The Moroccan mobile phone market is preparing to undergo a major reconfiguration starting in 2026, thanks to a historic reduction in customs duties. The 2026 Finance Act acts in Effect: a dramatic reduction in the rate applicable to smartphones, brought back from 17.5% to 2.5%, a decision presented by the authorities as a lever for at the same time economic, industrial and commercial.

This reform has several strategic objectives: support the rise of national blends, stem the rise in trade informal, facilitate access to smartphones compatible with 5G and restore the competitiveness of distributors operating in the formal circuit. It marks a turning point in fiscal policy applied to a segment that has become central to household consumption and the digital transformation of country.

The executive recognizes that the taxation introduced in 2024 has proved to be counterproductive. Fixed at 17.5%, the import duty had weakened the competitiveness of operators complying with the legal framework, while promoting illegal imports and parallel circuits. The decisive drop is thus part of a logic of market regulation, aimed at curbing the smuggling, improving the traceability of products and restoring the confidence of consumers in the official offer.

The measure applies to all smartphones, regardless of whether they either imported finished or in the form of CKD and SKD kits, falling under the headings Tariffs 8517.13.00, 8517.14.00 and 8517.18.00 of the Tariff of Duties Importing. However, a distinction is provided for imported devices. in kits, classified under heading 8517.13.00.30, in order to accompany the climb in the power of local assembly.

On the business side, the CGEM had long pleaded for a return at a reduced rate. The employers' organization believed that the previous increase had neither protected nor strengthened local production the industry, but had on the contrary increased the pressure on importers and distributors in the formal sector, exposed to competition deemed unfair from the informal.

On the price front, the announcement prompted high expectations among consumers, who hope for a significant drop in cost of smartphones. However, professionals are tempering this optimism, recalling that the stocks currently in circulation were imported under the old tax regime. Tariff adjustments should therefore take place. gradually, as stocks run out and new ones arrive imports. Depending on the models and technical specifications, the drop could, however, reach several hundred Dirhams