL-TVA before the end of the month following the period, even when the VAT collected is zero.

Article 103 of the CGI provides for the refund of VAT credits for taxpayers carrying out exempt transactions with the right to deduct, including exporters. The application is filed electronically per quarter, no later than the end of the year following the quarter concerned, together with the statement of purchase invoices and proof of export; the DGI examines the file and settles the refund, where applicable after an audit.

• Invoices stating the exemption and the foreign client's address
• Signed contracts or purchase orders
• Proof of repatriation of the foreign currency (bank credit advices, exchange forms (formules de change) issued by the bank)
• Documents proving the actual performance of the service for a destination abroad (deliverables, correspondence, reports)

Retention for 10 years (Article 211 of the CGI).

Until 2019, exporting companies benefited from a full IS exemption for the first 5 financial years of exporting, followed by a reduced rate thereafter. The 2020 Finance Law abolished this regime for businesses created from 1 January 2020 and replaced it with a specific scale capped at 20%, applied to the profits corresponding to export turnover, with companies already exempt retaining their advantage until it expired. With the rate convergence launched by the 2023 Finance Law and completed in 2026, this specific rate merges into the ordinary rate: there is no longer any difference between profit made on exports and profit made on the local market.

In 2026, IS on export profits follows the ordinary regime of Article 19 of the CGI, detailed in our page on IS rates in Morocco in 2026:

There is therefore no longer any "0% IS" for exporters under the ordinary regime. From 1 million MAD of net profit, the social solidarity contribution (1.5% to 5%) is added to IS.

Several special regimes nevertheless offer reduced IS to internationally oriented companies:

These regimes remain the main levers for high-growth service exporters, but they require a specific location or status: export activity alone is not enough. The conditions are detailed in our guides on the advantages of a company in a free zone and on Casablanca Finance City status.

The minimum contribution (CM) provided for in Article 144 of the CGI applies to exporters as it does to other companies: 0.25% of turnover and income (including export turnover), with a minimum of 3,000 MAD, due even in the event of a loss. Newly created companies are exempt for the first 36 months following the start of operations (at most 60 months after incorporation).

The TP (Law 47-06) is due from any company carrying on a professional activity, based on the rental value of the premises and means of production (rate of 10%, 20% or 30% depending on the class, with a minimum duty per municipality). The five-year professional tax exemption (first 5 years of operation) provided for in Article 6 of Law 47-06 applies to any newly created activity, regardless of its export orientation.

There is no specific permanent TP exemption for exporters under the ordinary regime (except for the ZAI and CFC special regimes).

Every exported service must give rise to the repatriation of the foreign currency receipts to Morocco, through a Moroccan bank (authorized intermediary), in accordance with the General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations (Instruction Générale des Opérations de Change, IGOC) published by the Office des Changes. Payment may be made by transfer from abroad, by debit from a foreign currency account or from a foreign account in convertible dirhams, or by bank card via an approved payment platform. Exports of services do not go through the customs procedure specific to goods: they fall under the Office des Changes and the IGOC.

• Repatriation deadline: 60 days from the date the service is performed (30 days from the contractual due dates where credit is granted to the foreign client)
• Proof: the bank issues the exchange forms that certify the collection; the exporter keeps them with its invoices to justify its receipts to the Office des Changes and the DGI
• Sale of the foreign currency: the dirham equivalent is made available to the exporter by its bank, except for the portion held in a foreign currency account

Failure to comply with these obligations exposes the exporter to penalties under the foreign exchange regulations (Dahir of 30 August 1949 on the punishment of breaches of foreign exchange regulations). In particular, the Office des Changes monitors digital service providers (freelancers, content creators) paid by foreign platforms.

Service exporters may open a foreign currency account or a convertible dirham account with a Moroccan bank, funded with up to 70% of the repatriated export receipts, to pay their business expenses abroad (subscriptions, subcontracting, travel) without going through an authorization again. MRE who set up a company in Morocco financed in foreign currency also benefit from the transfer guarantee for dividends and sale proceeds, subject to the declarations to the Office des Changes.

Freelancers can opt for the auto-entrepreneur status governed by Law No. 114-13:

• Final flat-rate IR of 1% on turnover collected for services (0.5% for trade, industry and crafts)
• Turnover ceiling of 200,000 MAD for services (500,000 MAD for trade, industry and crafts)
• Not subject to VAT: no VAT charged, no VAT recovered
• Registration in the national auto-entrepreneur register (RNAE) and simplified returns
• The 30% withholding tax on the portion of turnover above 80,000 MAD generated with the same client (LF 2023) is only applied by clients established in Morocco; it does not concern receipts paid by foreign clients
• The Office des Changes obligations (repatriation, proof) apply to the auto-entrepreneur as they do to the company

This regime is advantageous for freelancers with modest turnover, but it does not allow recovery of VAT on purchases and ceases to apply above the ceiling.

For a growing exporter, a company offers a more favourable framework thanks to VAT recovery, limited liability and the ability to hire. A SARL AU can be set up online, with no minimum capital, including from abroad for an MRE.