Tahfiz: the recruitment incentive program in Morocco

Tahfiz: the recruitment incentive program in Morocco

Tahfiz is a recruitment incentive program in Morocco. Indeed, it grants the employer and the employee tax benefits and reductions in social security contributions. Tahfiz is an Arabic word that can be translated as stimulation.

This program is managed by the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC).

The TAHFIZ program is part of Morocco’s employment strategy for the period from 2015 to 2026.

TAHFIZ grants newly created entities the advantage of benefiting from an exemption from tax and social charges.

TAHFIZ program: Incentive for job creation in Morocco

Who can benefit from the TAHFIZ employment incentive

Companies can benefit from the program for:

• A maximum of ten employees
• A period of 24 months from the date of recruitment of employees

What are the advantages of the TAHFIZ program?

Under this programme, companies and employees benefit from:

• First, the exemption from income tax on the gross monthly salary capped at 10,000.00 DH;
• Secondly, the assumption by the State of the employer’s share in respect of:
  • First, the contribution due to the CNSS
  • Then, the vocational training tax.

As a result, this program is a real advantage for new businesses. These companies have an opportunity to optimize their costs.

This device also has the advantage of providing new businesses with relief from social and tax charges. Therefore, it aims to encourage companies to create jobs in Morocco.

What impact does this program have on salary costs?

To illustrate this impact, let’s take a concrete example of calculating the salary cost (gross salary charged) with and without TAHFIZ.

Case of an employee not benefiting from the TAHFIZ program

Assuming a company has recruited an employee for a net salary of 7,500 Dirhams, the company will have to pay in this case:

• The contributions due to the CNSS as well as the professional training tax for an amount of 1,687.63 Dirhams;
• Income tax for 796.40 dirhams.

The gross salary charged is therefore 9,984.03 MAD.

Case of an employee benefiting from the program

In this case, the company and the employee only bear the employee’s share of social security contributions, i.e. 268.80 MAD. The gross salary charged corresponding to a net 7,768.80 MAD.

That is a saving of around 2,200 MAD per month.

TAHFIZ Program: Exemption Duration

The duration of the exemption under the Tahfiz contract is twenty-four (24) months.

TAHFIZ Program: Eligibility Requirements

Any company or association can benefit from the “TAHFIZ” hiring incentive program under certain conditions:

• This company must be created during the period from January 1, 2015 until December 31, 2026;
• Employees must be recruited within 24 months from the date of the start date of operation;
• Employees must be hired under a permanent employment contract (CDI),
• Gross salaries must not exceed MAD 10,000;
• The company cannot benefit from more than ten TAHFIZ contracts.

TAHFIZ Program: What to do

In order to benefit from the various advantages of the TAHFIZ program, it is necessary to follow the procedure detailed below:

1. Declaration of existence of the company or association to the tax authorities;
2. Registration of the employee on the ANAPEC portal;
3. Information by the recruiter of the program benefit protocol on the ANAPEC portal;
4. Registration of the employee with the CNSS;
5. Filing, by the employer with an agency of ANAPEC, of a file per employee including a benefit protocol of the TAHFIZ program accompanied by a legalized copy of the employment contract;
6. Payment by the recruiter to the CNSS of the employee contribution of employees benefiting from the program;
7. Opening of rights by the CNSS for the benefit of recruits;
8. Declaration by the company of the list of recruits benefiting from the program.

Good to know :

• Since the entry point of the TAHFIZ system is the company, the employee can benefit from it successively in many companies.
• For the company, in the event of the departure of an employee recruited under the TAHFIZ program, he cannot be replaced.
• The benefit of the TAHFIZ program is also possible in the event of the conclusion of a CDI after a CDD or after an integration contract.
• Companies meeting the eligibility conditions for this program must contact the ANAPEC agency related to their domiciliation in order to submit their benefit request.