The letter arrives, and the temptation is to send it to the accountant with a note asking whether it is serious. That instinct costs companies more than any single argument on the merits, because in tax procedure the calendar is a substantive matter, not an administrative one.
Day one: fix the date
Establish the date of notification, not the date on the letter, and write it on the file. Every deadline that follows runs from it. Where the notification arrived by registered post, the receipt is the document that matters.
The first week: read what is actually alleged
A reassessment notice sets out heads of adjustment, each with its own legal basis. They are rarely equally strong. Separating them at the outset — which are questions of fact, which of characterisation, which of pure law — determines whether the answer is documentary, argumentative, or both.
This short overview of the procedural framework may be useful background:
Weeks two and three: assemble, do not argue
The response is only as good as what supports it. Contracts, invoices, board minutes, transfer pricing documentation and bank records should be gathered before the argument is written, because the argument that survives is the one the documents can carry.
The reply
Answer every head of adjustment, including those you do not contest — silence is read as acceptance. Concede what is genuinely conceded, plainly and early. A response that fights every point equally tells the administration that no point has been examined properly, and the credibility lost on the weak heads is paid for on the strong ones.
This note is general information on Moroccan tax procedure and is not advice on any particular reassessment. Deadlines vary with the procedure engaged.