Houda Habachi of Bakouchi & Habachi-HB Law Firm in Casablanca looks at the fundamentals of forming an Economic Interest Group (EIG)

The Economic Interest Group is a group with legal personality that allows its members (who must be a minimum of two) to share some of their activities to develop, improve or increase the results of these while maintaining their individuality.

It is one of the most important means of development of companies in the same business segment. It offers several advantages especially regarding the rules of functioning and the exemption of corporate tax.

In order to be in line with the economic trends either in the local market or in the international market, new amendments are needed.

A new law 69-13 (the Law) has been promulgated in April 2015 amending the law No 13.97 relating to the economic interest group (EIG). The Law has provided important amendments relating to the functioning of the group that are detailed below:

  1. The main provision is related to the possibility of physical persons to create an EIG. The former law allowed only legal persons to create an EIG which paralysed and restricted the creation of this type of entities;
  2. The Law has provided compulsory statements that must be provided in the contract that constitutes the EIG between physical persons. These compulsory statements are necessary for thirds parties that will enable them to know the identity of the member of the EIG;
  3. The Law has enabled the General Assembly to continue the activity of the EIG in case of death or incapacity of a physical person, member of the group, or in case of dissolution or liquidation of the legal person that is a member;
  4. The Law has also provided new cases of dissolution of the EIG, for example, in case of death of a natural person or dissolution of a corporate body which is a member of the economic interest group, unless otherwise provided for in the contract;
  5. The Law has also provided the possibility for companies to create EIG not only for ancillary activities of its members, but also for their core business.

To sum up, the main purpose of this Law is to enable physical persons benefit from the advantages of EIG through collaboration between them and the development of their economic activities.

These new amendments will certainly lead to more competitiveness, economies of scale, more transparency of the transactions by members and the benefit from the exemption of the corporation tax.

The law certainly aims to support the implementation of “The 2014-2020 Industrial Acceleration Plan” in order to improve competitiveness and the economic activity of members of industrial ecosystems and increase their efficiency.

 

Houda Habachi

Partner

Bakouchi & Habachi-HB Law Firm

Casablanca