In brief: A commission paid to an individual business introducer under the RNR or RNS bears a 10% withholding on the pre-VAT amount, made by any paying legal entity (Art. 73-II-B-8° and 157-I of the CGI 2026). Paid to a company, 5% only if the payer is listed in the 1st indent of Art. 157-I.
The term “business introducer” does not appear in the General Tax Code (CGI). The text covers “fees, commissions, brokerage and other remuneration of the same nature” (Art. 15 bis), subject since 1 January 2023 to a withholding tax whose rates and payers are detailed in our guide to withholding tax on services in 2026. For insurance commissions, a 2011 DGI reply sets the time of recognition.
What the CGI 2026 says about commissions and brokerage
Recognition of income by the intermediary
The law provides that turnover includes “receipts and accrued receivables relating […] to services rendered” (Art. 9-I-A-1°). A commission therefore enters the result of the financial year in which the receivable accrues, not the year of collection.
Scope of the withholding tax
Art. 4-IV, introduced by Finance Law no. 50-22 (2023), subjects to corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR) withholding the Art. 15 bis remuneration paid, made available or credited to an account (including a shareholder current account) of legal entities and of individuals under the RNR or RNS established in Morocco.
Rates by beneficiary and payer
In Morocco, the withholding rate on a commission depends on the status of both the beneficiary and the payer (Art. 19, 73 and 157-I of the CGI 2026):
| Beneficiary | Payer required to withhold | Rate and base | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual under the RNR or RNS | Any legal entity and any RNR/RNS individual, no turnover threshold | 10% of the pre-VAT amount | Art. 73-II-B-8°, 157-I 2nd indent |
| Legal entity subject to corporate tax (IS) | State, local authorities, public establishments and enterprises and subsidiaries, banks, insurers, companies with pre-VAT turnover ≥ 200 million DH (transitional schedule) | 5% of the pre-VAT amount | Art. 19-IV-A, 157-I 1st indent, 247-XXXXVI |
| CPU taxpayer or auto-entrepreneur | Legal entities and RNR/RNS individuals | 30% on annual turnover above 80,000 DH per client | Art. 45 bis-II, 73-II-G-8°, 157-II |
| Non-resident individual or legal entity | — | 10% of the gross pre-VAT amount, subject to the applicable tax treaty | Art. 15-IX, 19-IV-B, 73-II-B-1° |
By way of derogation, Art. 247-XXXXVI, created by art. 7 of Finance Law no. 50-25 (2026), phases in the threshold based on pre-VAT turnover of the last closed financial year:
| Effective date | Companies required to withhold 5% on companies |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | Pre-VAT turnover ≥ 500,000,000 DH |
| 1 January 2027 | Pre-VAT turnover ≥ 350,000,000 DH |
| 1 January 2028 | Pre-VAT turnover ≥ 200,000,000 DH |
The last paragraph of Art. 157-I states that the withholding is creditable against corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR), with a right to refund. The 10% and 5% withholdings are therefore not final; the 30% of Art. 73-II-G-8°, by contrast, appears in the list of final rates in Art. 73.
Two neighbouring regimes remain distinct: travelling salespeople, representatives and canvassers (VRP) who carry out no transactions on their own account (Art. 58-II-B, 73-II-G-5°) and persons outside the permanent staff (Art. 58-II-C, 73-II-G-1°) bear 30%, not final.
Payment and reporting
The withholding is paid within the month following the month of payment, making available or crediting to an account (Art. 171-I-A for corporate tax (IS), 174-V for income tax (IR)). Any business that allocates commissions to taxpayers registered for business tax (TP), corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR) reports the amounts recorded during the previous financial year, together with its returns under Art. 20, 82, 85 and 150 (Art. 151-I). It details, by beneficiary, the amounts, the base subject to withholding and the tax withheld. A detailed statement is attached for remuneration paid to CPU taxpayers and auto-entrepreneurs (Art. 151-IV).
The deadline follows that of the main return: 3 months after year-end for corporate tax (Art. 20-I); before 1 May for professional income under the RNR or RNS (Art. 82-I). Art. 194-I penalises late filing at 5% (filing within 30 days) or 15% (beyond), and failure to file or an insufficient return at 20%, on the tax withheld or that should have been withheld, minimum 500 DH.
The VAT side
Brokerage and, generally, any provision of services are taxable (Art. 89-I-10°-b). A business introducer’s commission is taxed at the standard 20% rate (Art. 99-A); services rendered by any canvassing agent or insurance broker in respect of contracts brought by them to an insurance company are taxed at 10%, without right to deduction (Art. 99-B-2°). For intermediaries, the base is the gross amount of commissions, less disbursements refunded at cost (Art. 96-7°). The chargeable event is collection, unless the accruals basis is elected (Art. 95). VAT of insurance agents and brokers is withheld from their commissions by the insurer (Art. 116).
Key takeaways:
- In Morocco, a commission paid to an individual under the RNR or RNS bears a 10% withholding on the pre-VAT amount by any paying legal entity, whatever its turnover (Art. 73-II-B-8° and 157-I of the CGI 2026).
- A commission paid to a company subject to corporate tax (IS) bears 5% of the pre-VAT amount only if the payer is public, a bank, an insurer or a company reaching the turnover threshold: 500 million DH from 1 July 2026 (Art. 19-IV-A, 247-XXXXVI).
- Recorded commissions allocated to taxpayers registered for business tax (TP), corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR) are reported by beneficiary with the annual return (Art. 151-I), failing which a surcharge of 5%, 15% or 20% applies, minimum 500 DH (Art. 194-I).
What the tax administration specifies
What a commission or brokerage fee is
The administration specifies, in Circular Note (NC) no. 733 (Finance Law 2023, p. 81), that commissions and brokerage are “sums proportional to the business handled, allocated to sales representatives, property managers, estate agents and business, debt collection or advertising agents, as well as all commission agents, such as customs forwarders”. Brokerage covers in particular “the commission allocated to insurance agents, canvassers and brokers”.
Who withholds, on what base, and when
NC 733 (p. 80) excludes from the scope of the withholding legal entities exempt from corporate tax (IS), individuals under the CPU and auto-entrepreneurs. The chargeable event is payment, making available or crediting to an account; the withholding applies to the pre-VAT amount of the invoice, note or statement (p. 82). Private individuals acting outside any business activity are not required to withhold.
The withholding does not exempt the beneficiary from filing its income statement or overall income return (p. 81). The beneficiary records and reports the gross amount, before withholding (p. 84). For corporate tax (IS), it credits the withholding against its instalments, then against the tax due; for income tax (IR), against the minimum contribution then the income tax. Any excess is refunded automatically (Art. 157-I, 241 bis-I).
NC 733 (p. 85) gives an official example: a public enterprise pays, on 07/10/2023, brokerage of 1,200,000 DH including VAT to a company subject to corporate tax (IS). The base is 1,000,000 DH excluding VAT; the 5% withholding amounts to 50,000 DH, paid before 01/12/2023. In 2023, the circle of 5% payers was limited to the public sector (p. 81). NC 737 (Finance Law 2026, p. 58) extends it to credit institutions and similar bodies and to insurance and reinsurance companies for remuneration allocated from 1 July 2026, then to other companies gradually according to their turnover.
NC 737 (p. 59) adds that payers withholding on remuneration paid to legal entities attach a statement of such remuneration, on the administration’s template, to their Art. 151-I return. The VAT withholding of Art. 117-V-c follows the same schedule (p. 59-60).
Recognition and deductibility under NC 717
NC 717 (volume 1, p. 99) states that “the financial year to which receivables relate is the one in which the service was completed”. On the payer’s side, “commissions paid to non-salaried intermediaries to obtain a contract” are deductible when incurred for the needs of the business (p. 136).
Key takeaways:
- The withholding on a commission is calculated on the pre-VAT amount and becomes due on payment, making available or crediting to an account (NC 733, p. 82).
- An auto-entrepreneur, a CPU taxpayer or a company exempt from corporate tax (IS) is outside the scope of the 10% or 5% withholding (NC 733, p. 80).
- Since 1 July 2026, banks, insurers and companies with pre-VAT turnover ≥ 500 million DH withhold 5% on commissions paid to companies (NC 737, p. 58).
Cases decided by the DGI
Reply no. 168 of 28 March 2011: insurance brokers’ commissions
Question. Are the commissions of insurance agents and brokerage firms recognised on collection of the premium or on its issuance?
Reply. In a reply of 28 March 2011, the DGI replied, applying Art. 9-I-A-1°, that “the commissions serving as remuneration for agents and brokerage firms are receivables accrued as soon as the insurance premium on which they are calculated is issued”.
Uncollected commissions. If the issued premium remains unpaid, the commission may be provided for as a doubtful receivable, provided legal action is brought within the 12 months following the month of the provision (Art. 10-I-F-2°, unchanged in the CGI 2026). The conditions are detailed in our article on deductible provisions for corporate tax.
Scope. The reply post-dates the 2007 CGI and rests on an unchanged text: it can still be transposed under the CGI 2026. Given to a requesting taxpayer, it is published by the DGI among its questions of principle (tax.gov.ma). It concerns insurance intermediaries only.
What the reply does not decide: business introducers outside insurance
No reply and no circular note deals with the business introducer as such. Applying the logic of reply no. 168 to an introducer outside insurance is reasoning by analogy: the commission would be a receivable accrued when the event that makes it payable occurs. This extension has not been decided by the administration, nor has the boundary between introducer, VRP and employee.
Key takeaways:
- According to DGI reply no. 168 of 28 March 2011, an insurance broker’s commission is a receivable accrued on issuance of the premium, not on its collection (Art. 9-I-A-1°).
- The commission on an unpaid premium may be provided for if legal action is brought within the 12 months following the month of the provision (Art. 10-I-F-2° of the CGI 2026).
- Reply no. 168 is individual and specific to insurance intermediaries; its extension to other business introducers has not been decided.
Application in 2026: worked example
Assumptions. An SARL subject to corporate tax (IS) has pre-VAT turnover of 30,000,000 DH in the last closed financial year; it is neither public, nor a bank, nor an insurer. On 15/10/2026 it pays by bank transfer a business introduction commission of 60,000 DH excluding VAT, plus 20% VAT (12,000 DH), i.e. 72,000 DH including VAT. The SARL and the introducer are assumed to be registered for VAT. The SARL’s year-end is 31/12/2026.
Case 1 — The introducer is an individual under the RNS
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Commission excluding VAT | 60,000 DH | — |
| VAT invoiced (20%) | 12,000 DH | Art. 89-I-10°, 99-A |
| 10% income tax (IR) withholding on the pre-VAT amount (any legal entity paying an RNS individual) | 6,000 DH | Art. 15 bis, 45 bis-I, 73-II-B-8°, 157-I 2nd indent |
| VAT withholding by the SARL | 9,000 DH (75% of 12,000 DH) if the introducer presents the tax compliance certificate issued less than six months earlier; 12,000 DH (100%) otherwise | Art. 117-IV and 117-V-b; Decree no. 2-06-574, art. 24 and list B |
| Net paid to the introducer | 72,000 − 6,000 − 9,000 = 57,000 DH (54,000 DH without a tax compliance certificate) | — |
| Payment of the withholding by the SARL | before the end of November 2026 | Art. 174-V; NC 733 p. 83 |
| Art. 151-I return by the SARL | by 31/03/2027 at the latest: amount subject 60,000 DH, tax withheld 6,000 DH | Art. 151-I, 20-I |
| For the introducer | gross income of 60,000 DH; 6,000 DH credited against income tax, return before 1 May 2027 | Art. 157-I, 82-I, 241 bis-I; NC 733 p. 84 |
Case 2 — The introducer is a company subject to corporate tax (IS)
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 5% corporate tax (IS) withholding | 0 DH: the SARL is not an Art. 157-I 1st-indent payer (2026 threshold: 500 million DH) | Art. 19-IV-A, 157-I, 247-XXXXVI |
| If the payer were a bank, an insurer or a company with turnover ≥ 500 million DH (after 01/07/2026) | 5% × 60,000 = 3,000 DH | Art. 19-IV-A; NC 737 p. 58 |
| VAT withholding under Art. 117-V-c | not applicable (same circle of payers) | Art. 117-V-c, 247-XXXXVI |
| Net paid | 72,000 DH including VAT | — |
| Art. 151-I return | mandatory, without withholding | Art. 151-I |
The withholding tax simulator returns both results according to the status of the payer and of the beneficiary.
Variants. Auto-entrepreneur or CPU introducer: no 10% withholding (NC 733 p. 80); with 100,000 DH paid during the year, the 20,000 DH excess above 80,000 DH would bear 30%, i.e. 6,000 DH (Art. 45 bis-II, 73-II-G-8°), with a detailed statement attached to the Art. 151 return (Art. 151-IV). Non-resident introducer: 10% of the gross pre-VAT amount (Art. 15-IX; Art. 19-IV-B for a company, 73-II-B-1° for an individual), subject to the applicable tax treaty; the commission is reported on the Art. 154 return, filed with the income statement or overall income return (sanction: Art. 195).
Deductibility for the SARL. The 60,000 DH excluding VAT is deductible (Art. 10-I-B; NC 717 p. 136) under three conditions: a proper invoice (Art. 11-III), traceable payment, failing which the deduction is capped at 5,000 DH per day and 50,000 DH per month and per supplier (Art. 11-II), and business interest (Art. 11-IV). The CGI does not make failure to withhold a ground for non-deductibility. A payer that does not withhold remains personally liable for the sums not paid over, plus the penalty and surcharges of Art. 208 (Art. 198 and 208-I); it is exposed to ex officio assessment (Art. 228-I-3°; NC 733 p. 85), and omission from the Art. 151 return is penalised by the Art. 194-I surcharge, calculated on the tax that should have been withheld (NC 733 p. 84).
Key takeaways:
- An SARL with 30 million DH turnover paying a 60,000 DH pre-VAT commission to an RNS individual introducer withholds 6,000 DH (10%, Art. 73-II-B-8°) and pays it before the end of the month following payment (Art. 174-V).
- The same SARL withholds nothing on a commission paid to a company in 2026, as it does not reach the 500 million DH threshold of Art. 247-XXXXVI, but it reports it (Art. 151-I).
Points to watch
- Individual / legal entity asymmetry. For an individual introducer under the RNR or RNS, any private-law legal entity withholds 10%, whatever its turnover. For a corporate introducer, the 5% applies only to Art. 157-I 1st-indent payers.
- Art. 247-XXXXVI schedule. The 200 million DH threshold applies only from 1 January 2028; in 2026 it is 500 million DH.
- Non-final withholding. The 10% and 5% withholdings of Art. 157-I are credited against the tax due, with a refund of any excess (Art. 157-I). By contrast, the 30% on the excess of CPU taxpayers and auto-entrepreneurs (Art. 73-II-G-8°) and the 10% on commissions paid to a non-resident individual (Art. 73-II-B-1°) are final for income tax (IR).
- Three distinct chargeable events. Income: accrued receivable (issuance of the premium, reply no. 168). Withholding: payment or crediting to an account (NC 733 p. 82). VAT: collection, unless the accruals basis is elected (Art. 95).
- Insurance commissions. VAT of insurance agents and brokers is withheld by the insurer (Art. 116). These services are excluded from the VAT withholding of Art. 117-V, but remain within the scope of the Art. 15 bis corporate tax (IS) / income tax (IR) withholding. See our article on VAT withholding tax.
- VAT withholding on a business introducer. List B of Decree no. 2-06-574, which sets the services subject to the withholding of Art. 117-V-b and c, covers in particular commercial canvassing, services of sales representatives, brokers, commission agents, authorised agents and business agents, as well as brokerage transactions and other leases of goods or services. A VAT-registered private-law legal entity, or a VAT-registered individual under the RNR or RNS, withholds 75% of the VAT invoiced by a VAT-registered individual introducer, whatever the payer’s turnover, and 100% if the introducer does not present the tax compliance certificate issued less than six months earlier (Art. 117-IV and 117-V-b). Services of 5,000 DH or less are excluded, up to a limit of 50,000 DH per month and per supplier (Art. 117). For a corporate introducer, a private payer withholds VAT only if it falls under Art. 117-V-c (banks, insurers, companies reaching the Art. 247-XXXXVI threshold); public payers withhold under Art. 117-V-a, on the services in list A of the decree (which covers commercial canvassing) and on those covered by a services procurement contract (Decree no. 2-06-574, art. 24).
- Occasional private introducer. A person with no business tax (TP) registration, under neither the RNR nor the RNS, falls outside Art. 15 bis. The commission could fall under remuneration paid to persons outside the permanent staff, subject to 30%, not final (Art. 58-II-C, 73-II-G-1°); this classification has not been decided for business introduction.
- Surcharges. Art. 194-I of the CGI 2026 provides for 5%, 15% and 20%, with a minimum of 500 DH.
Key takeaways:
- Commissions of insurance agents and brokers bear a VAT withholding by the insurer (Art. 116) and are excluded from the VAT withholding of Art. 117-V.
- VAT invoiced by a VAT-registered individual introducer to a VAT-registered private-law legal entity is withheld at source at 75%, or 100% without a tax compliance certificate, except for services of 5,000 DH or less, up to a limit of 50,000 DH per month and per supplier (Art. 117-V-b; Decree no. 2-06-574, list B).
Frequently asked questions
Is a business introducer commission paid to a self-employed person subject to withholding tax?
Yes if the introducer is an individual under the RNR or RNS: 10% of the pre-VAT amount, withheld by any legal entity or RNR/RNS individual who pays, with no turnover threshold (Art. 73-II-B-8°, 157-I), creditable against income tax. Auto-entrepreneur or CPU: 30% only above 80,000 DH per client (Art. 45 bis-II).
What if the introducer is a company?
5% withholding on the pre-VAT amount only if the payer is public (State, local authority, public establishment or enterprise, subsidiary), a bank, an insurer or a company reaching the turnover threshold: 500 million DH from 01/07/2026, 350 million from 01/01/2027, 200 million from 01/01/2028 (Art. 19-IV-A, 157-I, 247-XXXXVI). An SME withholds nothing but reports the commission (Art. 151).
When must an insurance broker recognise its commission?
On issuance of the premium on which it is calculated, not on collection: the tax administration treats it as an accrued receivable (Art. 9-I-A-1°; DGI reply no. 168 of 28/03/2011). If the premium remains unpaid, the commission may be provided for, provided legal action is brought within the 12 months following the month of the provision (Art. 10-I-F-2°).
Is the commission deductible for the payer?
Yes, as an external expense incurred for the business (Art. 10-I-B; NC 717 p. 136), if it is supported by a proper invoice (Art. 11-III), settled, above 5,000 DH per day and per supplier or 50,000 DH per month and per supplier, by non-endorsable crossed cheque, commercial paper, magnetic means of payment, bank transfer, electronic process or set-off under the conditions of Art. 11-II and is not a gratuitous payment (Art. 11-IV).
Which returns must the payer file?
It pays the withholding within the month following payment (Art. 171-I-A and 174-V), then reports the recorded commissions allocated to taxpayers registered for business tax (TP), corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR), by beneficiary, with its income statement or income return (Art. 151-I, 20, 82); commissions paid to non-residents are reported on the Art. 154 return. Late filing, omission or an insufficient return under Art. 151 costs 5%, 15% or 20% of the tax withheld or that should have been withheld, minimum 500 DH (Art. 194-I); late payment of the withholding triggers the penalty and surcharges of Art. 208 (Art. 198 and 208-I).
READ ALSO:
- Withholding tax in Morocco: services 2026
- Deductible expenses for corporate tax in Morocco
- Withholding tax on services provided by foreign companies in Morocco
