Customs transit professionals must await a formal parliamentary statute after lawmakers abruptly stripped a mandatory operational rulebook from the 2027 finance bill.
The provision targeting customs transit agents was dropped at the eleventh hour of debate on Wednesday, November 11, inside the House of Representatives Finance Committee, Le 360 Français reported. According to L’Economiste’s November 16 edition, the parliamentary group behind the amendment argued that professional operating conditions cannot be governed by administrative decisions outside standard legislative channels.
- Legislative Delay: The government must now draft a detailed standalone bill, pushing back the implementation timeline for the contested rulebook.
- Historical Resistance: The move follows intense lobbying by the profession against the earlier, abandoned draft law 19-18, which included a strict 400,000-dirham bank guarantee.
- Compliance Window: Once enacted, new agents must attach the rulebook to their license requests, while existing operators will receive a one-year grace period to meet the new standards.
Lawmakers intervened because setting the boundaries of a regulated profession requires a full parliamentary text rather than executive decree. The government previously withdrew draft law 19-18 under heavy pressure from industry lobbyists who rejected provisions like the hefty 400,000-dirham financial guarantee. Consequently, officials favored a gradual overhaul of the regulatory framework governing the country’s 498 active customs transit agents.
Ruling majority parties pointed out that the profession requires more than a simple administrative rulebook to manage its legal obligations and heavy responsibilities. Customs agents serve as vital nodes for simplifying procedures and accelerating physical cargo movements across borders, interacting constantly with exporters, importers, and customs authorities.
Integrating the rulebook into Article 68 of the Customs Code was initially designed as a preliminary step before Finance Minister Fouzi Lekjaâ announced the need for a comprehensive legislative project.
| Regulatory Milestone | Previous Approach | Revised Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Governing Instrument | Draft Law 19-18 (Withdrawn) | Standalone Parliamentary Bill |
| Financial Guarantee | 400,000 Dirhams (Contested) | Under Legislative Review |
| Compliance Timeline | Immediate Administrative Decree | One-year Grace Period for Active Agents |
The future mandate will formally codify existing professional standards already enforced in other trade sectors, such as bonded warehouses used for temporary cargo storage under customs supervision. Every page of the new compliance document must be initialed by practitioners before it applies immediately to incoming applicants seeking operational approval.
“We have already held a meeting with the Customs Administration regarding this matter,” said Nour Eddine Lahmamssi, president of the Association of Approved Customs Transit Agents of Morocco, telling Le 360 Français that the measure aims to formalize existing protocols without altering the core Customs Code.
Lahmamssi said that the standardized framework will eliminate ignorance of basic operational rules among practitioners, such as the mandatory display of official office signs carrying fines up to 30,000 dirhams for non-compliance. Additional clauses will strictly regulate personnel badge usage, requiring immediate badge surrender and the deactivation of digital system access keys whenever staff members resign or face dismissal.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
