How To Start A Business in Morocco
Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Morocco. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with between 10 and 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.
This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 189 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2015.
No. | Procedure | Time to Complete | Associated Costs |
| 1 | Obtain a "Certificat Négatif" online, which registers the company name at the Regional Investment Center (CRI, Centre Regional d’Investissement) Agency: CRI
The certificat négatif can be obtained in person or online at: www.directinfo.ma |
1 day |
MAD 230 (MAD 210 + MAD 20 droits de timbres) |
| 2 | Pay stamp duty Agency: Kiosk, Bookstore or Post Office
Purchase of duty stamps at a kiosk, bookstore or Post Office |
1 day |
DH 20/page + DH10 |
| 3 | File documents with CRI to register with the Ministry of Finance for patent tax, with the Tribunal of Commerce, and for social security and taxation Agency: CRI
"The applicant downloads a single registration form (formulaire unique declaration de création d’entreprise) from the Internet. With the completed form, the applicant files the incorporation documents at the CRI.
The Centre Regional d’Investissement (CRI) centralizes the following procedures: - Deposit of bylaws and registration at the Tribunal of Commerce and the Company Registrar. - “Patente” tax number. - Two announcements: in a legal journal and in the Official Bulletin. - Declaration of fiscal existence. - Social security affiliation. - Legalization of legal books.
When submitting the form and all documents, the promoter includes the text for publication in both publications (that is, the legal newspaper and the Official Gazette). The text must be in Arabic and typed. The CRI coordinates the publication process. Although the announcement is published in the Official Gazette in 30 days, a receipt from submitting the publication is enough for filing the registration documents with the Tribunal of Commerce.
In about a week, the promoter receives the “patente,” the fiscal identification, the commercial registration certificate, legal books, and the social security registration (CNSS registration). As a new service, the entrepreneur can request to be notified by text message when the file is ready.
On December 28th 2012, the fiscal law for the year 2013 was promulgated. It was published in the official Gazette on December 31st, 2012. The new fiscal law sets a fixed fee of DH 1,000 for business incorporation when the subscribed capital does not exceed DH 500,000. Before this cost was a proportional duty of 1% for the subscribed capital shall not exceed DH 500,000. In addition, the following fees need to be paid: DH 350 (registration at commercial registry) + DH 200 (registration of the leasing) DH 150 publication fee (DH 8-9/ line in business paper, DH4/ line bulletin officiel)." |
7 days |
Fixed fee of DH 1,000 + DH200 (registration fee) + DH 350 (registration at commercial registry) + DH 150 publication fee (DH 8-9/ line in business paper, DH4/ line bulletin officiel). |
| 4 | Make a company stamp Agency: Sealmaker
The company obtains a company seal from a seal maker. |
1 day |
MAD 200 |
Starting a business in Morocco
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Step 1: Reservation of a Name
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Step 2: Articles of Incorporation
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Step 3: Application Form
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Step 4: Blocking of Capital
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Step 5: Declarations Subscription and Payment
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Step 6: Constituent Acts Deposit
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Step 7: Trading Tax and Fiscal ID Subscriptions
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Step 8: Register of Commerce Registration
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Step 9: Social Security Affiliation
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Step 10: Official Gazette Publications