How to write a sales invoice for a shop in Morocco
Most shop sales end with a till receipt, and that is fine. But when a café, a hotel or a company buys from you, it asks for a proper sales invoice, and that is where shopkeepers in Morocco hesitate: do I charge VAT at all, at which rate for which product, and what must the invoice show? This guide answers the three questions for grocers, general stores and other retailers, then builds an invoice mixing exempt foods and taxed goods.
Are you in VAT? The 2,000,000 MAD threshold
Article 89-I-2° makes two kinds of trader subject to VAT on their sales:
- wholesalers, whatever their turnover;
- retailers whose taxable turnover for the previous year reached 2,000,000 MAD.
A retailer below that amount is outside VAT: pick "No VAT" on every line, and do not show any VAT, even on goods that would be at 20% elsewhere. Once you cross the threshold, you stay liable: you can leave VAT only after three consecutive years below 2,000,000 MAD. Shops that pay tax under the auto-entrepreneur scheme can estimate it with the auto-entrepreneur tax calculator.
Exempt foods and 20% goods
If you are in VAT, the rate depends on the product. Article 91-I-A exempts the sale of a list of basic foods (when not consumed on the premises), among them:
- bread, couscous, semolina, flours and short uncooked pasta;
- milk (fresh milk and cream, infant milk, butter from animal milk) and powdered milk, but not other dairy products;
- raw sugar, fresh or frozen meat and fish, sardine cans, packaged Moroccan dates, olive oil from artisanal units, household soap.
These are exempt without the right to deduct, so you charge 0% on them. Most other goods, such as cleaning products, drinks, cosmetics or hardware, take the normal rate of 20% (article 99-A). When an invoice has exempt lines, article 145-III-6° asks you to state the exemption: add a note such as "Exempt lines: article 91-I-A of the CGI".
Till receipt or invoice?
For goods sold to private individuals, article 145-III lets a till receipt replace the invoice, as long as it shows at least the date, the seller, the product, and the quantity and price with VAT where it applies.
A business customer is different. It needs a full invoice in its name, with its address and ICE, a continuous number and the VAT shown separately, or it cannot deduct the purchase. Keep one numbering series for all your invoices; the generator moves the number on by itself.
Lines by unit and by weight
The preset gives two lines: an item with its reference, sold by the unit, and a product sold by weight, in kg. Write the quantity with decimals when you weigh (2.5 kg), and name the product precisely ("soft wheat flour", not "flour 25"). For a pack, say what is inside ("milk, 1 L") so the line can be checked against your stock.
Worked example: a grocery supplying a café
A VAT-registered grocery in Nador supplies a nearby café for the week: 60 litres of fresh milk at 7 MAD, 100 loaves at 1.50 MAD, 25 kg of flour at 8 MAD the kilo, and 12 cans of bleach and floor cleaner at 30 MAD. Milk, bread and flour are exempt: 770.00 MAD at 0%. The cleaning products are at 20%: 360.00 MAD before tax and 72.00 MAD of VAT. The café pays 1,202.00 MAD and gets an invoice with its ICE to deduct the VAT.
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price excl. VAT | VAT | Total excl. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh pasteurised milk, 1 L | 60 | unit | 7.00 MAD | Exempt | 420.00 MAD |
| Bread, round loaves | 100 | unit | 1.50 MAD | Exempt | 150.00 MAD |
| Soft wheat flour | 25 | kg | 8.00 MAD | Exempt | 200.00 MAD |
| Bleach and floor cleaner, 5 L cans | 12 | unit | 30.00 MAD | 20% | 360.00 MAD |
| Total excl. VAT | 1,130.00 MAD | ||||
| VAT 20% | 72.00 MAD | ||||
| VAT-exempt lines | 0.00 MAD | ||||
| Total incl. VAT | 1,202.00 MAD | ||||
Common mistakes
- Charging VAT while under 2,000,000 MAD as a retailer, or stopping as soon as you dip below once.
- Putting the whole basket at 20%, exempt milk and bread included.
- Handing a till receipt to a company that asked for an invoice in its name.
- Assuming every dairy product is exempt: the list covers milk, cream and butter, not yoghurt or cheese.
Your customer is a café? The restaurant and café invoice page shows how it bills its own clients at 10%.
Questions
Does a small shop charge VAT in Morocco?
A retailer whose previous-year taxable turnover is under 2,000,000 MAD is outside VAT (article 89-I-2°): pick "No VAT". Wholesalers are always liable.
Is a till receipt enough?
For sales to private individuals, yes, if it shows the date, seller, product, quantity and price. A business customer needs a full invoice with its ICE.
Which foods are VAT exempt?
Those listed in article 91-I-A, such as bread, flour, milk, raw sugar, fresh meat and fish. Other goods are at 20%.