THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPANY :

Moroccan company law is strongly inspired by French law, and the legal forms can be summarised as follows:

  • Sole proprietorship,
  • The single-member private limited company URL,
  • The limited liability company with several partners SARL,
  • Public limited companies (SA and SAS),
  • Limited partnerships, general partnerships and joint ventures.

Entrepreneurs who already have a business abroad can set up a business in the Kingdom of Morocco with their foreign company under one of 3 options:

The representative office

This type of very streamlined structure is limited to prospecting, and does not allow invoicing or financial transactions to be carried out in the host country. This formula is well suited to companies that want to prospect the market before making an investment or partnership decision.

The branches

directly attached to the foreign company, they are subject to the rules of Moroccan ordinary law but remain an integral part of the parent company's accounts.

The company subsidiary

Wholly-owned Moroccan company whose partner is the foreign company.

COMPANIES IN THE NATIONAL ZONE

Ordinary companies are all companies that do not have a specific status (Offshore Holding Company and company in an export processing zone or a specific government agreement).

These companies are subject to VAT, corporation tax and all other taxes in force in Morocco. They manage their financial transactions using the national currency (the dirham), which they convert into the currency required for international transactions.

To encourage the export of goods and services, national companies are exempt from VAT and for 5 years from corporation tax (IS) on the export portion of sales.

OFFSHORE HOLDING COMPANIES

The Kingdom of Morocco, through its offshore centre in Tangier, offers numerous tax advantages for international equity and wealth management.

Nord Sud Management has developed expertise in exploiting these structures, which are of interest to managers or parent companies in the countries concerned, based on the non-double taxation agreements signed by Morocco with a number of countries.

All studies carried out by Nord Sud Management are based on tax directives analysed by its tax lawyer partners in the countries concerned.

THE ADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE HOLDING COMPANIES

This type of company acts as a holding company or asset management company and offers the following main advantages:

  • 1

    1 – IS tax fixed at 500 $ for 15 years

  • 2
    2 – VAT exemption
  • 3
    3 – Exemption from registration fees for the acquisition of property
  • 4
    4 – Exemption from business tax
  • 1
    5 – Tax rate reduced to 18% on salaries paid by offshore holding companies
  • 2
    6 – Management in foreign currencies outside the control of the foreign exchange office
  • 3
    7 – Exemption from VAT and customs duties for goods acquired by foreign executives
  • 4
    8 – Benefits from double taxation agreements with numerous countries

COMPANIES IN EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES

Located in the heart of the Tangiers free zone, Nord Sud Management is a privileged partner for the organisation of companies involved in the export of activities (services, trade, industry, etc.) destined for all countries except Morocco.

There are several export processing zones in the north and south of the Kingdom of Morocco, the main and oldest of which is Tangiers.

COMPANIES IN THE NATIONAL ZONE

Ordinary companies are all companies that do not have a specific status (Offshore Holding Company and company in an export processing zone or a specific government agreement).

These companies are subject to VAT, corporation tax and all other taxes in force in Morocco. They manage their financial transactions using the national currency (the dirham), which they convert into the currency required for international transactions.

To encourage the export of goods and services, national companies are exempt from VAT and for 5 years from corporation tax (IS) on the export portion of sales.

  • 1
    1- Exemption from corporation tax for 5 years, then a reduced rate of 8.75% for 20 years
  • 2
    2- VAT exemption
  • 3
    3- Exemption from registration fees for the acquisition of property in a free zone
  • 4
    4- Exemption from business tax
  • 5
    5- Management in foreign currencies outside the control of the foreign exchange office
  • 6
    6- Exemption from VAT and customs duties for goods acquired by foreign managers
  • 7
    7- Benefits from double taxation agreements with numerous countries

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