Breakfast debate with the Directorate General of Taxes

“ 2016 saw an intensification of tax audits, approaching more than 3,200 operations. Taxes play a fundamental role in economic development; they are not a constraint, they are an added value for our economy…” It was in these terms that Mr Mehdi Benzaari, President of the CCSM, opened the breakfast debate on tax audits organised on 3 February by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco. This subject of interest to the members and guests present at the event was addressed by a panel of speakers made up of Mr Driss Berrada, Director of Audit at the DGI, Mr Nabyl Lakhdar, Director of Facilitation, Information Systems and Strategy at the DGI, and Mr Mustapha Aman, Regional Tax Director for Greater Casablanca.

On the importance of taxation

“Tax auditing is a living system maintained by our inspectors in the field, essentially taking into account the criterion of relevance”, the DGI speakers recalled at the opening of the session. Indeed, the tax administration, which holds the right to audit, establish and report companies’ tax fraud, sets itself clear objectives to ensure that tax audits are properly carried out in the Kingdom. These include stepping up the fight against tax fraud by ensuring better coverage of the tax base and developing banking compliance.

More flexibility…

With a view to flexibility, the DGI has put in place arrangements to adjust the duration of on-site audits. For example, for companies with a turnover of less than 50 million dirhams, the duration of the audit is reduced from 6 to 3 months. The DGI has also overhauled the penalty system, which has been revised according to the seriousness of the offences committed. Not forgetting the amended return procedure, which allows taxpayers to be exempted from a surcharge on an ex officio assessment.

A surge in electronic returns

The Directorate General of Taxes is also increasingly encouraging online filing. In January 2017, the DGI recorded 280,000 electronic VAT returns compared with 5,000 in 2016.

The event closed with a question-and-answer session during which members and guests were able to discuss various issues, such as the full digitalisation of the audit procedure, among other subjects.

More information at https://www.tax.gov.ma.