The day a notice arrives is not the day to invent document control. Useful preparation reads the precise scope, preserves data, names interlocutors and reconciles returns, accounts, bank, sales, purchases and stock. A calm file is not cosmetically cleaned; every difference has a reviewable story.
First 48 hours
- Record notification date and method.
- Read taxes, periods, items and start date.
- Check the taxpayer charter accompanies the notice.
- Inform owner, accountant and adviser.
- Freeze backups and access rights.
- Open a log of requests, responses and items handed over.
1. Understand procedure before answering
Article 212 provides notice at least fifteen days before the control date. Verification must begin no later than five working days from the scheduled start. The notice states period, taxes or items and includes the taxpayer charter.
| Stage | Taxpayer control |
|---|---|
| Notification | date, recipient, form |
| Notice | periods and taxes |
| Charter | rights/obligations received |
| Start | minutes and copy |
| Intervention | logged requests/handovers |
| Oral exchange | date and prepared observations |
| Close | record/notification or no adjustment |
The taxpayer may be assisted by an adviser of choice. Decide early who explains law, system and documents.
2. Prepare the requested file, not a data dump
Article 211 requires ten-year retention of sales invoices/receipts, expense and investment evidence, books, inventories and customer/supplier files. With computerised accounts, review may cover data, processing and system documentation.
| File | Reconciliation |
|---|---|
| Sales | receipts/invoices → journal → VAT/revenue |
| Purchases | order/receipt/invoice → journal → payment |
| Bank/cash | opening + movements = closing |
| Stock | in − out ± adjustments = count |
| Payroll | contracts/payroll/CNSS → bank |
| Assets | invoice → register → depreciation |
| Tax | trial balance → adjustments → return |
Provide controlled copies according to request and keep an index of what, when and by whom.
3. Test differences before the meeting
Serious irregularities may challenge probative value: missing accounts/inventory, hidden purchases/sales, serious repeated errors, missing evidence, unbooked or fictitious operations. Search differences without manufacturing retrospective corrections.
- Compare declared revenue and sales.
- Reconcile VAT by period/rate.
- Analyse numbering gaps/duplicates.
- Explain cancellations, returns, credits.
- Reconcile cash, cards and deposits.
- Support margins and stock losses.
- Test suppliers, costs and payments.
- Review related parties/private spend.
- Document every material difference.
- Have adviser review responses.
Do not hide an identified gap. Prepare fact, amount, period, evidence, treatment and any lawful correction.
Never ‘clean’ history after notice
Deleting sales, renumbering invoices, creating evidence or silently changing a period worsens risk. Preserve the original and document any correction through the validated route.
4. Duration, dialogue and governance
On-site verification may not normally exceed three months for businesses with declared turnover at or below MAD 50 million excluding VAT, and six months above, excluding statutory suspensions. An oral adversarial exchange precedes closing on contemplated adjustments.
- Owner: decisions and approval
- Accountant: books and returns
- Operations: real process
- IT: exports, access, backup
- Adviser: procedure and responses
- Log: timeline and evidence
BelloPOS may export sales, refunds, payments and stock and explain system logic. It neither answers the inspector nor guarantees no adjustment.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ignoring scope.
- Sending data without index.
- Answering orally without trail.
- Reconstructing invoices.
- Hiding cash gaps.
- Letting everyone answer separately.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice is given?
Article 212 provides at least fifteen days before the scheduled date, with the taxpayer charter.
How long does verification last?
Normally three months up to MAD 50m declared turnover excluding VAT and six above, excluding statutory suspensions.
Which records are retained?
Including invoices/receipts, expenses, investments, books, inventories and customer/supplier files for ten years under Article 211.
Can I be assisted?
Yes, by an adviser of the taxpayer’s choice.
Does BelloPOS prevent adjustments?
No. Reliable exports help reconciliation, but compliance and response cover the whole business.
What to take away
The best preparation is a continuous audit trail: understood notice, preserved data, indexed evidence, explained differences and coordinated answers.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
Test the export before it is needed
Export one period, reconcile sales, refunds, payments and stock with the accounts, and document gaps now.
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