Morocco’s Council of Government adopted Finance Bill No. 60-26 for 2027 on 20 October, and the text was presented to parliament three days later. Article 5 of the bill published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance amends the 1977 dahir governing domestic consumption taxes (TIC): from 1 January 2027, e-cigarettes would be taxed at 100 dirhams per unit.
The measure does more than double the rate. The 50-dirham levy created by the 2025 Finance Law only applied to disposable e-cigarettes. The new bill would cover every type of device.
A much wider definition
The bill inserts a definition of the e-cigarette into the TIC dahir. It covers any device that can be used to inhale vapour, with or without nicotine, through a mouthpiece, as well as any component of such a device, including cartridges, tanks and devices sold without a cartridge or tank. The product may be disposable, refillable with a bottle or tank, or recharged with single-use cartridges, and may be sold empty or prefilled.
Article 3 of the bill also adds e-cigarettes to the list of goods on which the customs administration collects domestic consumption taxes.
E-liquid rates are left untouched: only the e-cigarette line of the relevant tax table is amended. Morocco already taxes vaping liquids, and according to Le Desk, refills remain taxed at 5 to 10 dirhams per 10 ml bottle.
The government’s case
The bill’s explanatory note puts forward two arguments. In its customs section, it says that limiting the tax to disposables led to new products designed to escape it, citing “CKD” products and empty pods. The note does not define CKD, a term generally used for goods shipped unassembled.
In its tax section, the note points to a wide range of new devices that work as both disposable and refillable e-cigarettes. It also presents the measure as a way to align with World Health Organization recommendations on the health risks of these products, mainly among young people.
How the 100-dirham unit rate will apply to separately sold parts remains unclear. Because the definition includes “any component”, a cartridge or a tank could in principle be treated as a unit in its own right. Le Desk expects the customs circular that accompanies the finance law to settle the question.
The impact on shelf prices would also exceed the tax itself. Le Desk points out that the 20% VAT is calculated on a price that already includes the TIC, so the increase at the till would be more than 50 dirhams. When the 50-dirham tax was introduced, the outlet adds, disposables were selling from 50 or 60 dirhams.
For users of refillable kits, the levy would be a one-off cost on a device used for months. For disposables, it is paid on every unit.
A reversal in one year
Beyond the tax on e-liquids, Morocco has added new tax measures on vaping products every year since 2023. According to Le Desk, the 2023 Finance Law raised the import duty on e-cigarettes from 2.5% to 40%, the 2024 Finance Law applied the same rate to disposables, and the 2025 Finance Law created the 50-dirham TIC.
The 2027 bill nonetheless marks a change of course. In November 2024, during the review of the 2025 budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, then minister delegate for the budget, rejected amendments from the opposition Socialist (USFP) and Islamist (PJD) groups seeking higher taxes on e-liquids, shisha accessories and tobacco-free nicotine substitutes. He argued that these products were already heavily taxed, that further increases could worsen smuggling and that taxation would not reduce consumption. A year later, he rejected similar amendments from the same parties to the 2026 budget, arguing that higher taxes “do not guarantee lower consumption” and could encourage smuggling. Lekjaa, now Minister of Economy and Finance, presented the 2027 bill to the Council of Government.
No published assessment underpins the shift. According to Le Desk, there are no public figures on the number of adult vapers in Morocco, on import volumes, or on the revenue raised by the 50-dirham tax since 2025.
Cigarettes: a five-year schedule
Article 5 also sets a new excise schedule for cigarettes through 2031, extending the reform launched by the 2022 Finance Law. The tax combines a specific component per 1,000 cigarettes, an ad valorem component applied to the retail price excluding VAT and specific TIC, and a minimum levy.
| From 1 January | Specific component | Ad valorem component | Minimum levy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 645 | 57.5% | 1,025 |
| 2028 | 741 | 58.5% | 1,097 |
| 2029 | 838 | 59.5% | 1,176 |
| 2030 | 948 | 60.5% | 1,261 |
| 2031 | 1,053 | 61.5% | 1,346 |
| Source: Finance Bill No. 60-26, Article 5. Amounts in dirhams per 1,000 cigarettes; ad valorem rate applied to the retail price excluding VAT and specific TIC. | |||
The 2027 minimum levy is equivalent to 20.50 dirhams per pack of 20, up from 19.06 dirhams in 2026, according to Le Desk. By 2031, it would reach almost 27 dirhams per pack.
The government expects TIC revenue from manufactured tobacco to reach 19.32 billion dirhams in 2027, up from 17.72 billion in 2026, according to the explanatory note. It does not say how much of this would come from e-cigarettes. The note states that the cigarette reform aims to raise revenue, narrow the price gap between cigarettes and protect public health in line with WHO tobacco control recommendations.
Next steps
The measures still require parliamentary approval. If the bill passes as drafted, the 100-dirham e-cigarette tax and the first stage of the cigarette schedule will take effect on 1 January 2027.
