On Friday February 7, 2020 in Rabat, Mr. Mohamed BENCHAABOUN, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Administration Reform and Mr. Chakib ALJ, President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), co-chaired the third meeting of the Observatory of Payment Terms (ODP).
This meeting is a part of an ongoing process started by the Royal Guidelines contained in the Speech of August 20, 2018 and addressed to Public Administrations and Local Authorities, urging them to settle their obligations towards companies.
The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the progress made by public authorities and representatives of the private sector, since the establishment of the ODP, in support of the control of payment terms and improving the business climate. The meeting was also an opportunity to decide on concrete actions to improve, over the long term, the payment terms for both public and private players.
The members of the ODP agreed to quickly implement concrete measures aimed at reducing payment delays. The proposed system consists of monetary penalties against companies that do not comply with regulatory payment limits.
While focusing on proposals that aim to improve the business climate and not to introduce a tax on the competitiveness of companies, it was agreed that the proceeds of these fines be dedicated ultimately to supporting companies.
Furthermore, with regard to the public sector, it was agreed to intervene at an early stage of the invoicing process in order to reduce unforeseen delays as well as to gradually introduce electronic filing of invoices at the level of Public Institutions and Enterprises.
This meeting was attended by members of the Observatory from the CGEM, the Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade and Green and Digital Economy, the Local Authorities Department, Bank Al-Maghrib, the Profesionnal Group of Banks of Morocco (GPBM), the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR), the Department of Public Enterprises and Privatization (DEPP), the Federation of Moroccan Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Services and the National Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Morocco SME).