EU dismisses tax fraud allegations against Moroccan tomato exports

«The European Commission has not detected any tax fraud» in the export of Moroccan tomatoes to the European Union, an Iberian media outlet reported on Saturday, March 22. This clarification came from European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, in response to a written question from Spanish MEP Carmen Crespo of the Popular Group. «These imports comply with the terms of the 2012 association agreement», he stated.

The commissioner noted that since 2019, Morocco has exported fresh tomatoes beyond the tariff quota set by the agreement. However, he emphasized that these imports remain legal as long as the corresponding customs duties are paid. «The total amount of duties collected by customs authorities for these imports amounts to €81,088,776 for the period 2019-2024», he specified.

He confirmed that imports exceeding the quota are subject to customs duties and are therefore fully compliant with the agreement between Morocco and the EU.

In February, MEP Carmen Crespo had submitted a written question to the European Commission, requesting an investigation into a possible tax fraud by Morocco for allegedly exceeding duty-free import limits for tomatoes. She claimed that "exceeding the duty-free export quotas has resulted in tax fraud amounting to more than €71.7 million since 2019." These accusations have now been dismissed by the EU.