Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information
In the Islamic Countries
80
the government applies generally to trade-related regulatorymeasures. It also lines up well with
the government’s renewed, public commitment to transparency following the events of 2011.
Advance Rulings
Moroccan Customs have an advance rulings system in place covering valuation, origin, and
classification. Although the OECD data indicate certain areas of incompleteness in the system, a
review of the enabling law provides a more comprehensive view. It provides for advance rulings
on valuation, origin, and classification following a request by a trader, and lists the documents
that must be supplied by way of support, namely: business details of the requesting party, details
of the goods, technical documents (such as test results) relevant to the goods, as well as the legal
basis for the trader’s contention in favor of a particular treatment. The law does not indicate
whether or not the request can be made electronically, so the default would be that a hard copy
must be submitted. The law requires a decision on an advance ruling to be made within 150 days
from receipt of the request. The ruling is then valid for a period of five years in the case of
classification, and three years in the case of origin or valuation. An advance ruling can be
revoked if the circumstances underlying it have changed, and is null and void if it was made on
the basis of any false or incomplete information provided.
Moroccan Customs makes advance rulings publicly available, so the level of transparency in the
system is relatively high. However, there is protection for confidential information, which can
only be communicated to third parties with the consent of the person who provided it. A review
of the application materials shows that the trader requesting an advance ruling can indicate at
the time of submission whether or not confidential information is involved.
There is no specific provision for modification of an advance ruling. But as indicated above, it
can be withdrawn in a case where the underlying circumstances have changed. Although the law
does not provide specifically for such a case, there does not appear to be an impediment
preventing an applicant from seeking a new ruling on the basis of the changed circumstances,
although such a procedure would be more time consuming than a simple modification of the
ruling, as it provided for in some other countries, like Singapore. The discretion given to the
administration to withdraw a ruling is relatively broad, and data are not available on how often
this occurs in practice.
Appeals
Moroccan law provides for administrative and judicial appeals from decisions of Customs.
Unlike the advance rulings procedure, judicial appeals are time limited. Although judicial
independence remains only partially guaranteed, the appeals procedure appears robust and
provides a strong degree of legal certainty to the trade community.
Benefits, Challenges, and Lessons Learned
Benefits
Stakeholders cite the following benefits of the PortNet virtual Single Window, which is the
cornerstone of Morocco’s approach to public information availability:
 Reduced fees and time costs of delays.
 Increased security of transactions.
 Elimination of special treatment for certain actors. Assurance of equality of treatment
for all users.