Payment deadlines: The last chance reform?
The deadlines for payment of arrears are a real headache for companies and for the Government. Attempts to treat this issue were carried out but in vain. This time, by adopting, during the Council of Government last Thursday, September 29, the draft law which reforms the Commercial Code on issues relating to payment terms, will it be the right one? We will have to wait for its approval by the Parliament and the start of its implementation to decide. In the meantime, it must be recognized that the royal speech relating to payment terms could not have been clearer.
“Public administrations and local authorities in particular must pay their due to companies, because any delay in payment can lead to cases of bankruptcy and, correlatively, to many job losses”, the Sovereign had declared insistently. The problem of late payments is an essential component of the economic stimulus package and an important lever in improving the business climate, according to the presentation note that accompanies the bill, especially since the results achieved following the entry into force of the current system relating to payment terms are limited. What is at stake is overcoming the insufficiencies and obstacles which hinder the respect of deadlines. It is in this spirit that the bill, piloted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was drawn up as part of a participatory approach and in the light of the recommendations of the Observatory of payment terms, and this by pointing out the operating methods and the composition of the Observatory, in addition to the representatives of the administration, of the employers (CGEM), of the group of Moroccan banks (GPBM), of the Federation of Chambers of Trade and Industry, and the central bank (Bank Al-Maghrib). As a reminder, this draft legislation has been published on the electronic site of the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) in order to allow interested persons to make their comments, some of which have been taken into consideration, it is said in the note. In addition, the bill aims to impose unified practices relating to the conditions of sale, through provisions concerning payment terms. It is for this reason that the Head of Government submitted this draft law by postal mail sent to the Competition Council for an opinion last December. Three months later, the Council submitted its recommendations. The Head of Government has retained some of them to introduce them into the draft legislation. Other recommendations, however, were rejected. In any case, the implementation of the bill will be applied gradually between January 1, 2023 and January 1, 2025, depending on the annual sales volume achieved by the persons concerned. Similarly, the draft text provides for tougher penalties with fines ranging from 5,000 to 250,000 Dirhams (500 to 25,000 USD), depending on the case.
Mohamed CHAOUI
