You invoice in January, the customer pays in April. Is the VAT due in January or in April? In Morocco the general regime takes full or partial collection of the price: with no money received, no VAT is due. The option for debits exists, it brings the liability forward to invoicing, and that choice is paid for in cash flow.
The essentials in five points
- The general regime is cash received. Article 95 takes full or partial collection of the price.
- Opting for debits brings chargeability forward to invoicing, regardless of whether the customer has paid.
- A deposit triggers VAT under both regimes. Collection always makes VAT due, option or not.
- For a business collecting at the till, the two regimes coincide: the option has no practical effect at all.
- For an activity invoiced at 60 or 90 days, the option is expensive: you fund the VAT before being paid.
1. Two dates, two notions
The chargeable event and chargeability are often confused with each other, and more often still with the invoice date. Separating them resolves most questions about which period applies.
| Notion | What it means | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| The chargeable event | The event that brings the tax into existence | The date the invoice is issued |
| Chargeability | When the Treasury can claim the tax | When you collect your margin |
| The invoice date | A dated supporting document | A trigger in itself, absent the debits option |
| The delivery date | The accounting attachment of the sale | The VAT trigger under the general regime |
The last line surprises most. A delivery attaches the revenue to the year for cut-off purposes, but it does not make VAT due under the cash-received regime. Accounting and VAT run on two separate calendars, and that is normal.
2. The general regime: cash received
With no specific option, this is the regime that applies. VAT becomes due as the money comes in, which protects cash flow mechanically.
- You issue the invoice: nothing is yet due in respect of VAT.
- The customer pays all or part: VAT becomes due on what has been collected.
- A part payment makes only the corresponding fraction chargeable.
- VAT is declared for the period of collection, not of invoicing.
- An invoice never paid never makes the VAT due.
That last point is decisive and too rarely stated. Under this regime an unpaid invoice does not cost you the VAT: you never paid it over. That is exactly why recovering VAT on a bad debt is not the same question under each regime.
3. The option for debits
A business may opt for debits in the forms and within the deadlines provided. Chargeability then follows invoicing, with two consequences worth understanding before signing the option.
- Chargeability moves forward: VAT is due for the period of invoicing, whether the customer has paid or not. You fund the tax between invoice and payment.
- Earlier collections stay taxed: A deposit received before invoicing makes VAT due on collection. The option never removes that rule: it adds a trigger, it does not take one away.
- Existing receivables must be dealt with: The option comes with the treatment of receivables already outstanding at its effective date, under the terms set out in the legislation.
- The formalities matter: The option is declared in the forms and within the deadlines set by the tax code. Applying debits without having opted is an irregularity, even where the outcome is against you.
Remember that the option does not replace the collection trigger, it adds to it. Under debits, VAT is due on the earlier of the two dates: collection if it comes first, invoicing otherwise.
Under debits, an unpaid invoice costs you the VAT
This is the most concrete and least anticipated consequence of the option. You issued the invoice, declared and paid the VAT, and the customer never pays. The tax has left your cash position without ever entering it, and what happens next follows a separate route, to be worked through with your accountant. Under the cash-received regime this situation simply cannot arise.
4. Choosing, according to how you get paid
The right regime depends neither on size nor on sector, but on a single variable: the delay between the invoice and the money.
| Your situation | Effect of opting for debits | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Retail collected at the till | None: the two dates coincide | The option adds nothing |
| B2B invoicing at 30 days | One month of VAT permanently funded | Rarely justified |
| B2B invoicing at 90 days | A full quarter of VAT permanently funded | Expensive, best avoided |
| Many deposits collected | Slight: collection already taxes them | Limited effect either way |
| Frequent bad debts | You pay VAT on invoices never settled | Clearly to be avoided |
The only serious reason to opt for debits is administrative simplicity: the return is then built from the sales journal rather than from collections. For a small business whose till already splits payments, that advantage is thin, and it is paid for in cash every month.
Mistakes to avoid
- Declaring VAT at the invoice date without having opted for debits.
- Believing the debits option removes the taxation of deposits.
- Opting for debits while invoicing at 90 days.
- Confusing the accounting attachment of the sale with VAT chargeability.
- Applying debits in practice, with no properly declared option.
- Forgetting to deal with receivables outstanding at the option’s effective date.
Frequently asked questions
What is the default regime in Morocco?
Cash received. Article 95 takes full or partial collection of the price as the chargeable event. The debits regime exists only on option, exercised in the forms and within the deadlines provided.
Is a deposit taxed before delivery?
Yes. Collection makes VAT due on the sum received, including before any delivery, and that holds under both regimes. It is a rule the debits option does not neutralise.
Is opting for debits worthwhile?
Rarely, except for administrative simplicity. It brings the VAT liability forward to invoicing and so makes you fund the tax throughout your customers’ payment terms. For a business collecting at the till it has no effect.
What happens if the customer never pays?
Under the cash-received regime VAT never became due: there is nothing to pay and nothing to recover. Under debits it was paid over, and its treatment follows its own route, to be taken up with your accountant.
Does the delivery date matter for VAT?
Under the cash-received regime, no: the money received is the trigger. Delivery does attach the revenue to the accounting year, which is a different question following its own calendar.
What to take away
Remember one sentence: in Morocco VAT follows the money, unless you opt otherwise. Check first which regime you are actually under, then align your return with it. And if you invoice at 60 or 90 days, opting for debits is a permanent cash advance in exchange for a modest gain in convenience.
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
Sales and collections, separated at source
BelloPOS records the sale and the payment separately, with their dates and payment method, from the free Lite licence onward: exactly the distinction your VAT return needs.
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