Morocco

Morocco

Defines a new investment support regime

26 Jan 2023

On 26 January 2022, the Government Council issued a Decree which supplements the Investment Charter adopted in December 2022. The Decree details the key elements of the "investment support system", which includes three categories of support grants, namely: the common scheme; the territorial schemes, and the the sectoral schemes.

  1. Under the common scheme, a grant corresponding to a percentage of the invested amount is provided according to criteria relating to: the number of permanent jobs created (5 to 10% of the investment amount, depending on the number of jobs), gender (3%), type of occupations (3% for high technological content or technology-upgrading projects), sustainable development impact (3%) and local integration (3%).
  2. Under the territorial scheme, grants are provided for enhancing the attractiveness of investment in the provinces and prefectures, and for reducing territorial disparities. The provinces and prefectures will be classified into: Category A (10% of the investment), and Category B (15%). The lists will be defined at a later stage and may be revised.
  3. Under the sectoral scheme, up to 5% of the eligible investment amount is granted to all projects in priority sectors such as industry, tourism and leisure, cultural industries, digital, renewable energies, waste recycling, transportation and logistics.

The National Commission on Projects may also confer the "strategic" status to investment greater than or equal to two billion dirhams (approximately $544.5 million) and meeting one of the following criteria: contributes effectively to water, energy, food or health security in Morocco; creates a significant number of jobs; contributes to the economic influence and strategic positioning of Morocco at the regional, continental or international level; significantly impacts the development of sectoral ecosystems, and contributes significantly to the development of new technologies. For these projects, support measures are to be specifically discussed within the framework of an agreement with the State and the projects must be carried out within 5 years of the signing of the investment agreement, unless otherwise stated in this agreement.