The 2026 General Instructions on Foreign Exchange Operations relaxes the rules on overseas investment and clarifies those governing imports of services. Nezha Bel Khadir, Senior Legal Manager at Baker Tilly Morocco, outlines the key provisions and their practical implications.
Three changes directly affect finance departments.
Regarding overseas investments, the proceeds from the sale or liquidation of an investment may now be reinvested outside Morocco, and current account advances and loans may be capitalised. The documentation requirements have been clarified: a business plan, budget and auditor’s certificate are required for the first transfer, with these requirements being relaxed for subsequent transfers.
Innovative start-ups with ADD certification may invest up to 10 million dirhams per year abroad, without the three-year prior operation requirement. This provides scope to set up an international holding company or secure funding from foreign investors.
With regard to imports of services, the exhaustive list has been replaced by a broader definition, and the settlement of intra-group services has been simplified.
The regulation has also been restructured into six chapters and 256 articles, with a clear distinction between current transactions, capital transactions and account regimes — thereby reducing uncertainty regarding interpretation.
Neither a break with the past nor a sudden liberalisation: this marks a further step in the controlled opening up of the foreign exchange regime.
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