Alivio fiscal para la filial de la empresa Sound Energy en Marruecos

UK gas company Sound Energy PLC announced that Morocco's General Administration of Taxation has reassessed the tax claim against its subsidiary Sound Energy Morocco East Ltd.

The gas exploration company noted that the Moroccan tax authorities dropped its action against the free acquisition of intangible assets between 2016 and 2018 after several consultations by the committee in charge of local taxation. In the deliberations that took place, it was determined that as the Moroccan General Administration of Taxation had already filed a claim against the parent company Sound Energy, taxing its subsidiary was redundant and could not be repeated in that regard. 

Thus, the British company confirmed that it had received from the Moroccan tax authorities notification of a 100% reassessment of the file in relation to its subsidiary Sound Energy Morocco East Limited (SEME), for taxes and duties for the period 2016-2018, in accordance with the tax audit carried out in 2020.

According to the initial assessment of the Directorate General of Taxes, this reassessment is justified by the various historical changes contained in the notification relating to the Tendrara Lakbir exploration permit and the assignment of Sound Energy Morocco East Limited.

However, the company noted that the committee has not withdrawn the charges relating to the disposal of assets by its Moroccan subsidiary to Schlumberger in October 2018. Sound Energy said the 2018 disposal was related to a new oil deal for exploration in the greater Tendrara area in northeast Morocco.

"The tax administration's assessments are the result of a fundamental misunderstanding of historical licence changes (exemption of old licences and entry of new licences covering the revised acreage with revised terms, without continuation or transfer of the original licence) and inter-group shareholdings outside Morocco," the company added, as picked up by media outlet Bladi. 

"Sound Energy remains firmly convinced that the remaining charges, including the charge against SEME for entry into the new oil agreement in the greater Tendrara area, have been misinterpreted by the Moroccan tax administration. The company, together with its advisors, continues to seek constructive engagement with the authorities," concluded the British company's press release.

Thanks to this decision, Sound Energy shares were up 11% to 1.84 pence each on the London Stock Exchange on Friday after the main tax charge was dropped that day, as indicated by Alliance News and MorningStar.

This good news from the Moroccan tax authorities therefore means that the UK company continues to look favourably on its business in the North African country. The collaboration between Sound Energy and the Alaouite kingdom is solid, as demonstrated by the aforementioned concession on the greater Tendrara area and the recent two-year extension of the onshore exploration permit at Sidi Moktar. The latter authorisation enables the British company to make up for the time lost due to the stoppage of activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This extension, approved a few months ago, enabled the company to cover an area of 4,711 square kilometres in the Essaouira region of central Morocco. This authorisation runs until October 2022.