Tag: Morocco

Morocco Expects Surge in Tobacco Revenues

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The Moroccan government expects to collect more than MAD13.7 billion ($1.32 billion) in tax revenue from tobacco sales, reports Morocco World News, citing data from the 2025 finance bill.
This year’s budget introduces measures to increase tax revenue aimed at supporting economic growth, including domestic taxes on alcohol, beer and tobacco consumption.
The finance bill aims to increase the government’s total tax take by 14.49 percent to MAD657.8 billion, with significant additional contributions expected from smokers and alcohol drinkers.
Ministers met Oct. 18 at the Royal Place in Rabat to discuss key elements of the 2025 finance bill. Among other goals, the legislation aims to strengthen social cohesion, boost “economic sovereignty” and ensure sustainable public finances.
October 22, 2024
JTI to Build Factory in Morocco

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Japan Tobacco International will break ground in August for a MAD931 million ($92 million) factory near Tangier, Morocco, reports Morocco World News.
“This is a historic moment that marks the beginning of a new era for JTI in North and West Africa,” said Jose Luis Amador, general director of JTI Northern and Western Africa.
He praised the support from Moroccan authorities, which he described as exemplary and in line with Morocco’s reputation for a favorable business environment.
Once operational, the facility will create 170 direct jobs and numerous indirect employment opportunities in the region, according to JTI, which aims to hire 30 percent women at its new facility.
The factory will be built on a 4.7-hectare site with an 18,000-square-meter built area. It will implement energy efficiency measures, such as LED lighting and automated climate control systems. Additionally, a rainwater collection and recycling system will be installed to handle nonpotable water needs.
July 21, 2024
Morocco to Cap Cigarette Deliveries

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Morocco will tighten regulations on cigarette sales starting Jan. 1, 2024, reports Morocco World News.
The new rules set maximum levels of substances in domestically sold cigarettes. Tar content will be capped at 10 milligrams, nicotine at 1 milligram and carbon monoxide at 10 milligrams.
The Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration announced that all cigarettes must be accompanied by laboratory analysis results from accredited laboratories.
Earlier this month, the Commission for the Approval of Manufactured Tobacco Product Prices approved a hike in cigarette prices. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, smokers will pay an additional MAD1 ($0.10) to MAD2 per cigarette pack.
Morocco’s budget calls for an increase in the domestic consumption tax on tobacco from MAD100 in 2022 to MAD 550 by 2026.
Tax authorities expect to collect about MAD12.5 billion from manufactured tobacco sales in 2023, up 5.82 percent from the amount earned in 2022.
December 28, 2023
Morocco to Hike Duties on Disposables

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Morocco will increase customs duties on e-cigarettes under the 2024 budget, reports Morocco World News.
The import duties would hike the levies on disposable electronic cigarettes from 2.5 percent to 40 percent. The goal of the increase is to apply the same import duty rate to disposable electronic cigarettes as that applied to other electronic cigarettes for the 2023 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The 2024 draft budget also proposes an increase in import duty from 2.5 percent to 30 percent for certain consumer products and equipment. This increase would “strengthen the protection of local production of these products and equipment and promote the establishment of production units in Morocco.”
October 23, 2023
Morocco: Tobacco Tax to Increase

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The price of tobacco-based products, including cigarettes, will increase effective January 2023 in Morocco, according to the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxation, reports Morocco World News.
The increase is part of Morocco’s five-year strategy to decrease smoking rates by raising tariffs. Cigarettes sold in the country will see a MAD1 ($0.09) to MAD2 per pack increase.
Taxes on tobacco-based products will be gradually increased annually for five years under the new strategy.
Shisha and electronic cigarette prices are also set to increase. Now, for every kilo of shisha smoking material, consumers will pay MAD675.
Tax revenues from tobacco products are expected to reach MAD12.5 billion, about a 6 percent increase.
January 3, 2023
Morocco to Increase Waterpipe Taxes

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Morocco is preparing to increase taxes on waterpipes, reports Morocco World News.
The country’s Finance and Economic Development Committee approved the new taxes on Nov. 9. Following the increase, smokers would pay MAD675 ($63) per kg of shisha smoking material.
The approval comes after a government amendment to the Finance Bill of 2023 extending the tax base to include shisha without tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
Officials said the measure “aims to preserve the health of consumers, especially young adults, and to protect them against the negative effects of consumption and addiction to these products.”
The statement further explains that the imports of tobacco-free shisha are not subject to taxes, although they carry the same health risks as tobacco-based shisha.
The decision to raise the tax is based on World Health Organization research indicating that smoking products containing a mixture of fruits and herbs without tobacco pose a similar risk to tobacco products.
The WHO recommends subjecting such products to the same restrictions and taxes as tobacco products.
According to the Moroccan government, the European Commission classifies herbal mixtures, aromatic herbs or fruits as smoking products.
November 13, 2022
Moroccan Cigarette Prices to Rise in 2022

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Morocco is increasing prices on cigarettes effective Jan. 1, 2022, reports Morocco World News.

The increase will be between one and two Moroccan dirhams for most brands and is likely to affect locally manufactured brands with international brands remaining at their current prices.

Cigarettes prices may witness further modification six months into the new year following a scheduled meeting of the tobacco products licensing board.

The newly elected government wants to revise the country’s tobacco taxation framework, which is likely to further increase cigarette prices, especially those of e-cigarettes. Tobacco taxes will steadily increase between 2022 and 2026.
December 24, 2021
Morocco Sets Cigarette Emission Limits

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Cigarettes sold in Morocco will be subject to new emission limits starting in January 2024, reports Morocco World News.
From that date, the emissions of cigarettes imported or manufactured in Morocco and marketed across the country should be at levels not exceeding 10 mg of tar per cigarette, 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette and 10 mg of carbon monoxide per cigarette.
Tobacco companies will be required to declare clear the deliveries on cigarette packages.
The percentages of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide are measured on the basis of NM ISO 4387 standards for tar, NM ISO 10315 for nicotine and NM ISO 8454 for carbon monoxide. The accuracy of the percentages of tar and nicotine is verified according to the standard NM ISO 8243.
Compliance will be monitored by the Department of Customs and Indirect Taxes. The primary objective of the decree is to align national legislation with international standards.
An estimated 18 percent of Moroccans aged 15 smoke, with nearly 41 percent of the country’s population exposed to secondhand smoke.
September 29, 2021
Taxes up in Morocco
New, higher cigarette prices took effect in Morocco from yesterday after the imposition of an increase in the domestic consumption tax on some cigarette brands, according to a story in Morocco World News.
Under Article 5 of the 2019 Finance Bill, the minimum tax rate was increased from MAD567 to MAD630 per 1,000 cigarettes, while the minimum tax burden was increased from 53.6 percent to 58 percent.
Morocco collected MAD10.48 billion from its domestic consumption tax last year, up from MAD9.86 billion in 2016, according to the country’s customs administration.
And in October, the Economics Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun said that the latest increase in taxes on tobacco would generate additional revenue in 2019 estimated at MAD1.2 billion.
The 2019 Finance Bill included also a clause raising the domestic consumption taxes on shisha tobacco from MAD350 to MAD450 per kg.
The Government was given some tobacco-industry support for its decision to increase the tax on cigarettes.
However, some tobacco companies reportedly suggested that the 2019 Finance Bill would help support the illegal trade in tobacco products.
January 2, 2019
Illegal trade undercut
A recent study by KPMG has found that one eighth of the cigarettes consumed in Morocco last year were illegally traded, according to a story in The Morocco World News.
Smuggled cigarettes enter Morocco from its neighbors, Algeria and Mauritania, with Algeria accounting for 65 percent of the inflow even though the border with Algeria has been officially closed since 1994.
A pack of Marlboro cigarettes sells in Morocco for US$3.38, while a pack smuggled from Algeria sells for US$1.91 and a pack smuggled from Mauritania sells for US$1.35.
The KMPG study found that one of the reasons for the relatively high level of illicit cigarette consumption in Morocco is that cigarettes – 38 percent of them – are sold as single cigarettes.
It is estimated that if consumers smoked licit rather than illicit cigarettes, the government would benefit from additional tax revenue of about US$143 million a year.
Morocco has had some success in reducing the illegal trade through increasing law-enforcement and border-security activities.
And the introduction in 2015 of lower-priced brands that sell for the same price as illicit products has aided the decline of the illegal trade. In fact, sales of licit cigarettes increased by eight percent in 2016.
October 24, 2017