Tax Crimes and their Penalties – Article 25 – Federal Tax Procedures Law

Article 25 – Tax Crimes and their Penalties

1. The penalties set out in this Decree-Law shall not prejudice any more severe penalty applicable under any other law.

2. A prison sentence and a monetary penalty not less than the amount of evaded Tax and not exceeding (3) three times of it, or either of the two, shall be imposed on any Person who has committed Tax Evasion by any of the following acts:

   1. Deliberately failing to settle any Payable Tax.
   2. Deliberately understating the actual value of his Business or his revenues or failing to consolidate his related Businesses, with the intent of remaining below the relevant registration threshold, tax rate, or other Tax thresholds, as specified in the Tax Law.
   3. Deliberately imposing and collecting amounts as Tax without being registered.
   4. Deliberately decreasing the Due Tax or participating in any form of Tax Evasion.
   5. Deliberately committing or omitting any other act which may constitute Tax Evasion under this Decree-Law or the Tax Law.

3. A prison sentence and a monetary penalty not less than the amount of the Administrative Penalty and not exceeding (3) three times of it, or either of the two, shall be imposed on any Person who deliberately does not settle a due Administrative Penalty, unless a decision is issued waiving thereof.

4. A prison sentence and a monetary penalty not exceeding (1,000,000) one million Dirhams, or either of the two, shall be imposed on anyone who commits any of the following acts:

   1. Deliberately providing false information, data, and incorrect documents to the Authority.
   2. Deliberately concealing or destroying documents, information, and data or other material that he is required to keep and provide to the Authority.
   3. Stealing documents or other materials that are in the possession of the Authority or deliberately misusing or destroying them.
   4. Deliberately preventing or hindering the Authority’s employees from performing their duties.

5. If any of the acts in the previous Clause has occurred which resulted in Tax Evasion or facilitating or concealing Tax Evasion, the penalty set out in Clause 2 of this Article shall apply.

6. Any Person proven to have directly participated or caused any of the crimes set out in this Decree-Law or the Tax Law shall be penalized with the penalty prescribed in this Decree-Law in accordance with the provisions on criminal participation stated in Federal Law No. 31 of 2021 referred to.

7. If a monetary penalty has been imposed on several accused in one judgment and for one crime, whether they are perpetrators or accomplices, the accused shall be jointly liable for such monetary penalty.

8. Reoffending is considered an aggravating circumstance, and in the application of the provisions of this Decree-Law or the Tax Law, everyone that has been sentenced by a final judgment in one of the crimes stipulated in this Article, whatever the imposed penalty is, and then committed any of these crimes before the expiration of (5) five years from the date of the issuance of the final judgment referred to, shall be considered to be a reoffender.

9. Without prejudice to Clause 11 of this Article, everyone who has participated in a Tax Evasion crime shall be jointly and severally liable with the Person with whom he participated, to settle the Payable Tax and Administrative Penalties.

10. The court may upon conviction publish the judgment or its summary by a suitable means and the convicted Person shall bear the cost, on the condition that such publication is upon request by the Authority to the Public Prosecution.

11. The judgment to impose a penalty under the provisions of this Decree-Law or any other law shall not exempt any Person from the liability to settle any Payable Tax or Administrative Penalties.