Doing Business 2019 Morocco Economy Profile Morocco Page 1 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Economy Profile of Morocco Doing Business 2019 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality Page 2 Doing Business 2019 Morocco About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) Page 3 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Ease of Doing Business in DB 2019 Rank Region Middle East & North Africa 190 1 Morocco Income Category Lower middle income 60 DB 2019 Ease of doing business score Population 35,739,580 0 100 City Covered Casablanca 71.02 DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score 0 100 77.68: Spain (Rank: 30) 77.29: France (Rank: 32) 71.02: Morocco (Rank: 60) 58.56: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 120) 58.30: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 49.65: Algeria (Rank: 157) Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100 represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Rankings on Doing Business topics - Morocco 1 18 25 28 34 55 59 62 68 64 68 71 82 Rank 112 109 136 163 190 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Morocco 100 92.99 85.72 83.58 79.94 81.34 80 67.86 60.00 60.93 Score 60 52.84 45.00 40 20 0 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Page 4 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Starting a Business This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. • Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) The business: • Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type city of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms • Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office. - Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave the home to register the also collected for the second largest business city. company - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). - Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity; • Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita. identification card - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade Time required to complete each procedure activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, (calendar days) liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes. • Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per capita. • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot start on the same day) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of • Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received The owners: • No prior contact with officials - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or • Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the • No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. law or commonly used in practice Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) • Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration or up to 3 months after incorporation Page 5 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Starting a Business - Morocco Standardized Company Legal form Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) Paid-in minimum capital requirement MAD 0 City Covered Casablanca Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Procedure – Men (number) 4 7.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 9 20.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 3.7 22.6 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Procedure – Women (number) 4 7.9 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 9 21.2 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 3.7 22.6 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 8.1 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Starting a Business Score 0 100 93.27: France (Rank: 30) 92.99: Morocco (Rank: 34) 86.91: Spain (Rank: 86) 84.11: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 109) 82.00: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 78.07: Algeria (Rank: 150) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 6 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Starting a Business in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 9 3 8 Cost (% of income per capita) 2.5 7 6 2 Time (days) 5 1.5 4 3 1 2 0.5 1 0 0 1 2 3 *4 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 7 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Starting a Business in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain a Certificate of availability of the company name (Certificat Négatif) Less than one day DH 162 Agency : Regional Investment Center (Centre Regional d'Investissement) (online procedure) A certificate of availability of the company name must be obtained. One may apply for it in person or online at www.directompic.ma. 2 Register with the Tribunal of Commerce, the Tax Authorities, Social 7 days DH350 (commercial Security and the patent tax at the Regional Investment Center (Centre registry fee) + DH200 Regional d'Investissement) (registration fee) + Agency : Regional Investment Center (Centre Regional d'Investissement) DH150 publication The applicant can download a single registration form (formulaire unique declaration de fee (DH8-9/ line in création d’entreprise) online. With the completed form, the applicant must file the business paper, DH incorporation documents and pay the relevant fees at the Centre Regional 4/line) d’Investissement (CRI). The CRI centralizes the following procedures: - Deposit of bylaws and registration at the Tribunal of Commerce and the Company Registrar - Business tax number (taxe professionnelle) - Two announcements: in a legal journal and in the Official Bulletin - Declaration of fiscal existence - Social security affiliation - Legalization of legal books When submitting the form and all documents, the entrepreneur must include the text for publication in both publications (that is, the legal newspaper and the Official Gazette). The text must be in Arabic and typed. The CRI coordinates the publication process. Although the announcement is published in the Official Gazette in 30 days, a receipt from submitting the publication is enough for filing the registration documents with the Tribunal of Commerce. In about a week, the promoter receives the business tax (taxe professionnelle), the fiscal identification, the commercial registration certificate, legal books, and the social security registration (CNSS registration). As a new service, the entrepreneur can request to be notified by text message when the file is ready. 3 Make a company stamp 1 day DH 200 Agency : Sealmaker The company obtains a company seal from a sealmaker. 4 Register the company's employees with Social Security (CNSS) Less than a day no charge Agency : Social Security Institute (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale - CNSS) (online and Once the company has been incorporated, business founders must register the company's simultaneous with employees with Social Security (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale - CNSS) . This can previous procedure) be done through a visit to CNSS' offices or online at the Damancom portal (http://www.damancom.ma/). Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 8 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo): all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second • Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city. all necessary inspections - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a • Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any • Registering and selling the warehouse after its other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or completion topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion. (calendar days) The warehouse: • Does not include time spent gathering information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of • Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 though procedures that can be fully completed meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately online are an exception to this rule 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the • Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further • No prior contact with officials documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted Cost required to complete each procedure (% of as procedures. income per capita) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements). • Official costs only, no bribes The water and sewerage connections: Building quality control index (0-15) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there • Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is • Quality control before construction (0-1) no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. • Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average • Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day. • Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 9 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Dealing with Construction Permits - Morocco Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse MAD 1,429,856.70 City Covered Casablanca Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 13 16.6 12.7 None in 2017/18 Time (days) 88 137.4 153.1 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of warehouse value) 3.4 4.7 1.5 None in 2017/18 Building quality control index (0-15) 13.0 12.1 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 79.94: Morocco (Rank: 18) 79.30: France (Rank: 19) 71.77: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 68) 70.60: Spain (Rank: 78) 63.28: Algeria (Rank: 129) 59.17: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) 2.5 80 Cost (% of warehouse value) 70 2 60 Time (days) 1.5 50 40 1 30 20 0.5 10 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 *9 10 11 * 12 13 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 10 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 15 14.0 14.0 13.0 12.0 12.1 11.0 Index score 10 5 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain cadastral plan and location map 2 days MAD 125 Agency : Agence Nationale de Consérvation Foncière et du Cadastre The cadastral plan contains the company name; the coordinates of the land plot, including north-south orientation; the registration number of the property title; the cadastral map; and the situation plan. 2 Obtain an urban certificate (note de renseignements) 0.5 days MAD 450 Agency : Land Registry (Agence Urbaine de Casablanca) The urban certificate specifies the intended purpose of the land. All documents obtained in the previous procedure must be submitted along with a proof of ownership -- an extract from the land registry. 3 Submit scanned documents online and request building permit 0.5 days MAD 300 Agency : CasaUrba The architect will log in to CasaUrba (www.casaurba.ma) to obtain the list of required documents for his project. all required documents are scanned and uploaded in the system for verification of completeness. Casaurba is only accessible to architects. Within 24 hours, the architect is informed if there are any missing documents. The cost is as follows: MAD 150 for small projects and MAD 300 for larger projects (including the Doing Business case study warehouse). 4 Obtain building permit 15 days MAD 30,663 Agency : Municipal Authority, Prefecture Authorities, Land Registry (Agence Urbaine) and Fire Department (Protection Civile) The architect is required to upload all documents on the website casaurba.ma so that the commission can review it. The request is electronically filed and an issuance date will be assigned within 15 days. Once the commission has approved the application, the architect is informed by Casaurba of the decision. The file submitted to obtain a building permit includes about eight architectural plans, land registry plans, the land ownership certificate provided by Land Registry, and application forms containing general information about the construction project and a description of the construction project. A set of the application file is sent to the Fire Department (Protection Civile), Prefecture Authorities, and Land Registry (Agence Urbaine), and LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux de Casablanca). The fees are paid at the municipality once the building permit has been granted to the project owner. Each architectural study plan is subject to the following payments: • MAD 50.00 for stamp duties • MAD 2.00 per sq. m. of construction for fire safety • MAD 20.00 per sq. m. for the permit • Approximately MAD 2,000.00 for occupancy permit (frais d'occupation de domaine public) 5 Hire licensed technical supervisor 1 day MAD 5,000 Agency : Licensed Technical Supervisor A private “Bureau de controle” must be hired to conduct the inspections during construction. The price is negotiable but for a warehouse construction such as the one in the Doing Business case study, the cost will not exceed MAD 5,000. 6 Notify Municipality of commencement of work 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality According to Article 5 of Appendix 6, building permit sample, issued in the Decree Nº2- 13-424 of May 24, 2013 and published in the Official Gazette No. 6174 of 1 August 2013 "the applicant is required to inform the relevant departments of the municipality by mail within 48 hours of the commencement of work. BuildCo informs the Commune through an ‘avis d’ouverture de chantier’ of the commencement of construction. Page 11 Doing Business 2019 Morocco 7 Receive random inspection from the controlleur de la commune (municipal 1 day no charge inspector) Agency : Municipality The Controlleur de la commune will conduct one random inspection during the construction phase to verify there is a construction permit. 8 Architect submits final report to Municipality that the warehouse was built 1 day no charge according to the approved plans Agency : Municipality In November 2013, Morocco adopted Decree N°2-13-424 forming the General Code of Construction and the Joint Order N°3214.13. As a result of the decree, BuildCo no longer has to receive a final inspection from the relevant government authorities. Instead, the architect must file a report (attestation) that the building has been built according to the approved plans. 9 Apply for water and sewerage connection 1 day no charge Agency : LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux Casablanca) As of June 2010 the request to be connected to water and sewage is done at the LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux de Casablanca) in one same dossier (file) after construction. 10 Receive water and sewerage inspection from LYDEC 1 day no charge Agency : LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux Casablanca) LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux Casablanca) inspects the site to estimate the connection and installation costs. LYDEC inspectors usually visit the site within 2 weeks of processing the application for the water and sewerage connection. 11 Obtain water and sewerage connection 57 days MAD 5,000 Agency : LYDEC (Lyonnaise Des Eaux Casablanca) For the water supply connection, LYDEC uses the following pricing formula: (PGI) = KO x I/IO x (Q-35), where KO = MAD 917.10 per cubic meter per day; I/IO = revision indicia; and Q = 1 cubic meters/day x 100 sq. m. The applicable value added tax on PGI is 14%. Obtain certificate of conformity (certificat de conformité) 7 days no charge 12 Agency : Municipality The mayor issue a certificate of conformity based on the document that the architect stating that the building was constructed according to the approved plans. 13 Register the building with the Agence Nationale de Consérvation Foncière 7 days MAD 7,149 et du Cadastre Agency : Agence Nationale de Consérvation Foncière et du Cadastre Although not legally required, owners generally register the building with the Land Registry (Agence Nationale de Consérvation Foncière et du Cadastre) to increase the asset value. No registration for tax purposes is necessary. The cost is 0.5% of the declared value of the construction. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 12 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 13.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0 Free of charge; In official gazette. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid; Required preapprovals. Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0 compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by 1.0 (0-2) external engineer or firm; Unscheduled inspections; Inspections at various phases. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0 inspections are always done in practice. Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0 Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, external 2.0 with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) engineer submits report for final inspection. Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0 always occurs in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 2.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building Architect or 1.0 once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) engineer; Professional in charge of the supervision; Construction company. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible Architect or 1.0 structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance engineer; or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) Professional in charge of the supervision; Construction company; Insurance is commonly taken in practice. Professional certifications index (0-4) 3.0 Page 13 Doing Business 2019 Morocco What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Minimum number 2.0 architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) of years of experience; University degree in architecture or engineering; Being a registered architect or engineer. What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction University degree 1.0 on the ground? (0-2) in engineering, construction or construction management; Being a registered architect or engineer. Page 14 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. • Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are receiving all necessary inspections also collected for the second largest business city. • Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. • Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final supply - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet). (calendar days) The electricity connection: • Is at least 1 calendar day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed • Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 • Does not include time spent gathering kilowatt (kW). information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve follow-up and no prior contact with officials the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all Cost required to complete each procedure (% of carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property income per capita) because the warehouse has access to a road. - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has • Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or • Value added tax excluded switchboard and the meter base. The reliability of supply and transparency of The monthly consumption: tariffs index (0-8) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 • Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance supplier. (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used. • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* • Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study *Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing business score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 15 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Getting Electricity - Morocco Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 12.3 Name of utility Lydec City Covered Casablanca Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 5 4.7 4.5 3 (25 Economies) Time (days) 44 72.4 77.2 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 1417.4 479.9 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 7 4.2 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies) index (0-8) Figure – Getting Electricity in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 92.01: France (Rank: 14) 83.00: Spain (Rank: 48) 81.34: Morocco (Rank: 59) 71.41: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 96) 69.58: Algeria (Rank: 106) 69.45: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity. Page 16 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Getting Electricity in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 800 40 700 Cost (% of income per capita) 35 600 30 Time (days) 500 25 400 20 300 15 200 10 5 100 0 0 1 2 *3 4 5 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 8 8 8 7 7 6 Index score 5 5 4.2 4 3 3 2 1 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Page 17 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Getting Electricity in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain certification of internal wiring works by approved private entity 7 calendar days MAD 6,000 Agency : Control office When the works are completed, a (private) control office accredited by the Ministry of Labor checks the LV installation, including the entire internal wiring, and issues a certificate necessary to obtain a final electricity connection. 2 Submit application to Lydec and await estimate 9 calendar days MAD 192,000 Agency : Lydec Along with the application, the client needs to submit the following: • certified copy of the plans • copy of lease or purchase agreement • 3 sketches of the electrical installation signed and stamped by a Lydec accredited (along with copy of accreditation card) • Copy of national ID or residency card or passport (for individuals) ; copy of the commercial register or trading license (for companies) • establishing shot (« plan de situation ») showing the expected location of the unit substation and indicating the capacity of the transformer that the client expects to install, along with the expected subscribed capacity • certification of low-voltage works by approved private entity 3 Obtain external inspection by Lydec 1 calendar day MAD 0 Agency : Lydec Lydec’s technical service inspects the site to check the expected location of the substation and the method of connecting the warehouse to the Medium-Voltage (MV) network. Lydec then prepares an estimate of the connection fees. 4 Hire accredited private firm to design and carry out external works 20 calendar days MAD 200,000 Agency : Registered electrician/ electrical contractor If the client’s needs are over 50 kVA and their expected consumption more than 170,000 kWh a year, the client is advised to buy their energy from the medium-voltage network and transform it at their site. Otherwise, a direct connection to the 220/380 V low-voltage network is preferred. In order to obtain approval of the electrical construction project, the client’s electrician accredited by Lydec to work on the MV network, will need to submit the following documents to the utility:: • 4 copies of the engineering civil part of the project and of the electrical equipment of the substation • 4 copies of the drawings for the protection of the substation part (if a MV transformer is needed) When the client has paid at least 50% of the fees, and after they have received approval of the plans, Lydec will send the client’s electrician a validated copy of the plans. After the full amount has been settled, Lydec will allow the latter to start the civil engineering and electrical equipment works that Lydec will also supervise. To make sure the substation works properly at turn-on, Lydec supervises the works to check they are carried out according to the rules. When these are finished, Lydec completes the turn-on in the presence of the firm in charge of the external works. The client or their electrician will need to buy the material for the external works themselves. Any excavation permit however, is obtained by Lydec directly from the city administration ("Commune Urbaine") or the Ministry of Public Works. 5 Sign supply contract and obtain part of the works and final connection by 8 calendar days MAD 7,325.07 Lydec Agency : Lydec No official application form is necessary for subscribing to electricity. The client needs only submit the following to Lydec, on paper, by fax, or by e-mail : • Completion certificate of the building • Certificate of control of LV installation (obtained from body approved by Ministry of Labor) • Application request for subscription to MV network • Subscribed capacity (in kVA) • Personal and professional information • Contact details The (meter) current transformer is provided by Lydec. Once the subscription file is submitted and all corresponding fees have been settled, Lydec will provide the client with the metering equipment and the client will be able to sign a supply contract. Turn-on of electricity is done only upon signing of a supply contract and submission of a completion certificate of the building. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 18 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Getting Electricity in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 2 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.5 System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 2.2 What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 1.0 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of Yes supply? Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages Yes exceed a certain cap? Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1 Are effective tariffs available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online https://client.lydec.m a/site/fr/web/guest/g e/lire-votre-facture Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Page 19 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. • Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller): checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 • Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities. Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller): (calendar days) - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. • Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller. information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past • Each procedure starts on a separate day - 10 years. though procedures that can be fully completed - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 • Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is document is received located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no • No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety. property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. • Official costs only (such as administrative fees, - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of duties and taxes). any kind. - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural payments are excluded activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Quality of land administration index (0-30) • Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) • Transparency of information index (0–6) • Geographic coverage index (0–8) • Land dispute resolution index (0–8) • Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Page 20 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Registering Property - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 6 5.6 4.7 1 (4 Economies) Time (days) 20.5 29.7 20.1 1 (New Zealand) Cost (% of property value) 6.4 5.7 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 19.5 14.2 23.0 None in 2017/18 Figure – Registering Property in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Registering Property Score 0 100 71.74: Spain (Rank: 58) 67.86: Morocco (Rank: 68) 63.33: France (Rank: 96) 62.11: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 55.00: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 125) 44.26: Algeria (Rank: 165) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Registering Property in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 4.5 20 4 Cost (% of property value) 3.5 15 3 Time (days) 2.5 10 2 1.5 5 1 0.5 0 0 1 *2 3 4 *5 6 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 21 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Registering Property in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 30 25 24.0 22.5 Index score 19.5 20 15 14.2 10 9.0 7.5 5 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Details – Registering Property in Morocco – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Conduct due diligence at the Commercial Court Registry 1 day MAD 20 Agency : Commercial court registry The notary obtains the modèle J form (also called modèle 7) to check the selling company's legal standing at the commercial court registry and to ensure that it is not in a state of insolvency, liquidation or receivership. The notary should insert a clause in the deed of assignment on the subject. 2 Complete due diligence at the Land Registry Less than one day, MAD 100 Agency : Land Registry ("Conservation Foncière") online The notary verifies whether or not there is an open file for the selling company file with the Land registry (Conservation fonciere) where the property is located. If one already exists, the notary will verify that all relevant information is accurate and where applicable, update it with the information that both managers have the power to sell or buy the property at a definite cost and that their tenure as manager is still valid. The notary also verifies that the selling SARL is the owner and the property is not encumbered. The notary can check the encumbrances on the property online. 3 The sale contract is signed by both parties and authenticated by the notary 1 day MAD 12,396.32; Agency : Notary (0.75% to 1% of the The signatures of the parties in the sales deed are only certified by the public notary if a transaction value notarial deed is established. Since January 2011, the stamp duty is paid directly at the (notary fees) + 600 Land registry. It is no longer necessary to purchase the stamps and stamp each page as dirhams in stamps previously required. The deed can be prepared by the parties, in some cases assisted by (20 dirhams per their lawyers. At this point the parties will usually pay all fees and taxes to the notary, page, 5 pages, 6 who will then pay all taxes and fees to the authorities on behalf of the parties. The copies)) documentation shall include: • The sales agreement signed by the parties • ID cards of each party; if the parties’ signatures are filed with the local authorities, only a certified copy of their ID cards and the date and number under which the deed was filed will be required 10% VAT on notary fees. 4 Obtain an "Attestation Fiscale" from Regional General Tax Authority 15 days no charge Agency : Regional General Tax Authority The pre-sale agreement (Promesse de vente) is delivered to the “Percepteur” to obtain an Attestation Fiscale from the tax collection authority (la Perception), showing whether there are outstanding taxes. As of 2016, the notaries can obtain the tax clearance after finalizing the property transfer. The “Attestation Fiscale” is mandatory by law (Article 139 du Code General des impôts). The tax collection authority enters the request for tax clearance in its automatic system; this triggers requests for clearance from other agencies: - the Direction Régionale des Impôts to verify the payment of Council or Local Tax (Taxe d’habitation/ Taxe des services communaux) - the Commune Urbaine de Casablanca to verify the payment of the urban tax Once clearance is obtained from both agencies, the tax collection authority delivers the tax clearance certificate showing that the seller has cleared all taxes. 5 Registration of the deed with Tax Authority 2 days MAD 57,194.27; (4% Agency : Tax authority of Casablanca of property price for The registration duty is 4%, pursuant to the Loi de Finances 2012. Since January 1, 2018, registration duty) the registration of the sales deed with the Tax Authority must be carried out electronically, and the payment of the property transfer tax must also be paid by electronic means. Page 22 Doing Business 2019 Morocco 6 The buyer applies for the inscription of the registered deed on the land 3 days MAD 21,547.85; registers (Conservation Foncière, du Cadastre et de la Cartographie) (MAD 100 + 1.5% of Agency : Land Registry ("Conservation Foncière") property value for Listing of the registered sales deed in the land registry is an additional formality, which is stamp duty, with a separate from registration. The buyer applies for the listing of the registered deed on the minimum of MAD land registers. According to a law 14-07, which entered into force on May 23, 2012, such 500) listing must be completed within 3 months from the date the deed was drafted for authentic deeds and as from the date the last signature was certified for private deeds. Parties submit a statement that must include the following: 1. designation with land title number, of building to be listed; 2. nature of right due to be listed; 3. acquisition method and nature and date of deed testifying to it; 4. if applicable, cause of resolution, restriction or right to dispose of or special notice that needs to be listed at the same time as main right, together with details of beneficiary. This statement must be signed by both parties. An original copy of the private deed or a copy of the authentic deed concerned is attached to such application. One receives an official copy of the property registration certificate (certificat d'insription) at the end of this process for MAD 100, which one can sell immediately. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 23 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Registering Property in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 7.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Agence Nationale de la Conservation Fonciere du Cadastre et de la Cartographie (ANCFCC) - Direction de la Conservation Fonciere In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Scann 1.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? ed Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions Yes 1.0 and the like)? Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Agence Nationale de la Conservation Fonciere du Cadastre et de la Cartographie (ANCFCC) - Service du Cadastre de Casablanca In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Fully 2.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? digital Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing Yes 1.0 cadastral information (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Different 1.0 or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases but databases? linked Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the Yes 1.0 same identification number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 4.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Anyone who 1.0 property registration in the largest business city? pays the official fee Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made Yes, online 0.5 publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/media/11 92/tarifs-et- delais.pdf Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/FR/PDF _Source/PDF_40 6.pdf Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally Yes, online 0.5 binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/media/11 92/tarifs-et- delais.pdf Page 24 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the Yes 0.5 immovable property registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2017: 59,583 property transfers in Casablanca Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5 pays the official fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, online 0.5 and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/media/11 92/tarifs-et- delais.pdf http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/nos- m%C3%A9tiers/c onservation- fonci%C3%A8re- cadastre/depot- dossiers- techniques/ Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a Yes, online 0.5 specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: http://www.ancfcc .gov.ma/media/11 92/tarifs-et- delais.pdf Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 2.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0 registry? Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0 immovable property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? Yes 2.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 6.0 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5 property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5 Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who Yes 0.5 engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry? Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5 transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar; Notary; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5 transaction? If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar; Notary; Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0 Page 25 Doing Business 2019 Morocco For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property Tribunal de worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business première city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance? instance de Casablanca How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a Between 1 and 2 2.0 case (without appeal)? years Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? Yes 0.5 Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2017: 605.0 Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Page 26 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of • Rights of borrowers and lenders through indicators. The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices collateral laws (0-10) affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index bankruptcy laws (0-2) measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first Depth of credit information index (0–8) determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case • Scope and accessibility of credit information scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Special emphasis (0-8) is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank. • Number of individuals and firms listed in largest In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case credit bureau as a percentage of adult population A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions Credit registry coverage (% of adults) relating to the use of movable collateral. • Number of individuals and firms listed in credit Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) registry as a percentage of adult population are used: - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Page 27 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Getting Credit - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 2.2 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 7 5.1 6.7 8 (42 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0 14.7 21.8 100.0 (4 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 29 15.5 65.3 100.0 (25 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Credit Score 0 100 65.00: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 60) 60.00: Spain (Rank: 73) 50.00: France (Rank: 99) 45.00: Morocco (Rank: 112) 36.00: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 10.00: Algeria (Rank: 178) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Figure – Legal Rights in Morocco and comparator economies 8 7 6 Index Score 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 2 2.2 2 1 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Page 28 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Legal Rights in Morocco Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without No requiring a specific description of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a Yes specific description of collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and No replacements of the original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be Yes secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by No asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtor's name? Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed No online by any interested third party? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency No procedure? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization No procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow No the secured creditor to sell the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? Figure – Credit Information in Morocco and comparator economies 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 5.1 Index Score 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Page 29 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Credit Information in Morocco Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit Credit Score bureau registry Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? Yes No 1 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? Yes No 1 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and No No 0 financial institutions - distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries Yes No 1 that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? Yes No 1 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or Yes No 1 credit registry? Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online Yes No 1 (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help Yes No 1 banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Total Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 7 Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0. Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 6,502,180 0 Number of firms 331,282 0 Total 6,833,462 0 Percentage of adult population 29 0 Page 30 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions • Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related- party transactions The business (Buyer): • Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock of minority shareholders to sue and hold exchange. If there are fewer than ten listed companies or if there is no stock interested directors liable for prejudicial related- exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with party transactions; Available legal remedies multiple shareholders. (damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on imprisonment, rescission of the transaction) behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. • Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. Access to internal corporate documents; James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum legal expenses requirements. Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. • Extent of conflict of interest regulation index - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of The transaction involves the following details: shareholder indices - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two • Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): directors to Buyer’s five-member board. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail decisions hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. • Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Governance safeguards protecting shareholders Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price from undue board control and entrenchment is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not • Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): outside the authority of the company. Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all compensation, audits and financial prospects required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. • Extent of shareholder governance index (0– - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the 10): Simple average of the extent of shareholders executives and directors that approved the transaction. rights, extent of ownership and control and extent of corporate transparency indices • Strength of minority investor protection index (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices Page 31 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Protecting Minority Investors - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 9.0 6.4 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 4.7 5.3 10 (Cambodia) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7.0 4.5 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 6.0 5.1 6.4 10 (Kazakhstan) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 5.0 4.7 5.4 None in 2017/18 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 7.0 5.8 7.6 10 (6 Economies) Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 70.00: Spain (Rank: 30) 66.67: France (Rank: 38) 60.00: Morocco (Rank: 64) 58.33: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 72) 51.83: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 35.00: Algeria (Rank: 168) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Morocco 7 2 9 5 6 7 Algeria 4 1 4 4 3 5 Egypt, Arab Rep. 9 3 8 7 5 3 France 10 3 8 8 5 6 Spain 9 6 7 5 9 6 OECD high income 7.4 5.5 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 Middle East & North Africa 5.8 4.7 6.4 4.7 5.1 4.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) Page 32 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) 6 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 9.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders 3.0 excluding interested parties Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Full disclosure of 2.0 all material facts Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) Disclosure on the 2.0 transaction and on the conflict of interest Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) Disclosure on the 2.0 transaction and on the conflict of interest Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the Yes 1.0 transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0- Not liable 0.0 2) Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Liable if negligent 1.0 Buyer (0-2) Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of 0.0 fraud or bad faith Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the Yes 1.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying Yes 1.0 specific ones? (0-1) Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Preapproved 1.0 questions only Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) No 0.0 Can shareholder plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) Yes if successful 1.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 6.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 6.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of Yes 1.0 shareholders? Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0 Page 33 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new Yes 1.0 shares? Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected Yes 1.0 shares approve? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require No 0.0 member approval? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a No 0.0 meeting of members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all or almost all members consent to add a No 0.0 new member? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member first offer to sell their interest to Yes 1.0 the existing members before they can sell to non-members? Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 5.0 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of No 0.0 directors? Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end Yes 1.0 of their term? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board Yes 1.0 members? Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Yes 1.0 Buyer? Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? Yes 1.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve Yes 1.0 disagreements among members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to No 0.0 all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute profits within a maximum No 0.0 period set by law? Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 7.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and No 0.0 directorships in other companies? Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? Yes 1.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting Yes 1.0 agenda? Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on the No 0.0 meeting agenda? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual financial statements be Yes 1.0 audited by an external auditor? Page 34 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2017 (January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017). See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory contributions a 2017 (number per year adjusted for electronic medium size company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden and joint filing and payment) of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax • Total number of taxes and contributions paid or laws, time taken to comply with the requirements of postfiling processes and time withheld, including consumption taxes (value waiting. added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2016. Time required to comply with 3 major taxes It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions (hours per year) recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2017). Taxes and • Collecting information, computing tax payable mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. • Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process: required - In June 2017, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the • Completing tax return, filing with agencies machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are • Arranging payment or withholding equally expensed per month (875 times income per capita divided by 12). The Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, profits) sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will • Profit or corporate income tax exceed Output VAT in June 2017. • Social contributions, labor taxes paid by The corporate income tax audit process: employer - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax • Property and property transfer taxes depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an • Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. taxes discovered the error and voluntarily notified the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. Postfiling Index • Time to comply with a VAT refund (hours) • Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) • Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) • Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) Page 35 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Paying Taxes - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Payments (number per year) 6 17.7 11.2 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 155 196.7 159.4 49 (Singapore) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 49.8 32.7 39.8 26.1% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 98.62 50.08 84.41 None in 2017/18 Figure – Paying Taxes in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 85.72: Morocco (Rank: 25) 84.58: Spain (Rank: 34) 79.31: France (Rank: 55) 74.52: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 53.91: Algeria (Rank: 156) 52.73: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 159) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Figure – Paying Taxes in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 98.62 100 92.40 93.60 80 Index score 60 49.77 50.08 40 36.54 20 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Page 36 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Paying Taxes in Morocco Tax or Payments Notes on Time Statutory Tax base Total tax Notes on mandatory (number) Payments (hours) tax rate and TTCR contribution contribution rate (% of profit) Corporate 1.0 online 48.0 30% taxable profits 25.09 income tax Social 1.0 online 33.0 21.09% gross salaries 23.32 security contributions Local service 1.0 online 10.5% (urban 3% of fixed 0.84 tax area) assets Vehicle tax 1.0 online MAD 8000 fixed fee 0.55 Value added 1.0 online 74.0 20% value added 0.00 not included tax (VAT) Social 0.0 online and 6.74% gross salaries 0.00 security jointly contributions on employee Stamp duty 1.0 MAD 20/ number of 0.00 small amount page pages in contract Totals 6 155 49.8 Page 37 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Paying Taxes in Morocco – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 25.1 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 23.3 Other taxes (% of profit) 1.4 Page 38 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Paying Taxes in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 98.62 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No Restrictions on VAT refund process Purchase of machine exempted from VAT Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT No VAT Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) No VAT No VAT Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 0% - 24% Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) 3.0 97.25 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No tax audit per 100 case study scenario Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. N/A = Not applicable. Page 39 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are or border handling in origin economy recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency required by destination economy and any transit at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. economies The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual • Covers all documents required by law and in procedure took 24 hours. practice, including electronic submissions of Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are information excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors Border compliance are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector • Customs clearance and inspections experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates. • Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of shipments) Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a • Handling and inspections that take place at the warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a economy’s port or border warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS Domestic transport 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest • Loading or unloading of the shipment at the value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the warehouse or port/border product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its • Transport between warehouse and port/border natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. • Traffic delays and road police checks while - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import shipment is en route product and the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Page 40 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Trading across Borders - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 11 58.0 12.5 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 156 442.4 139.1 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 26 67.9 2.4 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 107 244.6 35.2 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 65 105.4 8.5 0 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 228 536.0 100.2 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 26 75.5 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 116 269.0 24.9 0 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 83.58: Morocco (Rank: 62) 60.17: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 42.23: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 171) 38.43: Algeria (Rank: 173) 100.00: Spain (Rank: 1) 100.00: France (Rank: 1) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import. Figure – Trading across Borders in Morocco – Time and Cost Time (hours) Cost (USD) 70 65 228 250 60 200 Time (hours) 50 Cost (USD) 156 40 150 107 116 30 26 26 100 20 11 50 10 0 0 Export Export Import Import - - - - Border Documentary Border Documentary Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance Page 41 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Trading across Borders in Morocco Characteristics Export Import Product HS 85 : Electrical machinery and HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor equipment and parts thereof; sound vehicles recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles Trade partner France France Border Port of Tanger Port of Tanger Distance (km) 337 337 Domestic transport time (hours) 5 5 Domestic transport cost (USD) 360 360 Details – Trading across Borders in Morocco – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required 7.0 85.8 by customs authorities Export: Clearance and inspections required 0.0 0.0 by agencies other than customs Export: Port or border handling 7.0 70.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required 7.0 146.1 by customs authorities Import: Clearance and inspections required 48.0 0.0 by agencies other than customs Import: Port or border handling 10.0 82.0 Page 42 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Trading across Borders in Morocco – Trade Documents Export Import Commercial invoice Commercial invoice Packing list Packing list Certificate of origin Customs import declaration Customs Export Declaration MCI notification Etat de chargement du Transporteur Delivery Order SOLAS certificate Release Order Import license (Engagement d'importation) SOLAS certificate Bill of lading Page 43 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between 2 courts (calendar days) domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt • Time to file and serve the case enforcement. • Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses several • Time to enforce the judgment assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and courts (% of claim) Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. • Attorney fees - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are • Court fees not of adequate quality. - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local • Enforcement fees currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. • Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure the claim. • Case management (0-6) - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. • Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. • Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable assets. Page 44 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Enforcing Contracts - Morocco Standardized Case Claim value MAD 54,527 Court name Commercial Court of Casablanca City Covered Casablanca Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Time (days) 510 622.0 582.4 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of claim value) 26.5 24.7 21.2 None in 2017/18 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 6.1 11.5 None in 2017/18 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 74.89: France (Rank: 12) 70.90: Spain (Rank: 23) 60.93: Morocco (Rank: 68) 55.04: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) 54.78: Algeria (Rank: 112) 42.75: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 160) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Morocco – Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of claim value) Cost (% of claim value) 1200 30 1010 26.2 26.5 24.7 1000 21.8 25 21.2 Time (days) 800 17.4 17.2 20 630 622.0 582.4 600 510 510 15 395 400 10 200 5 0 0 Algeria Egypt, France Middle Morocco OECD Spain Arab East high Rep. & income North Africa Page 45 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Morocco 2.5 1 0 4.5 Algeria 2.5 0 3 Egypt, Arab Rep. 2 0 3.5 France 2.5 3 2 4.5 Spain 3 2.5 2.5 3.5 OECD high income 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.6 Middle East & North Africa 2.2 0.8 0.4 2.8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Morocco Indicator Time (days) 510 Filing and service 20 Trial and judgment 310 Enforcement of judgment 180 Cost (% of claim value) 26.5 Attorney fees 13.7 Court fees 4.5 Enforcement fees 8.3 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 Case management (0-6) 1.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 Page 46 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Enforcing Contracts in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? Yes 1.5 2. Small claims court 1.5 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? Yes 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? Yes 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, but manual 0.5 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 1.0 1. Time standards 0.0 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil No case? 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? n.a. 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be No granted? 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to No 0.0 disposition report; (ii) clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the No 0.0 competent court? 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for Yes 1.0 use by judges? 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0 use by lawyers? Court automation (0-4) 0.0 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the no 0.0 competent court? 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the No 0.0 competent court? 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.0 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the No general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme No court level made available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 1. Arbitration 1.5 Page 47 Doing Business 2019 Morocco 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public No order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes 2. Mediation/Conciliation 1.0 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects? 2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation No (i.e., if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? Page 48 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: • Measured in calendar years • Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local estate) currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s • Measured as percentage of estate value real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to • Court fees operate otherwise. • Fees of insolvency administrators In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to • Lawyers’ fees judicial liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best • Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered. • Other related fees Outcome • Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors • Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account • Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) • Sum of the scores of four component indices: • Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) • Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) • Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) • Creditor participation index (0-4) Page 49 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Resolving Insolvency - Morocco Indicator Morocco Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory North Africa income Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.5 26.3 70.5 None in 2017/18 Time (years) 3.5 2.8 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 18.0 13.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 .. .. .. concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 12.0 5.9 11.9 None in 2017/18 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 79.10: Spain (Rank: 19) 74.08: France (Rank: 28) 52.84: Morocco (Rank: 71) 49.24: Algeria (Rank: 76) 42.27: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 101) 32.69: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco – Time and Cost Time (years) Cost (% of estate) 4 25 22.0 3.5 Cost (% of estate) 3.5 2.8 18.0 20 Time (years) 3 2.5 2.5 13.8 15 1.9 11.0 2 1.7 9.0 9.3 1.5 1.5 1.3 10 7.0 1 5 0.5 0 0 Algeria Egypt, France Middle Morocco OECD Spain Arab East high Rep. & income North Africa Page 50 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Morocco 5.5 3 2 1.5 Algeria 2 3 1 1 Egypt, Arab Rep. 4 2.5 2 1 France 6 3 1 1 Spain 6 3 1 2 OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.2 1.9 Middle East & North Africa 3.3 2.2 1.2 0.4 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 100 77.3 80 73.8 60 50.8 40 28.5 26.3 23.4 20 0 Morocco Algeria Egypt, Arab Rep. France Spain Middle East & North Africa Page 51 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco Indicator Answer Score Proceeding liquidation (after As Mirage will not be able to settle its current liabilities with its available assets, it will request an attempt at commencement of insolvency proceedings no later than 15 days after the cessation of payments reorganization) (this allows the stay of proceedings and delays the sale of the collateral). If the situation of the company is not irremediably jeopardized, the reorganization will be declared, under article 561 of the Commercial Code. If a reorganization plan is not proposed or if the activity cannot continue, the court will declare the liquidation of Mirage. According to our information, the reorganization will fail and proceedings will be converted into liquidation by the court some months after the opening. This (liquidation after an attempt at reorganization) would be the most likely procedure in Morocco. Outcome piecemeal sale According to our estimations, the reorganization attempt will fail and the proceedings will probably be converted to liquidation. The hotel will stop operating and will be dismantled, and the assets of the debtor will be sold separately. Time (in years) 3.5 According to our estimations, a reorganization attempt that is later converted to liquidation takes approximately 42 months in Morocco. The reorganization attempt will take 12 months (2 months to obtain judgment, 8 months for the syndic to elaborate the report, 2 months for the verification of claims). Then, liquidation is opened and this phase takes around 12 months. Then, the sale of the hotel building, which is the only asset of Mirage, will take approximately 18 months. Cost (% of 18.0 According to our estimations, a reorganization attempt that is later converted into liquidation costs estate) approximately 18% of the value of the estate. Lawyer fees (5%), syndic fees (10%) and bailiffs and court fees (3%) constitute the main fees of the procedure. Recovery rate 28.5 (cents on the dollar) Page 52 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Details – Resolving Insolvency in Morocco – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 12.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 3.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (a) Debtor may 1.0 file for both liquidation and reorganization Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (a) Yes, a creditor 1.0 may file for both liquidation and reorganization What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0 insolvency framework? generally unable to pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 5.5 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods Yes 1.0 and services to the debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome Yes 1.0 contracts? Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after Yes 1.0 commencement of insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (a) Yes over all 0.5 pre- commencement creditors, secured or unsecured Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 1.5 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? (a) All creditors 0.5 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization receive at Yes 1.0 least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, No 0.0 does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 2.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or No 0.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0 assets of the debtor? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information Yes 1.0 from the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions Yes 1.0 accepting or rejecting creditors' claims? Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Page 53 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents detailed data for the labor market regulation indicators on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. same night hours as men; (v) length of paid annual - Has 60 employees. leave. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them. Redundancy rules - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify agreements. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring; (ii) whether law mandates paid or unpaid maternity leave; (iii) length of paid maternity leave; (iv) whether employees on maternity leave receive 100% of wages; (v) availability of five fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Page 54 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Labor Market Regulation - Morocco Details – Labor Market Regulation in Morocco Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) 12.0 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) 12.0 Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 256.9 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.7 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 1.5 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 25.0 Restrictions on night work? No Whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work the same night hours as men Yes Restrictions on weekly holiday? Yes Restrictions on overtime work? No Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 18.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 19.5 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 21.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 19.5 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? Yes Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 8.7 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 8.7 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 7.2 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 2.2 Page 55 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 10.9 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 27.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 13.5 Job quality Equal remuneration for work of equal value? Yes Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? Yes Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 98.0 Receive 100% of wages on maternity leave? Yes Five fully paid days of sick leave a year? No Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? 36.0 Page 56 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Business Reforms in Morocco In the past year, Doing Business observed a peaking of reform activity worldwide. From June 2, 2017, to May 1, 2018, 128 economies implemented a record 314 regulatory reforms improving the business climate. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business. DB2019 Starting a Business: Morocco made starting a business less costly by abolishing the deed registration fee and stamp duties. Registering Property: Morocco made registering property easier by increasing the transparency of the land registry and cadaster and by streamlining administrative procedures. Trading across Borders: Morocco made exporting and importing easier by implementing a paperless customs clearance system and improving infrastructure at the port of Tangier. Resolving Insolvency: Morocco made resolving insolvency easier by facilitating the commencement of proceedings, encouraging the continuation of the debtor’s business during insolvency proceedings and by making insolvency proceedings more accessible for creditors and granting them greater participation in the proceedings. DB2018 Starting a Business: Morocco made starting a business easier by combining the stamp duty payment with the application for business incorporation. Registering Property: Morocco made registering property more expensive by increasing registration fees. Paying Taxes: Morocco made paying taxes easier by improving the online system for filing and paying taxes. DB2017 Starting a Business: Morocco made the process of starting a business easier by introducing an online platform to reserve the company name and reducing registration fees. Registering Property: Morocco made registering property easier by streamlining the property registration process. Getting Credit: In Morocco the credit bureau began to provide credit scores. Protecting Minority Investors: Morocco strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying ownership and control structures and by requiring greater corporate transparency. Trading across Borders: Morocco made trading across borders easier by further developing its single window system and thus reducing border compliance time for importing. DB2016 Starting a Business: Morocco made starting a business easier by eliminating the need to file a declaration of business incorporation with the Ministry of Labor. Dealing with Construction Permits: Morocco made dealing with construction permits more difficult by requiring architects to submit the building permit request online, along with supporting documents, and to follow up with a hard-copy submission. On the other hand, Morocco reduced the time required to obtain an urban certificate. Getting Electricity: The utility in Morocco reduced the time required for getting an electricity connection by providing fee estimates more quickly. Registering Property: Morocco made property transfers faster by establishing electronic communication links between different tax authorities. Paying Taxes: Morocco made paying taxes easier for companies by improving the electronic platform for filing and paying corporate income tax, VAT and labor taxes. On the other hand, Morocco increased the rate of the social charge paid by employers. Labor Market Regulation: 1) Morocco implemented an unemployment insurance scheme. 2) Morocco increased the minimum wage increased from 12.24 to 12.85 DH/hour as of July 1, 2014, according to decree n° 2.14.343 of June 2014, published in the official bulletin 5292. DB2015 Trading across Borders: Morocco made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of export documents required. Page 57 Doing Business 2019 Morocco DB2014 Starting a Business: Morocco made starting a business easier by reducing the company registration fees. Registering Property: Morocco made transferring property easier by reducing the time required to register a deed of transfer at the tax authority. Paying Taxes: Morocco made paying taxes easier for companies by increasing the use of the electronic filing and payment system for social security contributions. DB2013 Starting a Business: Morocco made starting a business easier by eliminating the minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies. Registering Property: Morocco made registering property more costly by increasing property registration fees. DB2012 Dealing with Construction Permits: Morocco made dealing with construction permits easier by opening a one-stop shop. Protecting Minority Investors: Morocco strengthened investor protections by allowing minority shareholders to obtain any nonconfidential corporate document during trial. Paying Taxes: Morocco eased the administrative burden of paying taxes for firms by enhancing electronic filing and payment of the corporate income tax and value added tax. DB2011 Protecting Minority Investors: Morocco strengthened investor protections by requiring greater disclosure in companies’ annual reports. DB2010 Getting Credit: Morocco improved access to credit information through a new private credit bureau that started operations. DB2009 Getting Credit: Morocco improved access to credit information by guaranteeing borrowers’ right to inspect their own data in the public credit registry. Paying Taxes: Morocco made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate, exempting gains made from the sale of certain buildings from the capital gains tax and abolishing fixed registration duty rates on deeds—though it also increased the tax rates on insurance contracts. Trading across Borders: Morocco reduced the time for exporting and importing by eliminating the container identification card. DB2008 Dealing with Construction Permits: Morocco made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing a one-stop shop, which reduced the time required for permit applications. Registering Property: Morocco made registering property more complicated by implementing a requirement to check several tax agencies —rather than just one—in order to obtain a tax clearance certificate. Trading across Borders: Morocco made trading across borders easier by introducing a risk-based inspection system. Page 58 Doing Business 2019 Morocco Page 59