International Institute

For Higher Education

In Morocco
I.I.H.E.M

Business School

Business Communication “MNG 400”

Major: Marketing and Communication

Internship Report

Visiting
Moroccan customs

Submitted by: Ikram Ballout

Submitted for: Mrs. Kasmi Samira

Academic Year: 2017 /2018

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Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank Mr. ZEHHAF Abdelhakim, the Regional Director
of the Customs and Excise Department, for giving me permission to do this internship at this
prestigious establishment.

I express my heartfelt thanks to the administrative body of the Rabat regional sub-
directorate, namely: Mr. SARF Ibrahim, Mr. BELHAJ Abdellah and Mr. Mouline Mohamed
Chafik. My deep thanks to Mr SALAMAT regional trainer for his advice and help throughout
the period of this internship.

I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the cargo service inspectors at
Rabat-Salé Airport and its staff for their support throughout the course. Finally, I would like to
thank anyone who contributed directly or indirectly to the progress and enrichment of this
internship.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments iii

Table of Contents iv

List of illustrations v

Introduction 1

1. 6

1.1. 6

1.2. 6

1.3. 6

1.3.1. 8

1.3.2. 9

2. 95

2.1. 95

2.2. 106

3. 106

3.1. 106

3.2. 117

3.2.1. 117

3.2.1. 139

3.2.2. 1411

4. 1612

5. 1713
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Introduction

ADII is an institution directly linked to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It is a fairly
active player in the Moroccan economic environment and participates in the definition of the
national customs policy and assumes its implementation.

Aware of the challenges and risks facing the world, it must confront the liberalization of
trade, the complexity of the logistic chain of international trade and the multiplication of sources
of supply. For this, the administration has exceeded its ancestral role of fundraising, and is
responsible for supporting the national economy and protect the Moroccan heritage. We had the
opportunity to do a 6-week internship in the customs administration and indirect taxes and
specifically the Freight service at Rabat-Salé International Airport.

This is a discovery course that consists of the student's effective participation in one or
more assignments within a "specific business environment" in order to be able to describe it in a
precise, complete and detailed manner. .

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1. General Presentation of the Business
This is an overview about Morccan Customs, describing the nature, the history and legal
status, the history of the administration as a whole, followed by the organization which
includes the administration structure, the flow of communication, and the management style.

1.1. Nature and Legal Status1

Being in the form of the Oumana regime, the Moroccan Customs has moved to a
new modern system of management of customs and fiscal affairs of the State. The dahir of
August 05, 1914 puts the end of the regime of Oumanas. In 1918, the Moroccan customs
service passed from the hands of the control of the debt to the hands of the administration of
the protectorate. That said it is attached to the Directorate General of Finance. Consequently,
Morocco adopted a new customs regulation, inspired by a French model, by an organic dahir
of December 16, 1918.

New customes regiment :

Under the protectorate, Customs has seen the introduction of new regimes for the
development of commercial transactions as well as adaptation to the new requirements of the
international market.

Some of these diets include:

• Establishment of the warehouse regime in 1921

• Appearance of the TA regime in 1922
• Establishment of the fictitious warehouse regime in 1927
• Birth of the Drawback Diet in 1931
• Introduction of the Customs Transit System in 1936

1.2. History2

The notion of Customs appeared for the first time in the 9th century. It was during the
period of Idrissids and Almoravids that the first pillars were established in the Moroccan
territory. As a result, the Alawites handled customs management by introducing reforms to the
customs regulations.

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Customs under the protectorate :

 .The act of Algeciras :

Concluded in 1906, the act of Algeciras officially opened Morocco to international trade.
This convention introduced a new regulation on customs and the repression of fraud and
contraband which is declined in:

• The introduction of new rules of conduct and clearance of goods.

• The introduction of the principle of written accounting.
• The adoption of the goods verification regime.
• The introduction of a duty and tax collection system.
• The renewal of the stoning and the warehousing of the goods in the clearance enclosures.
• The definition of the customs value of the main goods by a customs value commission meeting
in Tangier.
• The establishment of the Standing Customs Committee to propose to the Sultan the measures
necessary to make improvements in the service, and to ensure the regularity and control of
operations and perceptions.
• The introduction of the cabotage regime for goods not subject to export duties.
• The introduction of new customs duties, namely, a statistical and weighing duty, on goods
transported by cabotage as well as a special tax on the importation of goods of foreign origin

 The evolution of status of the customs :

Being in the form of the Oumana regime, the Moroccan Customs has moved to a new
modern system of management of customs and fiscal affairs of the State.

The dahir of August 05, 1914 puts the end of the regime of Oumanas. In 1918, the
Moroccan customs service passed from the hands of the control of the debt to the hands of the
administration of the protectorate .That said it is attached to the Directorate General of Finance.
Consequently, Morocco adopted a new customs regulation, inspired by a French model, by an
organic dahir of December 16, 1918.

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 1.3. Entity Organization

1.3.1. Administration Structure

The diagram below shows the organization within the Moroccan Customs and how it is
structured:

Figure 1: Moroccan customs hierarchy

Starting from the top, there is the Board of directors, including the Risk Committee and
the Audit Committee, followed by the president, who is responsible of managing the flow of
work, as well as the quality of operations conducted. Under the President, there are a Chief Risk
Officer and a Chief Audit Executive. The company involves many departments, starting with the
Chief Finance Officer. His mission includes the management of the Finance Department
composed of Treasury & Finance, Accounting, and Planning. The Head of Inventory Relations
and Corporate Communication, Head Of legal Compliance and Head of Human Resources all of
whom report back to the President as a form of feedback.

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 1.3.2. Flow of Communication and Management Style

The Diagram below shows how information is spread out in the company:

Figure 2: Flow of communication in AXA assurance

The way communication flows within AXA is both in Downward manner and Upward
manner, which means that orders or requests are sent down from the Management Department
through divisional managers, all the way down to the operative employees. The upward is the
feedback brought back up to the management in order to improve decisions or change plans.

2. My Experience Working for the Business

This part describes my internship regarding the department as well as the tasks
performed.

2.1. Departments visited

During my internship I was assigned to work for the Sales Department, more specifically
as in call broadcasting. The Sales Department consists of the employees calling and supervisors.
I was responsible for managing outgoing calls with customers. The supervisor manages the work
flow, and monitors the activity. Overall, the Sales Department is responsible for all the
operations regarding the interaction with clients via phone calls.
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 2.2. Tasks Performed

I had the ability to learn sales techniques for the different types of insurances packages.
Among these are:

● Savings Packages (giving clients a services that enable them to come up with a plan to
save up money for either retirement, or their kids college tuition…)
● Car Insurance (all types of car insurances, including all risk or specific parts or the car)
● Home Insurance (in case or a robbery)

I was given a script to learn by heart including all I had to know about what we were
affording and read it in every call I was going to make, the call had to be less than 5 minutes and
we did not have the right to hang up on a disapproving client. The script followed four steps:

● To attract the attention

● To arouse the interest
● To give the amount of the gift, agreement, alternative in case of refusal or indecision.

With the help of my supervisor and my colleagues I was able to get accustomed to the
environment, however as my team members told be it is always hard to convince people of
something over the phone, and now by experience I can confirm it as well, many people either
hung up or accept and then change their mind, making a successful sell is not to be expected as a
beginner but can be attained after time and perseverance

My internship was a month long, and even though it was not a long time it truly opened
my eyes to so many new concepts that can only be learned through real jobs.

3. Evaluation
This part of the report consists of a detailed evaluation of my whole experience and
the performance of the company.

2.3. Evaluation of my Internship Experience

During my internship I acquired multiple skills including:

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 ➢ Communication: To keep the clients interested in what we were offering them while
keeping a steady and well informed conversation. I represented the company's image
to the customer. I had to be an active listener and let the client be as comfortable as
possible without interruption.
➢ Product Knowledge: To know what the kind of service the company is offering in
case of a question in further matter..
➢ Group work: I working within a company require the person to be sociable and well
behaved to get along with the company environment and keep a healthy work flow.
➢ Agility and reflex: As mentioned before the calls had to be less than 5 minutes, so
we had to be quick to understand and answer within real time the client’s request.
Also, the time to look up information on the database had a limited time, adding to
the reflexes that go with the job.

2.4. Evaluation of the Business

Presenting an assessment of AXA Assurance performance, data, a SWOT Analysis along

with some recommendations to students interested in the matter:

2.4.1. Quantitative Data

The following chart provides insights about the company’s growth from 2011 and the
expectations for 2020:

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 Figure 3: the compound annual growth rate of AXA assurance from 2011 till 2020 3

As shown in Figure 3 above. The sales increase gradually and virtually at almost similar
speed and rate, in both Europe and the US. Due to the constant growth shown on this chart, it is
very possible to predict the continuous growth until 2020 in Sales.

This growth can be brought back to the fact that AXA has been an international player
for a while and has acquired many loyal customers. Going into international market has proven
to a huge success in AXA’s case. We can however notice a slower growth in the US market but
that is mainly due the amount of competition within the American market regarding insurance
companies.

Net Income was up 8% to Euro 6.2 billion, mainly driven by a strong increase in adjusted
earnings and significantly lower restructuring costs, partly offset by a less favorable impact from
exceptional and discontinued operations

3 https://www.axa.com/en/about-us/key-figures

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 1.1.1. .SWOT Analysis 4

The following SWOT analysis demonstrates the strengths, the weaknesses, the
opportunities and the threats of AXA Assurance:

Strengths:

✓ Strong international presence:

Started in France, but over the years AXA has taken over almost 50 countries worldwide,
Morocco included.
✓ First position in Europe:
AXA retains its leading, followed by Italian Generali, German Allianz, British Aviva and Swiss
Zurich.
✓ Financial solidity:
AXA has a capital of 1.3 billion Euros, a substantial amount earning it, its favorable position
in the market.
✓ Part of the leaders in asset management:
It holds the n° 1 spot within the European insurance companies, and is considered within the
top when it comes to its asset management.
✓ # 1 in online sales (Direct Insurance):
AXA is really big on online sales, as it is considered to be the first European insurance
company to move into the online market after the internet revolution.

Weaknesses:

✓ Activities too focused on life insurance, savings and retirement:

Limited horizon, while other companies focus on different things, AXA is mainly working
with its old ways.
✓ Concentration of international development on Europe: most of the 50 countries
controlled by AXA, most of them are in Europe, meaning there no real expansion outside
of the European continent.
✓ Dependence of the activity:
Mainly towards the tariff revalorizations of the damages imposed on the company.

4 https://www.andlil.com/analyse-daxa-142440.html

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✓ Confrontation with the markets of Italy and Spain:
Major competition and tariffs are facing AXA when it comes to Spain and Italy.
✓ AXA Bank's weak results:
AXA is mainly known of its insurance; however it offers banking services that are not as
popular.

Opportunities:

✓ Healthy life insurance market:

The life insurance market is a very beneficial market, as many people are already interested
in the subject and do not need to convinced.
✓ Prospects for emerging markets:
New markets are always being created, making good investment opportunities.
✓ Growth in online sales of insurance products:
People are more and more willing to buy insurance packages online.

Threats:

✓ Unfavorable economic climate:

Considering it is mainly focused in Europe, and Europe is facing major economical
problems, it is definitely affecting the company.
✓ Possible exit from the euro zone:
Europe is facing major issues, one of them being the euro zone exits, meaning if France for
example were to leave the Euro union, AXA will lose a substantial amount of money due
to the change of currency that will then occur.
✓ More and more claims and damage:
Bad rumors spreading within markets.
✓ Damaged property insurance market:
Property insurance is becoming more and more left out by clients, people are interested or
have had previous bad experiences.
✓ Increased competition:
Many new insurance companies are appearing and taking away some of the current clients.

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 1.1.2. Recommendations

Based on my experience, there are some tips that I would like to pass on to students who
want to an internship in this company or a similar one.

First, punctuality is a must, which can seem obvious but it really can be a part of how you
are seen as an employee, avoiding being late at all costs. Or else you will lose your credibility
and your seriousness towards your colleagues but mainly towards your supervisors that will not
be very forgiving sometimes.

Second, respect and assistance. Mutual respect between co-workers, and to be a help to
the rest with a positive outlook to the job and helpful attitude toward the environment.

Although it is a good company, AXA assurance can still be improved. Addressing the
weaknesses in the SWOT analysis:

- Activities too focused on life insurance, savings and retirement: spreading their
services into more sectors other than what they mainly focus on.
- Concentration of international development on Europe: while the main
development only happens in Europe, AXA is an international brand and has a bit
of difficulty developing the rest of their territories, an issue that can be very
costly.
- Dependence of the activity towards the tariff revalorizations of the damages
- Confrontation with the markets of Italy and Spain: the competition in these
countries is very rough but can well managed with a well designed market
oriented plan.
- AXA Bank's weak results: not many people seem to know that AXA has a
banking branch as well, which in my opinion is not focused on as well as the rest
of the business leading them to lose a lot of money and labor.

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2. Conclusion
The beginning of this report was explaining what AXA assurance was about as a
company and as a brand, a French insurance company that went overseas and now is a major
player in the industry. In which I had the opportunity to do a one month internship in 2016.
Second, relating my experience in the job, to what I learned in the courses offered at My
university (international institute for higher education in Morocco), along with the
department I had the pleasure to work in. Lastly, a part was an overall evaluation of my job
and the company’s performance.

In my opinion, an internship in a company like this one is truly mind opening and can be
career changing considering the amount of skills that can acquired.

Concerning the company, it is definitely holding a major place in the market insurance
wide, the banking branch of it however can use a little change. They are mainly known to be
an insurance company and never really advertise nor market the banking side which a move
that can very much be beneficial.

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3. References
Online Website:

● https://www.axa.com/en/about-us/key-figures
● https://www.andlil.com/analyse-daxa-142440.html
● , www.axa.fr
● www.assufrance.com/axa.php

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