A budget deficit of 53.7 billion dirhams at the end of July

The budget deficit of 53.7 billion dirhams includes a negative balance of 4.8 billion dirhams from the special treasury accounts (CST) and the autonomously managed state services (SEGMA), as reported by the Treasury General of Morocco (TGR) in its monthly public finance statistics bulletin (BMSFP). By the end of July, gross ordinary revenues increased by 19.2% to reach 241.1 billion dirhams, while ordinary expenditures rose by 15.4% to 185.8 billion dirhams, resulting in a positive ordinary balance of 16.4 billion dirhams. The growth in ordinary revenues is attributed to a rise in direct taxes (+27.6%), customs duties (+1%), indirect taxes (+9.6%), registration and stamp duties (+7.6%), and non-tax revenues (+34.4%). General budget expenditures amounted to 325.3 billion dirhams by the end of July, reflecting a 5.9% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This increase is due to a 16.1% rise in operating expenses and a 10.5% rise in investment expenditures, alongside a 19.1% decrease in budgeted debt charges. Interest charges on the debt reached 29.3 billion dirhams (+10.8%), driven by a 17.4% increase in domestic debt interest charges (23.68 billion dirhams compared to 20.17 billion dirhams) and a 10.4% decrease in external debt charges (5.62 billion dirhams compared to 6.27 billion dirhams). Total expenditure commitments, including those not subject to prior approval, amounted to 529.2 billion dirhams, representing an overall commitment rate of 55%, down from 59% at the end of July 2024, and an issuance rate on commitments of 85%, compared to 84% a year earlier. Regarding the CST, revenues reached 116.9 billion dirhams, including contributions received from the general budget's common investment charges amounting to 19.9 billion dirhams, down from 20.7 billion dirhams at the end of July 2024. Issued expenditures were 122.7 billion dirhams, which included CST's share for refunds, tax reliefs, and restitutions amounting to 3.9 billion dirhams. SEGMA generated revenues of 1.86 billion dirhams (+33.8%) and expenditures of 793 million dirhams. Given a financing need of 74.7 billion dirhams and a positive net flow of external financing of 25.1 billion dirhams, the Treasury resorted to domestic financing for an amount of 49.7 billion dirhams.