BUSINESSINMAURITIUS

Information Centre

Domestic Taxes

Types of Companies

E-Commerce

Custom and Excise

General Information

Mauritius Map

Mauritius Weather

Registering Property

The ease with which businesses can secure rights to property is shown below. Included are the number of steps, time, and cost involved in registering property.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Procedures (number)	6	7.0	4.9

Duration (days)	210	104.6	28.0
Cost (% of property value)	10.8	11.1	4.6

Getting Credit

Measures on credit information sharing and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders are shown below. The Legal Rights Index ranges from 0-10, with higher scores indicating that those laws are better designed to expand access to credit. The Credit Information Index measures the scope, access and quality of credit information available through public registries or private bureaus. It ranges from 0-6, with higher values indicating that more credit information is available from a public registry or private bureau.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Legal Rights Index	5	4.0	6.4

Credit Information Index	1	1.3	4.8
Public registry coverage (% adults)	38.6	2.1	8.6
Private bureau coverage (% adults)	0.0	4.5	59.3

Protecting Investors

The indicators below describe three dimensions of investor protection: transparency of transactions (Extent of Disclosure Index), liability for self-dealing (Extent of Director Liability Index), shareholders ability to sue officers and directors for misconduct (Ease of Shareholder Suits Index) and Strength of Investor Protection Index. The indexes vary between 0 and 10, with higher values indicating greater disclosure, greater liability of directors, greater powers of shareholders to challenge the transaction, and better investor protection.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Disclosure Index	6	4.7	6.4

Director Liability Index	8	3.1	5.1
Shareholder Suits Index	9	5.0	6.5
Investor Protection Index	7.7	4.3	6.0

Paying Taxes

The data below shows the tax that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures of the administrative burden in paying taxes. These measures include the number of payments an entrepreneur must make; the number of hours spent preparing, filing, and paying; and the percentage of their profits they must pay in taxes.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Payments (number)	7	38.7	15.1

Time (hours)	161	321.2	183.3
Profit tax (%)	10.8	21.4	20.0
Labor tax and contributions (%)	3.6	13.3	22.8
Other taxes (%)	7.3	33.3	3.4
Total tax rate (% profit)	21.7	68.0	46.2

Trading Across Borders

The costs and procedures involved in importing and exporting a standardized shipment of goods are detailed under this topic. Every official procedure involved is recorded - starting from the final contractual agreement between the two parties, and ending with the delivery of the goods.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Documents for export (number)	5	8.1	4.5

Time for export (days)	17	35.6	9.8
Cost to export (US$ per container)	728	1,660.1	905.0
Documents for import (number)	6	9.0	5.0
Time for import (days)	16	43.7	10.4
Cost to import (US$ per container)	673	1,985.9	986.1

Enforcing Contracts

The ease or difficulty of enforcing commercial contracts in is measured below. This is determined by following the evolution of a payment dispute and tracking the time, cost, and number of procedures involved from the moment a plaintiff files the lawsuit until actual payment.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Procedures (number)	37	39.4	31.3

Duration (days)	750	643.0	443.3
Cost (% of claim)	17.4	48.7	17.7

Closing a Business

The time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies is shown below. The data identifies weaknesses in existing bankruptcy law and the main procedural and administrative bottlenecks in the bankruptcy process. The recovery rate, expressed in terms of how many cents on the dollar claimants recover from the insolvent firm, is also shown.

Indicator	Mauritius	Region	OECD

Time (years)	1.7	3.4	1.3

Cost (% of income per capita)	15	20.0	7.5
Recovery rate (cents on the dollar)	34.3	17.1	74.1

Domestic Taxes

	Corporate Taxation

	Society & Succession

	International Aspects of Taxation

	Double Taxation Agreements

	Recovery of tax

Introduction

The administration of Income Tax is governed by the Income Tax Act 1995.
Mauritius runs a self-assessment system based on the residence concept. A person resident in Mauritius is liable to tax on the worldwide income derived by that person
A non-resident is taxed on income derived from sources in Mauritius.
However, earned income derived from overseas by an individual resident in Mauritius is taxable to the extent it is remitted to Mauritius.
Income tax is payable on income derived in the preceding year . The fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June.

Resident" is defined in the Act and means in relation to - Individual:
A person who has his domicile in Mauritius unless his permanent place of abode is outside Mauritius or has been present in Mauritius in an income year for a period of, or an aggregate period of, 183 days or more or has been present in Mauritius in an income year and the 2 preceding income years for an aggregate period of 270 days or more.

Company:A company which is incorporated in Mauritius or has its central management and control in Mauritius.

Personal Taxation
Chargeable income relating to net income including income from interest 15%

Calculation of Chargeable Income

Gross Income includes salaries, wages, annuity, pension, income from business, income from property, foreign dividends, royalty, and interest.

Gross Income includes salaries, wages, annuity, pension, income from business, income from property, foreign dividends, royalty, interest.
Allowable deductions include expenditure incurred in the production of income, losses, bad debts, annual allowance (in lieu of depreciation).

Income Exemption Threshold

An individual who is resident in Mauritius is entitled to an income exemption threshold which he can deduct from his income to arrive at his chargeable income, if any.
The income exemption threshold in respect of income year ending 30 June 2007 is as follows


		Category	Amount (Rs)

2	:	Category A (with no dependent)	215,000

3	:	Category B (with 1 dependent)	325,000

4	:	Category C (with 2 dependents)	385,000

5	:	Category D (with 3 or more dependents)	425,000

An individual is not entitled to claim an income exemption threshold in respect of -


1	:	Category B, where the total income of the dependent exceeds Rs 110,000;

2	:	Category C, where the total income of his second dependent exceeds Rs 60,000;

3	:	Category D, where the total income of the third dependent exceeds Rs 40,000.

If an individual claims in an income year, an income exemption threshold in respect of Category B, Category C or Category D, the spouse of that individual can claim in that income year an income exemption threshold only in respect of Category A.

"Dependent" means either -

- a spouse;
- a child under the age of 18; or
- a child over the age of 18 and who is pursuing full time course at an educational institution or cca training institution or who cannot earn a living because of physical or mental disability.

Income Tax Forms For Individuals

IT FORM - 1A

Applicable to an individual in receipt of emoluments only. This return should be filled in by every person who

(i) is a registered person (i.e. has been allocated a Tax Account Number); or

(ii) has a chargeable income, whether or not he is a registered person.

IT FORM - 1

Applicable to an individual deriving income from trade, business, profession, agriculture, rents, emoluments and other sources.
This return should be filled in by an individual who

(i) is a registered person;

(ii) owns more than one residence or one or more immoveable properties acquired for an aggregate price exceeding Rs 2 million or on which expenditure exceeding Rs 2 million has been incurred for the construction of a building or any other structure;

(iii) owns a car with an engine capacity exceeding 2000c.c.;

(iv) owns a pleasure craft as defined in the Tourism Act 2004;

(v) is owner of a residential property and whose total income exceeds Rs 215,000; or

(vi) has a chargeable income.

Penalty

Penalty for late submission of annual return of income

Where an individual fails to submit his annual return of income, he is liable to a penalty of Rs 2,000 per month or part of the month up to a maximum penalty of Rs 20,000.

Penalty for late payment of tax

Where an individual fails to pay the tax in accordance with his annual return of income by the due date, he is liable to a penalty of 5% of the amount of the tax, excluding any penalty.

Interest for late payment of tax

Where an individual fails to pay any tax by the due date, he is liable, in addition to any penalty, to pay interest at the rate of 1% per month or part of the month during which the tax remains unpaid.