Buying from abroad in Morocco: duties, VAT and accounting records

You receive an invoice for 10,000 euros from a European supplier, with not a line of VAT on it. That is not an exemption: Moroccan VAT does exist here, but it is paid at customs and evidenced by the customs documents, not by the supplier’s invoice. And the price paid to the supplier is only part of what the goods actually cost.

1. What the cost is actually made of

A local purchase fits on one invoice. An import is reconstructed from several documents, and each behaves differently for VAT.

Item	Part of cost?	VAT deductible?
Price paid to the supplier	Yes	No Moroccan VAT on their invoice
Customs duties	Yes	No: this is not a deductible tax
VAT paid at customs	No, it is recoverable	Yes, on the customs documents
International transport	Yes	Depends on the forwarder’s invoice
Insurance on the goods	Yes	Depends on the insurer’s invoice
Customs agent’s fees	Yes	Yes, on their Moroccan invoice

The two middle lines sum up the whole subject. Customs duties are a definitive cost that raises the value of your stock; import VAT is an advance you recover. Treating them the same way distorts both the margin and the return.

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2. Import VAT

This is the point that most confuses people, because the tax is due in a country where the seller is not established. It is paid at the moment of clearance, by you or by your customs agent acting on your behalf.

1. The goods arrive and are the subject of a customs declaration.
2. VAT is assessed on a base including the customs value and the duties.
3. It is paid at clearance, often advanced by the customs agent.
4. It is deducted on the basis of the customs documents, in the company’s name.
5. The foreign supplier’s invoice is not the supporting document for that VAT.

The practical consequence is administrative: keep the customs declaration with the invoice, stapled together. Import VAT deducted with no customs document in the company’s name is a deduction with no supporting document, exactly like recoverable VAT on a non-compliant invoice.

3. Exchange rate and the value used

An invoice in foreign currency raises a conversion question, with two candidate dates. The rule saves you choosing case by case.

• On entry into stock: The value used is the one on the customs declaration, converted at the rate customs applied. That value is the base for the cost of the stock.
• On paying the supplier: The rate on the payment day is almost always different. The gap is an exchange gain or loss, recognised separately from the cost of the goods.
• At the close, if the debt is still outstanding: A supplier debt in foreign currency not yet settled is measured at the close, under the chart of accounts rules, with your accountant.
• What not to do: Revalue stock as the rate moves. Entry cost is fixed on entry; only the debt moves.

That separation is what keeps the margin readable. If exchange movements enter the cost of stock, two identical batches bought three months apart show different margins with no commercial decision to explain it.

4. The documents to keep

A complete import file is assembled when the goods arrive, not at the moment of an inspection. It comes to six documents.

1. The foreign supplier’s invoice, with its incoterm.
2. The customs declaration, in the company’s name.
3. The receipt or proof of payment of the duties and the VAT.
4. The customs agent’s invoice, which often carries deductible Moroccan VAT.
5. The transport documents and any insurance.
6. The landed cost calculation, linking those documents to the amount carried in stock.

The last line is the one that gets skipped and the one that serves best. Without that sheet, nobody can explain a year later why stock carries a value matching no single invoice.

Mistakes to avoid

• Treating a foreign supplier’s invoice as an exempt purchase.
• Deducting import VAT with no customs document in the company’s name.
• Recording customs duties as a deductible tax.
• Leaving transport, insurance and clearance out of the landed cost.
• Converting the invoice at the payment-day rate to value stock.
• Not keeping the calculation linking the documents to the amount in stock.

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Frequently asked questions

Why does the foreign invoice carry no VAT?

Because the supplier is not liable for Moroccan VAT. The tax exists all the same: it is due on import and paid at customs, on a base including the customs value and the duties.

How is VAT paid at customs deducted?

On the basis of the customs documents made out in the company’s name, kept with proof of payment. The foreign supplier’s invoice is not the supporting document for that VAT.

Are customs duties deductible?

No. They are not a value added tax but a cost, raising the entry value of the goods in stock and therefore appearing in landed cost and in margin.

Which exchange rate should be used?

The one on the customs declaration, to value the entry into stock. The gap against the rate on the day you pay the supplier is an exchange gain or loss, recognised separately and not built into cost.

Does BelloPOS handle imported purchases?

The purchases module records orders and goods receipts from BelloPOS Go onward, which lets you bring goods into stock at the cost you calculate. Splitting duties, import VAT and clearance fees is prepared with your accountant.

What to take away

An import is read across several documents, never in the supplier’s invoice alone. Hold on to three separations: duties are cost, import VAT is recoverable on the customs documents, and the exchange difference is a financial result rather than part of stock. The rest is filing.

Sources

The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.

• Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code
• Ministry of Economy and Finance, General Code of Accounting Standardisation, read 1 September 2026

Read next

Other practical guides on the same subject:

• Recording a purchase in Morocco: a complete worked example
• Recoverable VAT in Morocco: which expenses qualify for deduction?
• Non-deductible VAT in Morocco: where it goes in the accounts
• Supplier invoice: checks before payment and accounting