Definition

What this covers

The General Tax Code exempts, with the benefit of the right to deduct, "goods and merchandise acquired within the country by non-resident individuals on leaving Moroccan territory, for any purchase equal to or greater than two thousand (2,000) dirhams including value added tax" art. 92-I-39° GTC.

The exemption does not operate at the till : the tax is paid on purchase, then refunded. "The exemption provided for by article 92-I-39° is granted in the form of a refund" art. 124-II, with the conditions and formalities referred to the implementing decree for Title III art. 26 of decree no. 2-06-574. It is that text which carries the substance : it names the document, sets two deadlines and states how the refund is paid.

Scope

Who is concerned

  • The buyer must be "a non-resident individual on a short stay in Morocco" art. 26-I-3° of the decree : the brevity of the stay is a condition, not a description.
  • The seller must be liable to the tax and agree to complete the formalities giving rise to the refund art. 26-I-2°. The decree does not require them to do so.
  • The sale must be a retail sale and must not be of a commercial character art. 26-I-1° : buying for resale falls outside the scheme.

The decisive criterion is not nationality, but non-residence combined with a short stay.

Applicable rules

The threshold, the exclusions and the export sales slip

The threshold and how it is calculated. The amount must be "of a value greater than or equal to 2,000 DH including value added tax", and the sale "must be made, on the same day, from the same seller" art. 26-I-1°. The threshold is therefore assessed per day-and-seller pair — purchases made from several traders, or spread over several days, are not aggregated — and is understood as including tax.

What is excluded. Set aside are "food products (solid and liquid), manufactured tobacco, medicines, unmounted precious stones and weapons, together with means of transport for private use, their equipment and supplies, and cultural goods" art. 92-I-39°.

The export sales slip. This is the central document, and the only one the text names. The seller "must complete at the time of the sale" an "export sales slip" made up of an original copy and three counterparts : the original and two counterparts are handed to the buyer, together with a postage-free envelope bearing the address of the tax administration ; one counterpart stays with the seller art. 26-I-2°. It is "drawn up on or in accordance with a form established by the tax administration", accompanied by itemised invoices bearing the seller's stamp, and states in particular : the seller's identity, address and tax identifier ; the buyer's identity, nationality and full address ; the bank details ; "the nature, quantity and unit price of the goods sold" ; "the amount of the purchases including value added tax and the corresponding VAT rate" ; the amount of tax to be refunded ; and the signatures of both parties.

Two peculiarities the text accepts

A bank account opened outside Morocco. Among the particulars required is "the number of the bank account opened in Morocco (RIB) or abroad, together with the name of the bank" art. 26-I-2°, and the refund is made "in accordance with the bank details set out on the slip" art. 26-I-6°

A private operator may deliver the refund. The refund "may be delegated to a private company under an agreement to be concluded with the tax administration" art. 124-II, and where it is handled in that way, "specific arrangements may be fixed by an agreement concluded between the tax administration and that company" art. 26-II. The counterparty may therefore be a private operator. Neither the code nor the decree names that company, publishes the agreement, or says whether the deadlines of paragraph I then apply identically.

Deadlines and limitation

The timetable

  1. At the time of the sale

    The seller completes the slip and hands the buyer the original copy, two counterparts and the envelope art. 26-I-2°.

  2. Before the end of the 3rd month following the purchase

    The buyer presents the goods, the slip and the invoices to customs in person on leaving Moroccan territory art. 26-I-3°.

  3. On clearing customs

    The office endorses the original copy and the two counterparts, after checking the particulars set out on those documents and the goods carried in the luggage, and keeps one counterpart art. 26-I-4°.

  4. thirty days from the date of departure from national territory, the buyer also keeping one counterpart

    Dispatch of the endorsed original copy to the tax administration, within thirty (30) days of the date of departure from national territory art. 26-I-5°.

  5. Once the formalities are complete

    "The tax administration proceeds with the refund […] in accordance with the bank details set out on the slip" art. 26-I-6°.

No text sets a deadline for the administration to pay, or opens a remedy specific to this scheme. The two deadlines that do exist both fall on the buyer, and the second runs at a point when they have already left Morocco.

Documents and supporting evidence

The elements of the file

The file rests on the following elements :

  • The export sales slip : completed by the seller at the time of the sale, in an original copy and three counterparts art. 26-I-2°.
  • The itemised purchase invoices : bearing the seller's stamp, they accompany the slip art. 26-I-2°.
  • The bank details : an account opened in Morocco or abroad and the name of the bank, the refund following those particulars art. 26 (I-2° and I-6°).
  • The goods themselves : in the luggage and presented by the buyer art. 26 (I-3° and I-4°).
  • The elements establishing the conditions relating to the buyer : non-residence and the short stay art. 26-I-3°.

This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.

Points to watch

What can cause a file to fail

  • A seller who does not take partThe decree provides no substitute formality where the slip was not completed at the time of the sale : it is silent on the pointart. 26-I-2°.
  • Aggregating purchases to reach the threshold : the 2,000 dirhams are assessed on a sale made on the same day from the same seller art. 26-I-1°.
  • Buying an excluded item : the list in article 92-I-39° covers, among other things, cultural goods and means of transport for private use.
  • Having the goods presented by a third party : the text requires the buyer to present the goods and documents to customs "in person", and provides for no representation art. 26-I-3°.
  • Letting the thirty days run : the period for sending the original copy starts on departure from the territory, at the point when the buyer is furthest removed from the file art. 26-I-5°.
How we handle it

We take the file in hand

Aurion checks that the purchases qualify against the threshold and the statutory exclusions, verifies that the slip and invoices are in order, and builds a file that meets the requirements of the decree. The firm follows the refund through to its actual payment into the designated account. It steps in where the refund is contested, reduced or fails to come through. Responsibility for the outcome remains ours.

Have a VAT refund claim reviewed
Legal basis
  • General Tax Code, 2026 edition — art. 92-I-39° (exemption, threshold, exclusions) ; art. 124 (I and II) (refund, possible delegation to a private company, reference to the decree)
  • Decree no. 2-06-574 of 10 hija 1427 (31 December 2006) made for the application of the value added tax provided for by Title III of the code — art. 26 (I, 1° to 6°, and II)
  • Finance Laws no. 38-07, 40-08, 22-12, 115-12, 110-13 and 70-15 — article 124-I

Page current as at 20 August 2026. The amounts and periods cited are those of the General Tax Code, 2026 edition, and of the decree annexed to it.