Morocco's customs revenues to peak in 2023

New record for customs revenues. In 2023, customs revenues amounted to 132.6 billion dirhams, up from 131 billion dirhams in 2022, representing growth of 1.2%, according to the latest data from the Administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects (ADII).

The ADII’s activity report for 2023 has just been made public, offering a detailed retrospective of key indicators, highlights, customs taxation, control operations and significant achievements over the past year.

Customs revenues on the rise

Customs revenues will continue to rise, reaching 132.6 billion dirhams, compared with 131 billion dirhams in 2022, representing a growth rate of 1.2%, despite a 2.9% decline in the value of imports compared with 2022.

This performance can be largely attributed to the increase in revenues from import duties and the evolution of the domestic consumption tax, notably on manufactured tobacco products. Customs revenues exceeded the 2023 Finance Act estimates by 1.28%, an increase of 1.59 billion dirhams.

The share of revenues from Value Added Tax (VAT) in customs budget revenues fell by 2 points, from 63% in 2022 to 61% in 2023. In terms of evolution, VAT revenues decreased by 3.2% year-on-year, totaling 75.3 billion dirhams versus 77.8 billion dirhams in 2022.

Despite a slight drop of 1 point in the share of revenue from the Domestic Consumption Tax among budget customs revenues, from 26% in 2022 to 25% in 2023, this tax maintains its upward trend begun in 2019.

For the year 2023, it will rise by 3.7%, corresponding to an increase of 1.2 billion dirhams, according to information provided by Customs. At the same time, revenue from import duties rose by a remarkable 18%, representing an increase of 2.5 billion dirhams on the previous year.

In addition, customs import controls generated more than 4.7 billion dirhams in additional revenue in 2023, mainly from value controls (86%). This represents an increase of 28% on the previous year.

For its part, immediate control collected 468 million dirham in additional duties and taxes (+23% compared with 2022). Revenue from a posteriori control amounted to MAD 138.13 million, with MAD 103.70 million in duties and taxes and MAD 34.43 million in fines. Revenues from passenger control rose by 13% to MAD 97 million compared with 2022.

Over 2 million counterfeit items seized

In 2023, the number of counterfeit items seized rose by 11% to 2,021,886 items, with an estimated value of 19.9 million dirham. At the same time, 622 requests for suspension of release of suspected counterfeit goods were processed, compared with 682 in 2022.

Faced with the rise of online commerce, and in particular sales on social networking platforms that encourage the distribution of fake products, Customs has stepped up its controls to counter this scourge, which is harmful to the national economy and consumer safety.

To combat smuggling, the ADII has stepped up its operations across the country, targeting organized networks and locating suspect warehouses, in order to protect the national economy and public health. Seizures of goods (excluding cigarettes and narcotics) totalled 262 million dirham, compared with 123 million dirham in 2022.

Currency seizures during passenger checks

In 2023, ADII measures at the borders led to currency seizures of around 105 million dirham (compared with 50 million dirham in 2022, i.e. +110%), as part of the fight against the introduction of currency without prior declaration. This year, 12,515 currency declarations were recorded at the various border posts, up 46% on the 8,551 declarations in 2022, for a total amount of 2 billion dirhams (versus 1.5 billion dirhams in 2022).

Furthermore, 2023 saw the removal of the Kingdom from the Financial Action Task Force’s “Grey List”, a decision that followed the positive assessment of the group’s experts.

Over 1,000 fraud reports processed

Thanks to the BADR system, Customs processed 1,173 fraud notices in 2023, compared with 490 in 2022. This year, Customs equipped itself with advanced technologies for data analysis and control procedures. Tests for the integration of predictive analysis and artificial intelligence have been carried out to identify suspicious flows, improve the efficiency of controls and anticipate security threats.

On the BADR system, an automated control of transit times for loading units has been introduced, enabling carriers to be checked in the event of abnormal transit times being exceeded. In addition, the triple circuit of the transit regime has been extended, enabling automatic assignment of “Green”, “Orange” and “Red” decisions according to predefined criteria.

Contraband cigarettes

In 2023, Customs seized 438,784 units of contraband cigarettes and various tobacco products. Increased efforts against cigarette smuggling resulted in the confiscation of 1.85 tonnes of ground tobacco, 789 kg of leaf tobacco and one tonne of cannabis.

According to the 10th Cigarette Prevalence Study, the penetration rate of contraband cigarettes has fallen to 1.85%, compared with 2.81% in 2022 and 1.91% in 2021. The fight against illicit drug trafficking, supported by technological means, intelligence and cooperation with national and international agencies, led to substantial seizures in 2023.

More specifically, 21 tonnes of cannabis resin were seized, compared with 17 tonnes in 2022. Hard drugs totaled 261 kg, compared with 85.5 kg the previous year. 361,572 units of psychotropic tablets were seized, compared with 2,023,548 in 2022, and 3.3 tonnes of water pipe tobacco (muassel) were seized, compared with 1.2 tonnes in 2022.