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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
Act 2/1998

Date in Force: 1 st July 1998

Sections 9,22,74(4)(a) and(c),74(7)(b) and 75 shall come into
force on the appointed day
– 7
th September 1998

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

PART I – PRELIMINARY

1.
Short title
2.
Interpretation
3.
Meaning of business
4.
Meaning of supply
5.
Time of supply
6.
Application of the Act

PART II – ADMINISTRATION

7.
Commissioner for Value Added Tax
8.
Confidentiality

PART III – LIABILITY TO VALUE ADDED TAX

9.
Charge to value added tax
10.
Rate of VAT
11.
Zero-rating
12.
Value of taxable supplies
13.
Value of imported goods
14.
Reverse charge on supply of services received from abroad

PART IV – REGISTRATION

15.
Compulsory registration
16.
Voluntary registration
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
17. Certificate of registration
18.
Cancellation of registration

PART V – RECORD AND VAT INVOICE

19.
Record
20.
VAT invoice
PART VI – RETURN, PAYMENT AND REPAYMENT OF TAX

21.
Credit for input tax against output tax
22.
Return and payment of tax
23.
Tax liability prior to date of registration
24.
Repayment of tax
25.
Change in taxable period
26.
Surcharge for non-submission of return by due date
27.
Penalty for late payment of tax

PART VII – POWERS OF COMMISSIONER

28.
Power to require information
29.
Obligation to furnish information
30.
Use of computer system
31.
Production of books and records
32.
Power to inspect books, records and goods
33.
Time limit to require information, books or records
34.
Power to require security
35.
Warrant to search and seize
36.
Proceedings for temporary closing down of business
36A.
Anti-avoidance provisions

PART VIII – ASSESSMENTS, OBJECTIONS AND REVIEW OF ASSESSMENT

37.
Commissioner may make assessments
38.
Objection to assessments
39.
Determination of objections
40.
Representations to Assessment Review Committee
41.
Conclusiveness of assessments

PART IX – RECOVERY OF TAX

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
42. Priority for VAT charged by a registered person
43.
Recovery of tax by attachment
44.
Recovery of tax by distress and sale
45.
Inscribed privilege
46.
Uninscribed privilege
47.
Contrainte
48.
No limitation of action for recovery of tax
48A
Interpretation of Part IXA
48B
Administration of Value Added Tax enactments by Commissioner, Large Taxp
ayer
Department

PART X – VAT RELATING TO BONDED WAREHOUSE FREEPORT ZONE, EXPORT
PROCESSING ZONES AND DUTY FREE SHOPS

49.
VAT relating to a bonded warehouse or an excise warehouse
50.
VAT relating to a freeport zone
51.
VAT relating to an export processing zone
52.
VAT relating to a pioneer status enterprise
53.
VAT relating to a duty free shop

PART XI – OFFENCES

54.
Failure to register or pay tax
55.
Failure to submit return and pay tax
56.
Failure to keep records or to issue VAT invoice
57.
Incorrect return or information
58.
False returns, books, records or VAT invoices
59.
Other offences
60.
Penalties for offences
61.
Compounding of offences
62.
Tax payable notwithstanding prosecution

PART XII – MISCELLANEOUS

63.
Cessation or transfer of business
64.
Tax liability of appointed person
65.
Refund of tax
66.
Exempt bodies or persons
67.
Erroneous refund, exemption or reduction
68.
Service of documents
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
69. Admissibility of documents produced by computer
69A.
Rulings
70.
Jurisdiction of Magistrate
71.
Burden of proof
72.
Regulations
73.
Transitional provisions
74.
Consequential amendments
75.
Repeal and savings
76.
Commencement

An Act

To provide for the replacement of the sales tax on goods value added tax
on goods and
services and for the purposes connected therewith and incidental thereto
.

ENACTED by the Parliament of Mauritius, as follows —

PART I – PRELIMINARY

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Value Added Tax Act 1998.

2. Interpretation

In this Act —

“appointed day” means 7 September 1998;

“business” has the meaning given to it by section 3;
“certificate” means a certificate of registration issu
ed under section 17;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Value Added
Tax;
“Committee” means the Assessment Review Committee set up under sec
tion 8E of the
Unified Revenue Act 1983;
Added by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
“Customs” means the Customs and Excise Department;
“customs duty” means the duty leviable under the Custo
ms Act 1988 and the
Customs Tariff Act;

“customs laws” has the same meaning as in the Customs
Act 1988;
“customs value”, in relation to goods, means the value
as determined under the
Customs Act 1988;
“document” means any document and includes information
stored in a computer,
disc, cassette, or on microfilm, or preserved by any mechanical or elect
ronic device;

“duty free shop” has the same meaning as in the Custom
s Act 1988;
“excise duty” means the excise duty chargeable under t
he Excise Act 1994 on the
excisable goods specified in Part I of the First Schedule to that Act;
“exempt supply” means a supply of such goods or servic
es exempted from the
payment of VAT as are specified in the First Schedule;

“export enterprise” has the same meaning as in the Ind
ustrial Expansion Act 1993;
“export processing zone” has the same meaning as in th
e Industrial Expansion Act
1993;

“freeport zone” has the same meaning as in the Freeport
Act 1992;

“goods” —
(a) means any movable or immovable property; and
(b) includes animals; but
(c) does not include money;
“hire purchase agreement” has the same meaning as in t
he Hire Purchase and
Credit Sale Act;
“import” means bring or cause to be brought withi
n Mauritius;

“input tax”, in relation to a taxable person, means – (a) VAT charged on the supply to him of any
goods or service and
(b) VAT paid by him on the importation of any goods,
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
being goods or services used or to be used in the course or
furtherance of his
business;
“input tax allowable” means the input tax allowable un
der section 21

“invoice” —
(a) means a document notifying an obliga
tion to make
payment; and
(b) includes any document similar to an invoice; but
(c) does not include a VAT invoice;
“local authority” has the same meaning as in the Local
Government Act 1989;
“Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibili
ty for the subject of finance is
assigned;
“money” includes currencies whether of Mauritius o
r any other country but does
not include a collector’s piece, investment article or item of numism
atic interest;

“officer” means a public officer posted to the VAT Departm
ent;
“output tax”, in relation to a taxable person, means V
AT on the taxable supplies he
makes in the course or furtherance of his business;
“person” includes any société, trust, economic entity or similar organisation, club
or association, Ministry or Government department and any local authorit
y;
“qualified auditor” has the same meaning as in the
Companies Act 1984;
“quarter” means a period of3 months ending at the
end of March, June,
September or December;
“registered person” means a person who is register
ed under section 15 or 16;

“record” —

(a) means a record specified in section 19; and
(b) includes copies of VAT invoice specified in section 20;

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
“return” means a return specified in section 22;
“services” means anything which is not goods or money;

“société” —

(a) means a société formed under any enactm
ent in Mauritius;

(b) includes —

(i) a société de fait or a société en participation
(ii) a joint venture; or (iii) a société or partnership formed under the law of a foreign country;

“supply” has the meaning given to it by section 4;

“tax” –

(a) means the value added tax specified in se
ction 9; and
(b) includes any surcharge under section 26
and any penalty under
sections 24(9), 27 and 67; but

(c) does not include any fine;

Amended by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]

“taxable period”, in relation to a taxable person, means
— (a) in the case where his annual turnover of ta
xable supplies exceeds
the amount specified in the Second Schedule, a month, or part of a month
; or

(b) in any other case, a quarter or part of a quarter;

“taxable person” —
(a) means any person who is required to be regi
stered under section
15; and
(b) includes a registered person;
“taxable supply” means a supply of goods in Mauri
tius, or a supply of services
performed or utilised in Mauritius; and
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998

(a) includes a supply which is zero-rated; but

(b) does not include an exempt supply,
made by a taxable person in the course or furtherance of his
business;

“traveller” has the same meaning as in the Customs
Regulations 1989;
“tribunal” Deleted by [
Act No. 23 of 2001] “trust” means any trust constituted under any enactmen
t;

“value added tax” means the value added tax charged in
accordance with his Act;
“VAT” means value added tax and any reference in this
Act to VAT is a reference
to value added tax;

“VAT invoice”—

(a) means a VAT invoice under section 20; but

(b) does not include a receipt or invoice und
er section 19;
“VAT Registration Number” means the VAT Registration N
umber allocated to a
person under section 17;
“visitor” has the same meaning as in the Customs Regulations 1
989.

Amended by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]; [ Act No. 23 of 2001]

3. Meaning of business

(1) In this Act,

“business” —

(a) means —
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(i) any trade, commerce
or manufacture,
profession, vocation or occupation; or

(ii) any other activity
in the nature of trade,
commerce or manufacture, profession, vocation or occupation; and

(b) includes any activity carried
on by a person,
whether or not for gains or profit, and which involves in part or in wh
ole the
supply of goods or services to other persons for a consideration.

(2) Anything done in connection with the termination or
intended
termination of a business is treated as being done in the course or furt
herance of
that business.
(3) Where in the case of a business carried on by a tax
able person goods
forming part of the assets of the business are, under any power exercisa
ble by
another person. sold by the other in or towards satisfaction of a debt o
wed by the
taxable person, they shall be deemed to be supplied by the taxable perso
n in the
course or furtherance of his business.
(4) The disposal of a business as a going concern, or o
f its assets or
liabilities, whether or not in connection with its re-organisation or wi
nding up, is a
supply made in the course or furtherance of the business.
4. Meaning of supply
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, “
supply” means —
(a)
in the case of goods, the transfer for a consideration of
the right to dispose of the goods as the owner; or
(b)
in the case of services, the performance of services for a
consideration.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Third
Schedule and to
any regulations made under subsection (4)
(a)
“supply” in this Act includes all forms of supply, but not
anything done otherwise than for a consideration;
(b)
anything which is not a supply of goods but is done for a
consideration (including, if so done, the granting, assignment
or surrender of
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
any right) is a supply of services.
(3) The Third Schedule shall apply for determining what is, o
r is to
be treated as, a supply of goods or a supply of services.

(4) Without prejudice to section 72(l)(b), the Minister may
, by
regulations, amend the Third Schedule to provide, with res
pect
to any transaction, whether —
(a)
it is to be treated as a supply of goods and not as a supply
of services;
(b)
it is to be treated as a supply of services and not as a
supply of goods; or
(c)
it is to be treated as neither a supply of goods nor a
supply of services.
(5) (a) A supply of goods incidental to the supply
of services is
part of the supply of the services.
(b) A supply of services incidental to the i
mportation of goods
is part of the importation of the goods.
(c) A supply of services incidental to the s
upply of goods is
part of the supply of the goods.
(6)
A supply of services made by a person in performing the duties
of his office or employment is not a supply made by that person.

5. Time of supply
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act
, a supply of goods or
services shall be deemed to take place —
(a) at the time an invoi
ce or a VAT invoice in
respect of that supply is issued by the supplier; or
(b) at the time payment
for that supply is received
by the supplier,

whichever is the earlier.

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(2) Where services are supplied for a continuous period
under any
enactment or agreement which provides for periodic payments, the service
s are
treated as successively supplied for successive parts of the period as d
etermined by
the enactment or agreement and each successive supply shall be deemed to
take
place —
(a) at the time an invoice or a VAT invoice in
respect of the
supply is issued by the supplier; or
(b) at the time payment for that supply is rece
ived by the
supplier,

whichever is the earlier.

(3) Where a taxable supply is made —
(a) under a hire purchase agreement, the supply shall
be treated as
a supply of goods and it shall be deemed to be supplied at the time the
agreement is made; or
(b) under a lease agreem
ent, the supply shall be
treated as a supply of services and it shall be deemed to be supplied –
(i) at the time an invoice or a VAT
invoice in respect of that supply is issued by the supplier; or
(ii) at the time payment for that
supply is received by the supplier,

whichever is the earlier.

(4) Where any goods specified in Part II of the Seventh Schedul
e are supplied at
the stage in the chain of distribution immediately before the retail sta
ge, the time of
supply of those goods shall, subject to subsection (1), be treated, fo
r all intents and
purposes, as if the supply at the retail stage has taken place.
(5) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section,
the Minister may, by
regulations, make provision with respect to the time at which a supply i
s to be
treated as taking place in cases where it is a supply of goods or servic
es for a
consideration, the whole or part of which, is payable periodically or fr
om time to time,
or at the end of any period.
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998

Amended by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]

6. Application of the Act

(1) This Act shall bind the State.
(2) Where in any enactment or agreement made before or af
ter the
commencement of this Act, it is provided that notwithstanding any other
enactment a
statutory corporation or any other person shall be exempt from the payme
nt of the
whole or part of any tax, that provision shall not be construed as an ex
emption from
the payment of VAT under this Act.

(3 – 5)Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003]

Added by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]

PART II – ADMINISTRATION

7. Commissioner for Value Added Tax
For the due administration of this Act, there shall be a Com
missioner for Value
Added Tax who shall be a public officer and who shall be assisted by suc
h other officers
as may be necessary.

8. Confidentiality
(1) Subject to subsection (2), every officer shall main
tain the
confidentiality of any return, assessment, document or other matter that
comes to
his knowledge or possession in the performance of his duties and of func
tions
under this Act and any regulations made thereunder.
(2) Except for the purposes of administering this Act or
any other revenue
law or where so authorised to do so by the Minister, no officer shall co
mmunicate
to any person any matter relating to this Act and any regulations made t
hereunder.
(3) Any officer who, without lawful excuse, contravenes th
is section shall
commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exce
eding 5,000
rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

PART III – LIABILITY TO VALUE ADDED TAX

9. Charge to value added tax
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(1) VAT shall be charged on any supply of goods
or services made in
Mauritius, where it is a taxable supply made by a taxable person in the
course or
furtherance of any business carried on by him.

(2) VAT on any taxable supply is a liability of
the person making the
supply and becomes due at the time of supply.
(3) Where food or drink, cooked or prepared in any manner,
is supplied, such
food or drink shall, notwithstanding the other provision of this Act, be
deemed to be a
taxable supply.
(4) Subject to the other provisions of this Act
, every person who –
(a) imports goods, other
than goods specified in
the First Schedule, shall pay a value added tax on those goods; or
(b) being a taxable person, makes taxable supplies, shall, after
the end of the taxable period in which those supplies are made, pay to t
he
Commissioner, within such time as may be prescribed a value added tax on

those supplies.
(5) VAT on the importation of goods shall be charged, levi
ed and payable as
if it were customs duty or excise duty and as if all goods imported into
Mauritius are
dutiable and liable to customs duty or excise duty.
(6) Every taxable person shall be liable to pay to the Com
missioner VAT on
all his taxable supplies as from the date he is required to be registere
d as a
registered person under this Act.
(7) The liability under the Act of a société
, club, association , or similar
organisation, as a taxable person shall not be affected by any change in
its
associateship or membership, as the case may be.
(8) No person shall charge VAT on any supplies of goods or
services he
makes unless he is a registered person at the time the supplies are made
.

(9) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, where
any goods
specified in the Part II of the Seventh Schedule are supplied at the sta
ge in the chain
of distribution immediately before the retail stage, the supply shall be
deemed to
have been made at the retail stage and VAT on such supply shall be charg
ed on
such value as includes the retail margin.

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
Amended by [ Act No. 20 of 2002] 10. Rate of VAT
(1) Subject to section 51, VAT shall be charged
at the rate specified in
the Fourth Schedule and shall be charged —
(a) on any taxable supply by reference to the value of the
supply as
determined under section 12; and

(b) on the importation of any goods, other than those specified in the

First Schedule, by reference to the value of the goods as determined und
er
section 13.

(2) Notwithstanding any other enactment or agreement and subjec
t to
subsections (3) and (4), where the rate of tax is varied before the
supply of any
goods or services takes place pursuant to section 5, the rate of tax on
the supply of
those goods or services shall be varied as from the date of the variatio
n.
(3) Where, in the course of the execution of a contract for the
supply of any
goods or services, the rate of tax is varied, the rate of tax on the sup
ply of those
goods or services shall be varied with respect to the remaining part of
the contract
as from the date of the variation.
(4) Where, in respect of a continuous supply of services, invoi
ces are issued at
regular intervals and the rate of tax is varied, the rate of tax on the
supply of those
services shall be varied as from the date of the variation.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002]

11. Zero-rating
(1) Where a taxable person supplies goods or se
rvices and the supply
is zero-rated —
(a)
no VAT shall be charged on the supply; but
(b) it shall in all respects be tre
ated as a taxable supply,
and accordingly the rate at which VAT is treated
as charged on the
supply shall be nil.

(2) A supply of goods or services is zero-rate
d by virtue of this
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
Section if the goods or services are of a description specified in the F
ifth Schedule.

12. Value of taxable supplies

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the value of
any taxable supply made
by a taxable person shall, subject to the other provisions of this Act,
be determined
in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) If the supply is for a consideration in money, its v
alue shall be taken to
be such amount as, with the addition of the VAT chargeable, is equal to
the
consideration.
(3) if the supply is for a consideration not consisting
or not wholly consisting
of money, the value of the supply shall be taken to be the open market v
alue of the
supply.
(4) Where a taxable supply is not the only matter to whi
ch a consideration
in money relates, the supply shall be deemed to be for such part of the
consideration
as is properly attributable to it.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (3), the open market value of a supply
of
goods or services shall be taken to be the amount that would fall to be
taken as its
value under subsection (2) if the supply were for such consideration i
n money as
would be payable by a person who has no relationship with any person whi
ch would
affect that consideration.

(6) Where a supply of any of the goods specified in Part I of t
he Seventh
Schedule is made by a registered person –
(a) at the stage in the chain of distribution immediately before the s
tage of
retail, VAT shall be calculated on such value of the supply as excludes
the
retail margin.

(b) at the stage of retail, VAT shall be calculated on the value of th
e supply as
specified in paragraph (a).
(7) Where a supply of any of the goods specified in Part II of
the Seventh
Schedule is made by a registered person –

(a) at the stage in the chain of distribution immediately before the s
tage of
retail, VAT shall be calculated on such value of the supply as includes
the
retail margin.

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(b) at the stage of retail, VAT shall be calculated on the value of the
supply as specified in paragraph (a).

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002] 13. Value of imported goods
The value shall, in respect of goods imported by any person.
Be the sum of —

(a) the customs value of the goods; and
(b) the customs duty and excise duty payable
on the goods
14. Reverse charge on supply of services received fr
om abroad
(1) Where a person who does not belong in Mauritius make
s a taxable
supply of services which are performed or utilised in Mauritius, to a re
gistered
person, then all the same consequences shall follow under this Act as if
the
registered person had himself supplied the services in Mauritius and tha
t supply
were a taxable supply.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] (2) Where a supply of services which is treated as made
by a registered
person under subsection (1), then the provisions of section 21 shall a
pply and the
registered person may claim the tax on the supply of those services as i
nput tax.
(3) The invoice or other documentation from the pers
on making the
supply shall be treated as a VAT invoice.
(4) The value of the supply under this section shall
be the amount
paid or payable for the services.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a person does
not belong in
Mauritius if that person —
(a) has no permanent establishment in Mauritius for the
carrying
on of his business; or
(b) has his place of abode outside Mauritius.

PART IV – REGISTRATION

15. Compulsory registration
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(1) Subject to the other provisions of this sect
ion, every person —
(a) who, in the course
or furtherance of his
business, makes taxable supplies; and
(b) whose turnover of taxable supplies exceeds
or is likely to exceed any of the amounts corresponding to any of the pe
riods,
specified in the Sixth Schedule,
shall apply to the Commissioner, in such form and in su
ch manner as
may be approved by him, for compulsory registration as a registered per
son under
the Act.
(2) (a) Notwithstanding section 16, every person engaged in – (i) any business or profession specified in Part I of the Tenth Schedu
le
and whose turnover of taxable supplies does not exceed or is not likely
to exceed any of the amounts corresponding to any of the periods
specified in the Sixth Schedule; or
(ii) any business specified in Part II of the Tenth Schedule, irrespec
tive of
his turnover of taxable supplies,
shall apply to the Commissioner, in such form and in such manner as may
be
approved by him, for compulsory registration as a registered person unde
r the
Act.
(b) Paragraph (a)(i) shall not apply to a
person holding an office
or employment, unless the person, otherwise than by virtue of any enactm
ent,
is also engaged, in addition to his office or employment, in any busines
s or
profession specified in Part I of the Tenth Schedule.
(3) Where the turnover of a person is made up e
xclusively of supplied
which are zero-rated, that person shall not be bound to apply for regist
ration under
this section.

(4) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that the applicant
is required to
be registered, he shall register the applicant as a registered person un
der the Act.

(5) Where the Commissioner is satisfied
that —
(a) a person, in the course or fur
therance of his
business, makes taxable supplies;
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(b) the taxable supplies made by certain other per
sons should
properly be regarded as those made by that person;
(c) where the taxable supplies referred to in para
graphs (a) and
(b) are together taken into account, that person would be liable to be

registered; and
(d) the main reason or one of the main reasons for
that person
carrying on business in the way he does is the avoidance of a liability
to be
registered,
the Commissioner may issue a direction to that p
erson directing that
the persons named therein shall be treated as a single taxable person an
d that
single taxable person shall be liable to be registered under this sectio
n.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002]

16. Voluntary registration
(1) Notwithstanding section 15, any person who, in the c
ourse furtherance
of his business, makes taxable supplies may apply to the Commissioner, i
n such
form and in such manner as may be approved by him, for voluntary registr
ation as a
registered person under the Act.

(2) Where the applicant satisfies the Commissioner that-
(a) he currently keeps and maintains a proper reco
rd of his
business;
(b) he has kept and maintained a proper record of his busi
ness for a
period of at least one year preceding the year in which the application
for
registration is made and
(c) he has been discharging his obligations under the
revenue laws,
the Commissioner may register the applicant as a
registered person
under the Act.

17. Certificate of registration
(1) Where a person has been registered under se
ction 15 or 16, the
Commissioner shall allocate to that person a VAT Registration Number and
issue to
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him a certificate of registration in a form approved by the Commissioner
on such
terms and conditions as he thinks fit.
(2) The Commissioner shal1, in the certificate of registra
tion issued to a
person under subsection (1), specify the VAT Registration Number alloc
ated to that
person.

18. Cancellation of registration

(1) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that a registered
person should
cease to be registered under the Act, he may, by notice in writing, requ
ire the
registered person, within 14 days of the date of the notice, to show cau
se why he
should not cease to be registered and if the Commissioner is satisfied t
hat, having
regard to all circumstances of the case, it is expedient to do so, he ma
y cancel the
registration with effect from such date as the Commissioner may determin
e and
give notice thereof to the person.
(2) Where the registration of a registered person is cance
lled under
subsection (1), the person shall —
(a)
cease to hold himself out to be a registered person;
(b)
submit a return and pay all tax due including the tax due on any goods
forming part of the assets of the business, other than those specified i
n section
21(2)(b);
(c) immediately return to the Commissioner his certi
ficate of
registration and all its copies.

Amended by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]

PART V – RECORD AND VAT IN VOICE
19. Record
(1) Every person shall, for the purposes of
this Act, keep in the
course of his business, a full and true written record, whether on compu
ter or
otherwise, in the English or French language of every transaction he mak
es.

(2) Every person referred to in subsection (1) who —
(a) imports or exports goods shall keep, in respec
t of those goods,
a copy of his Customs declarations, either electronic through the Trade
Net or
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
otherwise, in chronological order;
(b) receives goods or to whom services are supplied shall keep
receipts, invoices or VAT invoices in respect of those goods or services
in
chronological order they are received or supplied; and
(c) makes supplies of goods or services shall, subject to section
20, issue to the purchaser a receipt or invoice in respect of those good
s or
services and keep legible copies thereof, either on computer or otherwis
e in
chronological order,

in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3) Subsection (2)(c) shall not apply to the business speci
fied in item 6(b)(ii) of
the Fifth Schedule and items 1 and 4 of Part II of the Tenth Schedule.

(4) Every record under subsection (1) or (2) shall b
e kept for a period of at
least 5 years after the completion of the transaction to which it relates.
(5)
For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), “Trade Net” has the sam
e meaning as in the
Customs (Use of Computer) Regulations 1997.
Amended by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]; [ Act No. 18 of 2003]

20. VAT invoice
(1) Every registered person who makes a taxable supp
ly to another
registered person shall issue to that person a VAT invoice in respect of
that supply.
(2) A registered person who issues a VAT invoice under sub
section (1)
shall specify in that VAT invoice —
(a) the words “VAT INVOICE” in a prominent place;(b) his name, business address and his VAT Registration
Number;
(c) its serial number and date of issue;
(d) the quantity and description of the goods or the descr
ip­tion of the
services;
(e) the value of the supply exclusive of VAT;
(f) the amount of VAT chargeable an
d the rate applied;
and
(g) the name, address and the VAT R
egistration Number
of
the purchaser.
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(3) Every person who issues a VAT invoice under
this section shall
keep legible copies thereof, either on computer or otherwise, in chronol
ogi­cal order.

(4) Every copy of a VAT invoice under this sec
tion shall be
kept for a period of at least 5 years after the completion
of the transaction to which it relates.
(5) No person shall issue a VAT invoice or any other document indicating an
amount which purports to be VAT on the supply of any goods or services u
nless —
(a) he is registered as a registered person under this
Act; and
(b) the supply is a taxable supply.
(6) No VAT invoice shall be issued to a person unless, at
the time the
VAT invoice is issued, that person is registered as a registered person
under this
Act.
(7) This section shall not apply to the business specified in i
tem 6(b)(ii) of the
Fifth Schedule and items 1 and 4 of Part II of the Tenth Schedule.

Added by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]; Amended by [ Act No. 18 of 2003] PART VI – RETURN, PAYMENT AND REPAYMENT OF TAX
21. Credit for input tax against output tax
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this
section, any person may if
he is a taxable person, take, either in his return referred to in sectio
n 23 or in his
statement referred to in section 23, as a credit against his output tax
in any taxable
period, the amount of input tax allowable to him during that period.
(2) No input tax shall be allowed as a credi
t under this section in
respect of —
(a) goods or services used to make an e
xempt supply;

(b) motorcars and other mot
or vehicles for the
transport of not more than 9 persons including the driver, motor cycles
and
mopeds, for own use or consumption, and their spare parts and accessorie
s;

(c) accommodation or lodgin
g, catering services,
receptions, entertainment, and the rental or lease of motor
cars and
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other vehicles specified in paragraph (b);
(d) maintenance or repairs of motorcars
and other vehicles
specified in paragraph (b);

(e)
petroleum oils and other oils or preparations of heading No. 27.10 of
Part I
of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, except –
(i) fuel oils;
(ii) oils or preparatio
ns used for resale; and
(iii) gas oils for use
in stationary engines, boilers and burners;
(f) petroleum gas of headin
g No. 27.11 of Part l of
the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act and used for the runn
ing of
motor cars and other vehicles specified in paragraph (b),

(g)
goods and services used by banks, or services provided by banks, holding
a
Category 1 Banking Licence under the Banking Act and
(h) goods and services used by persons for the purpose of p
roviding
services specified in item 4 of Part II of the Tenth Schedule, or servic
es
specified in item 4 of Part II of the Tenth Schedule.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 20 of
2002]; [ Act No. 18 of 2003];[ Act No. 28 of 2004] (3)
(a) Where goods or services are used to make a taxable supply,
the credit in respect of those goods or services shall be allowed in ful
l.
(b) Subject to paragraphs (c) and (d), where goods or
services are
used to make both taxable supplies and exempt supplies, the credit in
respect of those goods or services shall be allowed in the proportion of
the
value of taxable supplies to total turnover on the basis of –
(i) in the case of a new business, the estimated figures f
or the
current accounting year; or

(ii) in any other case, the actual figures for the previou
s
accounting year.
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(c) The amount of input tax taken in accordance with parag
raph (b)(i)
shall be adjusted by the person at the end of his accounting year, and a
n
adjustment shall be made by him in his return for the taxable period
immediately following the end of that year.

(d) Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissio
ner that the
apportionment in accordance with paragraph (b) is, having regard to th
e nature
of the business, not fair and reasonable, the Commissioner may approve s
uch
alternative basis of apportionment as he considers appropriate in the
circumstances, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 23 of 2001] (4) The amount of any input tax or output tax shall be adj
usted to take into
account any debit note or credit note or a bad debt.

(5) No credit for input tax shall be allowed unless —

(a) VAT invoices i
ssued by suppliers legally
authorised to charge VAT; or
(b) Customs import declarations, either electronic or otherwise,
in support of the credit,
are made available to the Commissioner for
examination on
demand.
(6)
Where credit for any input tax has not been taken in the taxable period
in which it
ought to have been taken, a registered person may take such credit withi
n a period of
24 months of the date the input tax was paid.

Amended by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]

(7) (a) Where, in respect of a building (including exte
nsion and
renovation) forming part of the fixed assets of a registered person, a
credit for
input tax has been taken, and before the end of the nineteenth year foll
owing
the year it was acquired, that building no longer forms part of his fixe
d assets,
the registered person shall be liable to pay back to the Commissioner, i
n
respect of the remaining portion of that period, the proportionate amoun
t of the
credit allowed.
(b) The registered person shall, in his return for the taxable
period in which the building has ceased to form part of his fixed assets
,
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treat the proportionate amount referred to in paragraph (a) as output
tax.

(8) For the purposes of determining the proportion of the value
of taxable
supplies to total turnover under subsection (3)(b), the value of tax
able supplies shall
exclude the value of capital goods.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 13 of 2001];
[
Act No. 20 of 2002]

22. Return and payment of tax
(1) Every registered person shall, after the end of every taxable
period, within
such time as may be prescribed, submit to the Commissioner in respect of
that
period a return, in such manner and in such form as may be approved by t
he
Commissioner, specifying —
(a) the amount of output tax payable;
(b) the amount of input tax allowable;
(c) the value of all taxable supplies made by
him;
(d) the value of goods impo
rted and the value of all
taxable supplies made to him; and
(e) such other particulars
as may be required in the
form of the return.
(2) Where a registered person submits a retu
rn under subsection (1)
and —
(a) the output tax exceeds the input tax, the diff
erence
representing the amount of tax payable shall be paid to the Commissioner
at
the time the return is submitted, or
(b) the input tax exceeds the output tax which would have been
payable if the credit has not been taken, the excess amount shall, subj
ect to
section 24, be retained to be carried forward onto the return for the fo
llowing
taxable period for the payment of any VAT that is for the time being pay
able or
may become payable by the registered person.
(3) Where a registered person does not make any su
pply of goods
or services and does not receive any goods or services he shall submit a
nil
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return.

23. Tax liability prior to date of registration

(1) Where a registered person ought to have been registered on
a day prior to the
date of his registration, he shall, not later than 30 days after the dat
e of his registration —
(a) submit a statement, in a form approved by the Commissi
oner, giving the
information and particulars specified in section 22 in respect of the ta
xable periods
commencing on the date the person was required to be registered and endi
ng on the
date immediately preceding the date of his registration, provided that s
uch periods
do not exceed 5 years; and
(f)
at the same time, pay any tax due in accordance with the of statement to
gether
with the appropriate penalty specified in section 27.

(2) Notwithstanding section 21(5)(a), any regist
ered
person may,in the stat
ement under subsection (1), take as a
credit
against his output tax for the taxable period, the
amount of input tax allowable to him during that period
provided that the amount of input tax is duly supported by
receipts or invoices issued by VAT registered persons and
the amount of VAT is separately shown thereon.

Added by [
Act No. 18 of 2003]

24. Repayment of tax
(1) Where a registered person submits a return under section 22
and the excess
amount includes input tax amounting to more than Rs 150,000 rupees or su
ch other
amount as may be prescribed, on capital goods being building (including
extension
and renovation), plant, machinery or equipment, of a capital nature, th
e registered
person may, in that return, make a claim to the Commissioner for a repay
ment of the
amount of input be tax allowable in respect of those capital goods.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where, in resp
ect of a taxable period,
a return shows an excess amount, the registered person may, in that retu
rn, make a
claim to the Commissioner for a repayment, in addition to any amount rep
ayable
under subsection (1) of that part of the excess amount which corresponds to the
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proportion of the value of zero-rated supplies to the total value of tax
able supplies in
that taxable period.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 23 of 2001] (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the excess amo
unt in a return shall
not include any input tax for capital goods, whether repayable under sub
section (1)
or not.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

(4) (a) Where a return shows a
n excess amount and
the registered person is mainly engaged in the zero-dated supplies, he m
ay, in
that return, make a claim to the Commissioner for a repayment of the who
le or
part of the excess amount.
(b) On receipt of a claim u
nder paragraph (a), the
Commissioner may —
(i) repay t
he whole or part of the
excess amount; or
(ii) retain the excess amount to be
carried forward onto the return for the following taxable period.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 23 of 2001]

(5) A claim for repayment under this section shall made i
n such manner and
in such form as may be approved by the Commissioner and shall be submitt
ed
together with the return.
(6) Where a claim for repayment is made under this secti
on, the amount
claimed shall not be carried forward to the return for the following tax
able period and
the Commissioner may, on being satisfied that the registered person is e
ntitled to the
repayment, proceed to make repayment.
(7) A repayment under this section shall be made within
45 days of the date
of receipt by the Commissioner of the return and the claim referred to i
n subsection
(5).
(8) Where the repayment is made after the period specifi
ed in subsection
(7), the repayment shall carry interest at the prevailing Bank rate.

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(9) Where in respect of a claim for repayment under this s
ection, it is found
that an amount has been overclaimed, the registered person shall, subjec
t to
subsection (10), be liable to pay to the Commissioner a penalty repres
enting 20 per
cent of the amount overclaimed provided that the penalty shall not excee
d 200,000
rupees.

Added by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]; [Act No. 18 0f 2003] (10) Subsection (9) shall not apply where the amount of
penalty does not
exceed 250 rupees.

Added by [
Act No. 25 of 2000] (11) Subject to subsection (12), the penalty under subse
ction (9) shall be
payable to the Commissioner within 28 days of the date of the notificati
on for
payment of the penalty.

Added by [
Act No. 25 of 2000] (12) Any penalty payable under subsection (9) shall be a
pplied and set off
against any amount of tax which is for the time being repayable to the r
egistered
person.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; Added by [ Act No. 25 of 2000]

25. Change in taxable period
(1) Where the annual turnover of taxable supplies of a reg
istered person
whose taxable period is a quarter exceeds the amount specified in the Se
cond
Schedule, he shall —
(a) within 15 days of the date of the closing of his an
nual
accounts, notify the Commissioner of that fact in writing; and
(b) change his taxable period from a quarter to a month as from
the month immediately following that quarter.
(2) Where the annual turnover of taxable supplies of a r
egistered person
whose taxable period is a month does not exceed the amount specified in
the
Second Schedule, he may —
(a) within 15 days of the date of the closing of his an
nual
accounts, notify the Commissioner of that fact in writing; and
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(b) change his taxable period from a month to a quarter as from
the quarter immediately following that month.
(3) Where a registered person changes his taxable period
under subsection
(1) or (2), he shall submit the return under section 22 in the accor
dance with his new
taxable period.

26. Surcharge for non-submission of return by due date
Where, in respect of a taxable period, a registered person f
ails to submit any return
under section 22 on or before the last day on which the return is requir
ed to be submitted
under that section, he shall be liable to pay to the Commissioner, in ad
dition to any tax
which may be payable, a surcharge of —

(a) 2000 rupees; or
(b) 200 rupees for every day until the return for that t
axable
period is submitted,
whichever is the higher provided that the total surcharge p
ayable shall not exceed
20,000 rupees.

Amended by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]

27. Penalty for late payment of tax
Where a taxable person fails to pay any tax due on or before
the last day on which
it is payable under section 9,21(7) or 37, he shall be liable to pay t
o the Commissioner, in
addition to the tax and to any surcharge under section 26, a penalty rep
resenting —
(a) 10 per cent of the tax excluding the surcharge
for the first month or
part of the month during which the tax remains unpaid; and
(b) 2 per cent of the tax excluding the penalty and the su
rcharge for each
subsequent month or part of the month during which the tax remains unpai
d,

up to a maximum of 100 per cent of the tax.
PART VII – POWERS OF COMMISSIONER
28. Power to require information
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(1) Subject to section 33, the Commissioner may, by noti
ce in writing,
require any person to furnish to him, within such time as may be specifi
ed in the
notice, information and particulars relating to —

(a) the supply of any goods or services made
to the
person by any other person;
(b) the supply of any goods or services made by
the
person to any other person; (c) contracts for the supply of any goods or
services; (d) the amount owed by the person to any other
person; and
(e) such other transactions,

which the Commissioner considers necessary or relevant for the purposes
of this Act
and which may be in the possession or custody, or under the control, of
that person.

(2) Where a notice under subsection (1) is issued to a
person, that person
shall comply with the requirements of that notice.

29. Obligation to furnish information

(1) Every person, when so required by the Commissioner shall, for th
e
purposes of this Act, within the time fixed by the Commissioner, give or
ally or in
writing, as may be required, all such information as may be demanded of
him by the
Commissioner for the purpose of enabling the Commissioner to ascertain h
is tax
liability, make an assessment or collect tax.
(2) Subject to section 33, any person, when so required
by notice in writing,
shall, for the purposes of this Act, furnish to the Commissioner, within
the time
specified in the notice —
(a) a certified copy of the profit and loss account and ba
lance sheet or
such other statement of account as may be required, duly audited by a
qualified auditor;
(b) details of transactions in all the bank accounts of
the person, his
spouse and minor children; and
(c) a certified statement of all assets and liabilities of
the person, his
spouse and minor children.

30. Use of computer system

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(1) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act and
subject to section
8D of the Unified Revenue Act 1983, the Commissioner may authorise —

(a) an application for registration under Part IV;
(b) a return under section 22 or a statement under section
23;

(c) any payment or repayment of tax under the Act; or
(d) any act or thing which is required to be done under th
e Act,
to be made, submitted or done electronically through s
uch computer
system as may be approved by him.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

(2) With effect from such date as may be notified in the
Gazette the
Commissioner may direct that any matter, act or thing referred to in sub
section (1)
shall be made, submitted or done electronically or otherwise.
(3) Any certificate of registration under section 17, any
assessment of tax
under section 37, or any act or thing which is required to be done by th
e
Commissioner under the Act, may be issued, made or done electronically t
hrough
computer or other mechanical or electronic device.
(4) A person who submits a return and pays tax in the manner sp
ecified in
subsection (1) shall continue to submit returns and pay tax in that ma
nner unless
otherwise authorised by the Commissioner.
(5) Where, immediately before the commencement of this section,
a person has
been submitting a return and has been paying tax electronically, the com
puter
system of that person shall be deemed to have been approved by the Commi
ssioner
for the purposes of subsection (1).

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001] 31. Production of books and records

The Commissioner may, for the purposes of ascertaining the t
ax
liability of any person, require that person —
(a) to produce for –
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(i) examination, either at the business premises of that p
erson or at the
Office of the Commissioner, books, records, copies of VAT invoices, cont
racts
for the supply of goods or services, bank statements, or other documents
,
whether on computer or otherwise, which the Commissioner considers
necessary and which may be in the possession or custody or under the con
trol
of that person;
(ii) retention, for such period as the Commissioner
considers
necessary, any record or document specified in subparagraph (i) and fo
r taking
copies of or extracts therefrom;
(b) to call, either at the business premises of the person
or at the Office of
the Commissioner, for the purpose of being examined in respect of any tr
ansaction
or matter relating to the tax liability of that person.

32. Power to inspect books, records and goods

(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Commissioner or any
officer authorised by
him in writing may, for the purposes of this Act, at all reasonable time
s, enter any
business premises or place where any business is carried on or anything
is done in
connection with the business and —
(a) may require the person carrying on the business
or any person
on those premises or in that place who is employed by the person carryin
g on
the business to produce any books, records, copies of VAT invoice, balan
ce
sheet, stock sheet, contracts for the supply of goods or services, bank
statements or other documents relating to the business, whether these ar
e
recorded in a computer system or otherwise, and may remove and retain an
y
such records or other documents, for such period as may be considered
reasonable for their examination or inspection;
(b) may examine any such records or other documents
and take
copies of or extracts therefrom;
(c) may inspect any goods;
(d) may require the person —

(i) to produce any goods for inspection; or
(ii) to carry out a cash count; and

(e) may require the person carrying on the business or any person
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on those premises or in that place who is employed by the person carryin
g on
the business to give to the Commissioner or the authorised officer all
reasonable assistance and to answer all proper questions either orally o
r in
writing.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the Commissioner may,
at any time, cause
a physical stocktaking of the goods of a registered person to be carried
out.
(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any person —
(a) who carries on any banking business, or the business o
f dealings in
foreign currency, regulated by the Banking Act 1988, the Bank of Mauriti
us
Act, the Foreign Exchange Dealers Act 1995 or any other enactment relati
ng
thereto; or
(b) who carries on the busin
ess of providing
financial services.
(4) Any person who —
(a) fails to provide such as
sistance or to answer
such questions as may be required under this section; or
(b) obstructs the Commissioner
or any officer in the
exercise of his powers under this section,
shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable
to a fine not
exceeding 200,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5
years.
32A. Power to access computers and other electronic devices

(1) For the purposes of ascertaining the tax l
iability of any
person under this Act, the Commissioner may, subject to subsection (2)
,
at any reasonable time –

(a) have ac
cess to –
(i) any computer, compu
ter
software, whether installed in the computer or otherwise,
electronic till or any other device, used in connection with
any document which the person is required to produce for
the purpose of ascertaining his tax liability; or
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(ii) any information, c
ode or
technology which has the capability of retransforming or
unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to such
computers or devices into readable and comprehensive
format or text;
(b) inspect and check the operation of any such
computer, electronic till or other device and make extracts of any
computer software, computer output or such other document used
in connection therewith;
(c) require any person by whom or on whose behalf the
computer or other electronic device is operated, or any person
concerned with the operation of the equipment, to give such
assistance as is necessary for the purposes of this section; and
(d) require any person in possession of decryption
information to grant him access to such decryption information
necessary to decrypt data required for the purposes of this section.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any pe
rson referred
to in section 32(3).
Amended by [
Act No. 28 of 2004] 33. Time limit to require information, books or reco
rds

(1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall be requ
ired –
(a) to furnish or give any i
nformation under section
28 or 29; or
(b) to produce any books or
records under section
31 or 32,
after 5 years immediately following the last day
of the taxable period
in which any related transaction took place.
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(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply in case of wilful neg
lect, evasion or fraud.

34. Power to require security

(1) The Commissioner may, for the purposes of securing pay
ment of any
tax due, require a person to give security in such amount and in such ma
nner as
the Commissioner thinks fit.

(2) Any person who, without any reasonable cause, fails to give such
security as is required under subsection (1) shall commit an offence.
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35. Warrant to search and seize
(1) Subject to subsection (2), where the Commissioner ha
s reasonable
ground to believe that an offence has been, is being or is likely to be
committed
under this Act, he may apply to a District Magistrate for the issue of a
warrant to an
officer —
(a) to enter and search any business premises or place whe
re any
business is carried on or anything is done in connection with the busine
ss;

(b) to inspect or examine any goods or books, records or o
ther
documents, whether kept on computer or otherwise, found therein; and
(c) to seize those goods, books, records or other
documents or any computer, device, apparatus, material or computer
software used in connection with the business, where such seizure is
necessary for any examination or investigation.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any person referred to in sect
ion 32(3).
(3) Any goods, books, records or other documents or computer, de
vice,
apparatus, material or computer software seized under subsection (1)(
c) shall be
returned to the person from whom they were seized when longer required.
Amended by [
Act No. 28 of 2004]

36. Proceedings for temporary closing down of business
(1) Where, in respect of a taxable period, a registered person —

(a) fails to submit a return under section 22 or fails to
pay the tax
payable under that section on or before the last day on which the return
is
required to be submitted and payment of tax made; and

(b) the Commissioner is of the opinion that tax ought to h
ave been paid
by the registered person for that taxable period,

the Commissioner may notify the person in writing of his int
ention to close
down part or the whole of the business of that person for a temporary pe
riod not
exceeding 14 days, unless the person complies with the requirement of th
at section
within a period of 7 days of the date of the notice.
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(2) (a) Where the registered pers
on fails to comply with
the notice issued under subsection (1), the Commissioner may make an
application under oath, in such form as may be prescribed, to a District

Magistrate for an order to close down part or the whole of the business
of that
person for a period not exceeding 14 days.

(b) Where an application under oath is made to the
Magistrate in the manner specified in paragraph (a), the Magistrate ma
y
forthwith grant the application.

(c) Upon granting an application under paragrap
h (b), the
Magistrate shall issue an order to an Usher, in such Form as may be
prescribed, to close down the business of the person in accordance with
the
provisions of this section.

(3) Where an Usher executes an order under subsection (2)
, he shall affix
in a conspicuous place on the front of the premises of the business or p
art of the
business which has been closed, a notice duly certified by the Commissio
ner
bearing the words “CLOSED TEMPORARILY FOR NOT SUBMITTING VAT
RETURN AND NOT PAYING VAT”; or the words “CLOSED TEMPORARILY
FOR NOT PAYING VAT”, as the case may be.

(4) Where an order under subsection (2) has been execute
d and the
registered person complies with the requirements of —

(a) section 22; or (b) section 22(1)and gives security to the satisfaction of
the Commissioner for the payment of any tax due,

the order shall lapse and the Commissioner shall
, in writing, notify the
registered person accordingly.

(5) Any person who, contrary to the order, carries on the
business or part of
the business concerned or who commits any act in breach of the order und
er this
section, shall commit an offence.

36A. Anti-avoidance provisions

(1) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that the purpose o
r effect of any
arrangement or transaction is directly or indirectly –

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(a) to reduce or avoid any liability imposed or which woul
d otherwise
have been imposed on any person by this Act;

(b) to relieve any person from any liabil
ity to tax;
(c) to alter the incidence or postpone the time due of any
tax which is
payable by or which would otherwise have been payable by any person; or
(d) to obtain credit for any input tax or repayment of any
tax which
would not otherwise have been obtained.
the Commissioner may, without prejudice to such validity as
it may have in
any other respect or for nay other purpose, disregard or vary, for the p
urposes of this
Act, the arrangement or transaction and make such adjustments as he cons
iders
appropriate so as to counteract any tax advantage obtained or obtainable
by that
person from or under that arrangement or transaction.
(2) This section shall not apply to any arrangement or tra
nsaction carried out
for bona fide commercial reasons and does not have as one of its main pu
rposes the
avoidance or reduction of tax or the obtaining of any tax advantage
(3) For the purposes of this section, ‘tax advantage’
includes –
(a) any reduction in the liability of any person to pay ta
x;
(b) any reduction in the total consideration payable by an
y person in
respect of any supply of goods or services;
(c) any postponement of the time when tax is due or payabl
e; or
(d) any increase in the entitlement of a person to a credi
t for input tax
or repayment of tax;

Added by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]

VIII – ASSESSMENTS, OBJECTIONS AND REVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS

37. Commissioner may make assessments

(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where —
(a) a person —
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(i) fails t
o submit a return under
section 22 or a statement under section 23;

(ii) fails to keep proper records;

(iii) fails
to comply with any of the
requirements under section 29, 31 or 32;

(iv) being
a taxable person, fails to
apply for registra­tion as a registered person under the Act;

(v) benefits from a repayment of tax under sec
tion 24 and
it is subsequently found that the tax or part of the tax ought not to ha
ve
been repaid; or

(vi) fails to remit to the Commissioner any VA
T charged
on any supply made by him; or

(b) the Commissioner is not satisfied —
(i) with a return submitted under section 22
or statement under section 23; or

(ii) with the adequacy
or correctness of the
record kept,
the Commissioner may, on such information as is available
to him, make
an assessment of the tax due and payable by that person and give to that
person
written notice of the assessment.

(2) Where the Commissioner has given notice of
assessment to any
person under subsection (1), that person shall, subject to section 38,
pay the amount
of tax specified in the notice, not later than 28 days of the date of th
e notice.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), an assessment under
subsection (1), shall
not be made after 5 years immediately following the last day of the taxable period
in which the liability to pay tax arose.

(4) No assessment under subsection (1) shall be made where the
amount of
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tax does not exceed 250 rupees.

(5) Subsection (3) shall not apply in case of wilful, ne
glect evasion or fraud.

38. Objection to assessments

(1) Where a person assessed to tax under section 37 is dissatis
fied with the
assessment, he may, within 28 days of the date of the notice of assessme
nt, in
writing, lodge with the Commissioner an objection against the assessment
.

(2) Any person who lodges an objection under subsection (
1) shall —

(a) state in his letter of objection, in respec
t of each of the
taxable periods covered by the assessment —

(i) the adjustments that are required to be made and the
reasons therefor; and
(ii) the amount of tax which, in the opinion o
f the person,
is likely to become payable on determi­nation of his objection; and

(b) if he is a registered person, submit, at the time
the objection is
lodged, in respect of each of the taxable periods covered by the assessm
ent,
any return required under section 22 or any statement required under sec
tion
23; and

(c) pay, at the time the objection is lodged, the amount of any tax —

(i) specified in the return or statement refer
red to in
paragraph (b); or

(ii) referred to in paragraph(a)(
ii),
together with any surcharge under section 26 and
any penalty
under sections 24(9) and 27

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003]

(3) Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner
that, owing to illness or other reasonable cause, a person
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has been prevented from lodging an objection within the time
specified in subsection (1), the may consider the objection
as a valid objection under that subsection.
(4) Where the Commissioner refuses to consider a late obje
ction he shall,
within 28 days of the date of receipt of the letter of objection, give n
otice of the
refusal to the person.

(5) Where the person fails to comply with subsection (2)(a)
or (b) and fails to pay
the tax under subsection (2)(c) or fails to furnish adequate securit
y to the satisfaction
of the Commissioner for payment of any tax under subsection (2)(c),
the objection
shall be deemed to have lapsed and the Commissioner shall, within 28 day
s of the
date of receipt of the letter of objection, give notice thereof.
Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

(6) Where a notice under subsection (4) or (5) is given, th
e tax specified in the
notice of assessment together with any surcharge under section 26 and an
y penalty
under section 27 shall be paid within 28 days of the date of the notice.

39. Determination of objections
(1) For the purposes of considering an objection, the Commissioner may
, by
notice in writing, require the person, within the time fixed by the Comm
issioner, to
furnish or give any information, or produce any books or records, specif
ied in
sections 29 and 31.

(2) After considering an objection, the Commi
ssioner shall —

(a) disallow or allow i
t, in whole or in part;
(b) determine the objec
tion;
(c) where appropriate, amend the as
sessment
accordingly and give notice of his determination to the person.
(3) Where a notice of determination under subsection (2) is given, t
he tax
specified in the notice together with any surcharge under section 26 and
any penalty
under section 27 shall be paid within 28 days of the date of the notice.
(4) A notice of determination under subsection (2),
shall be given to the
person within 6 months of the date on which the letter of objection is r
eceived.

(5) Where an objection is not determined by the Commissioner within the
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period specified in subsection (4), the objection shall be deemed to h
ave been
allowed by the Commissioner.
(6) No objection under section 38 shall be dealt with in a
ny manner
whatsoever by an officer who has been directly involved in making the as
sessment.

40. Representations to Assessment Review Committee

Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Commissione
r —
(a) as to whether or not a supply of goods or s
ervices is a taxable
supply;
(b) relating to the registration or cancellatio
n of registration of any
person;
(c) under section 38(4) and (5), 39 or 67,

may lodge written representations with the Secretary, Assess
ment Review
Committee, in accordance with section 8E of the Unified Revenue Act 1983

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

41. Conclusiveness of assessments
Except during a hearing of representations before the Assess
ment Review
Committee —
(a) no assessment under section 37, decision u
nder section 38(4) or
(5), determination under section 39, an agreement under section 61 or a notic
e
under section 67, shall be disputed in any court or in any proceedings e
ither on the
ground that the person affected is not liable to tax or the amount of ta
x due and
payable is excessive or on any other ground; and
(b) every such assessment, decision, determina
tion, agreement or
notice, shall be final and conclusive.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

PART IX – RECOVERY OF TAX
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42. Priority for VAT charged by a registered person
(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, VAT du
e and payable by a
registered person under this Act —

(a) shall beheld on behalf of the G
overnment of
Mauritius; and
(b) shall not be subject to attachm
ent in respect of any
debt or liability of the registered person.

(2) In the event of the liquidation or bankruptcy of the regist
ered person, the
amount of tax due and payable by that person shall not form part of the
estate in
liquidation or bankruptcy and shall be paid in full to the Commissioner
before any
distribution of property is made.

43. Recovery of tax by attachment

The Commissioner may, without prejudice to any other action
which he may take,
enforce payment of any tax payable under this Act by attachment in the s
ame manner as
is provided in the Attachment (Rates and Taxes) Act.

44. Recovery of tax by distress and sale

(1) The Commissioner may issue a warrant in a form as may be prescribe
d
to an Usher of the Supreme Court to recover tax payable under this Act b
y distress
and sale of the goods, chattels and effects of the person charged or of
the person
answerable for its payment.
(2) Three days’ notice of such sale shall be given in t
he Gazette.

45. Inscribed privilege

(1)
The Government shall have, in respect of any tax payable under this Act
and so
long as the tax is not paid in full or the tax liability is not discharg
ed, a privilege on all
immovable properties belonging to the person by whom the tax is payable.
Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] (2) Where the Commissioner thinks it necessary for securin
g the recovery of
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any tax payable under this Act to inscribe the privilege provided for un
der subsection
(1), he shall deposit with the Conservator of Mortgages 2 identical me
moranda in a
form as may be prescribed and shall forthwith notify the person by whom
the tax is
payable, of the deposit of the memoranda.

(3) The Conservator of Mortgages shall, upon deposit of th
e memoranda,
inscribe the privilege generally on all immovable properties belonging,
or which may
subsequently belong, to the person by whom the tax is payable, and shall
return one
of the memoranda to the Commissioner with a statement written or stamped
on it to
the effect that the privilege has duly been inscribed.

(4) Where a privilege is inscribed under this section, it
shall take effect from
the date of the inscription.
(5) Where any tax in respect of which an inscription has b
een taken under
this section is paid in full or the tax liability is discharged, the Com
missioner shall
forthwith send to the Conservator of Mortgages a request in a form as ma
y be
prescribed to erase the inscription.

(6) The inscription of a privilege under this section shal
l be erased the
Conservator of Mortgages at the request of the Commissioner.

(7) Any inscription or erasure of inscription which is req
uired to be taken or
made under this section shall be free from stamp duty under the Stamp Du
ty Act
1990 or registration dues leviable under the Registration Duty Act or an
y other costs.

46. Uninscribed privilege

(1) Notwithstanding section 45, but subject to
subsection (2),
the privilege for the recovery of taxes under Articles 2148
and 2152 of the
Code Napoleon shall operate on account of tax payable under this Act ind
ependently
of and without the necessity for inscription, upon —

(a) personal property wherever found;
(b) the proceeds of the sale of immovable prop
erty; and
(c) the crops, fruits, rents and revenues,

belonging to the person owing the tax.
(2) The privilege conferred under subsection (1) shall operat
e only in respect of
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tax payable for a period of 12 months, at the discretion of the Commissi
oner, and
shall rank immediately after the privilege for judicial costs.

47. Contrainte

(1) Where any tax is payable under this Act, the Commissio
ner may apply to
a Judge in Chambers for an order (Contrainte) to issue against the deb
tor.

(2) Any order issued under subsection (1) shall —

(a) be served on the debtor; and
(b) be executory.

(3) Any debtor aggrieved by an order issued under subsection (
1) may, within 21
days of the service of the order, appeal to the Supreme Court.

(4) No costs shall be awarded against an unsuccessful party exc
ept
disbursement for —

(a) stamp duty under the Stamp Dut
y Act 199O;
(b) service of the order; and
(c) execution of the order.

48. No limitation of action for recovery of tax

No law relating to the limitation of action shall bar or aff
ect any action or remedy for
the recovery of tax payable under this Act.

PART IXA – COMMISSIONER, LARGE TAXPAYER DEPARTMENT

48A. Interpretation of Part IXA

In this Part –
“Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Department” means the Commissioner, Large
Taxpayer
Department referred to in section 8B of the Unified Revenue Act 1993;
“large taxpayer” has the same meaning as in section 8B of the Unified Re
venue Act 1983.

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48B. Administration of Value Added Tax enactments by Commissi
oner, Large
Taxpayer Department
(1) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act or any reg
ulations made
thereunder, the Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Department shall administer
the
Value Added Tax enactments in so far as they relate to large taxpayers.

(2) Where, according to the records of the Commissioner for Val
ue Added Tax,
a person qualifies as a large taxpayer –
(a) the Commissioner for Value Added Tax shall –
(i) transfer all accounts, returns, assessments and other
documents in respect of that person, to the Commissioner, Large
Taxpayer Department; and
(ii) as from the date of transfer under subparagraph (i),
cease to
administer value added tax in relation to that person; and
(b) the Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Department, shall, as
from the
date of transfer under subparagraph (a), administer value added tax in
respect
of that person.
(3) Where, in respect of a period of 12 taxable periods, a pers
on qualifies as a
large taxpayer, he shall –
(a) immediately notify in writing the Commissioner for Valu
e Added Tax
of that fact;
(b) immediately after the end of the twelfth taxable period
and,
thereafter, submit his return and pay the tax due, if any, to the Commis
sioner,
Large Taxpayer Department; and
(c) discharge all his obligations under the Value Added Tax
enactments
towards the Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Department.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 25 of 2000]; [ Act No. 23 of
2001]

PART X – VAT RELATING TO BONDED WAREHOUSES, FREEPORT
ZONE, EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES AND DUTY FREE SHOPS
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49. VAT relating to a bonded warehouse or an excise warehouse
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, no VAT sh
all be chargeable
on any goods entering a bonded warehouse or an excise warehouse.

(2) VAT shall be chargeable on any goods, other than those
specified in the
First Schedule, upon their removal from a bonded ware­house to any ot
her place in
Mauritius.

(3) For the purposes of this section —

“bonded warehouse” has the same meaning as
in the Customs Act
1988; and

“excise warehouse” has the same meaning as
in the Excise Act 1994.

50. VAT relating to a freeport zone

(1) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act, no VAT shall be
payable on any goods imported into a freeport zone.

(2) Where a licensee in a freeport zone makes any taxable
supply to any
person in Mauritius at any place outside the freeport zone, the taxable
supply
shall be deemed to be imported goods and VAT shall be chargeable thereon
.

51. VAT relating to an export process zone

(1) Subject to any provision of this section, n
o VAT shall be payable
on –
(a) scheduled equipment and schedul
ed materials
imported into an export processing zone; or
(b) any goods removed from an expor
t processing zone
by an export enterprise to another export enterprise as if the goods so
removed were goods imported by the other export enterprise,

where the export enterprise having imported the goods referr
ed to in paragraph (a) or
(b), as the case may be, has not, at any time during the 3 preceding y
ears, removed any goods,
other than those specified in the First Schedule, and other than plant,
machinery or equipment,
of a capital nature;for sale on the local market and has given a certifi
cate to that effect to the
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Commissioner.

(2) Notwithstanding any customs laws, VAT shal
l be payable –
(a)
as provided in subsection (3) on any goods, other than those specified
in the
First Schedule and other than plant, machinery or equipment, of a capita
l nature,
imported into an export processing zone or received by an export enterpr
ise from
another export enterprise in the manner specified in subsection (1), w
here the
export enterprise has, at any time during the 3 preceding years, removed
goods,
other than those specified in the First Schedule,
for sale on the local market; Amended by [
Act No. 28 of 2004]

(b) on any taxable supply made to an export en
terprise;

(c) on any taxable supply made by an export enterprise to another
export enterprise in respect of the treatment or processing of goods rec
eived
from the other enterprise; and

(d) on any goods, other than those specified in the First
Schedule,
which are removed from an export processing zone to any other place in
Mauritius as if the goods removed were imported goods.

(3) Notwithstanding section 10, VAT under subse
ction (2)(a) shall be –
(a) in the case of scheduled equipm
ent and scheduled
materials imported by an export enterprise registered under section 15 o
f 16,
payable in an amount equal to 5 per cent of the amount of VAT chargeable
on
those goods;

(b) in the case of goods imported b
y an export enterprise
which is not registered as a registered person under the Act, charged at
the
rate specified in the Fourth Schedule.

(4) For the purposes of this section –
“scheduled equipment” has the same meaning as in the Industrial Expansio
n Act
1993″;
“Scheduled materials” has the same meaning as in the Industrial Expansio
n Act
1993″;
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Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 23 of 2001]

52. VAT relating to a pioneer status enterprise

VAT shall be payable —

(a) on any goods, other than those specified in
the First Schedule,
imported by a pioneer status enterprise under the Industrial Expansion A
ct 1993;

(b) on any taxable supply made to pioneer stat
us enterprise; and

(c) on any supply of goods or services made by pioneer sta
tus enterprise.

53. VAT relating to a duty free shop

(1) Notwithstanding the other provisions of thi
s Act, no VAT shall be
payable —

(a) on any goods imported for sale in a duty free shop;
(b) on any goods supplied by a regi
stered person to a
duty free shop for sale; and

(c) on any taxable supply made by an operator of a
duty free shop —

(i) situated at the port or airport;
(ii) situated elsewhere
, where the goods
are delivered, under Customs control, to a visitor or traveller at the p
ort
or airport.

(2) Notwithstanding any customs laws, VAT shall he payable on a
ny supply of
goods, other than those specified in the First Schedule, made by an oper
ator of a
duty free shop to a visitor when such goods are delivered at the duty fr
ee shop to the
visitor.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]

PART XI – OFFENCES
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54. Failure to register or pay tax

Any person who —
(a) being a taxable person —

(i) fails to apply for registration under sectio
n 15; or
(ii) fails to pay any tax due; or
(b) being a registered person, fails to inclu
de in his return any VAT
charged,

shall commit an offence.
55. Failure to submit return and pay tax

Any person who, being a registered person —
(a) fails to submit any return, including a nil
return, under section 22;

(b) fails to submit a statement under section 23; or

(c) fails to pay tax in accordance with his return or statement,
shall commit an offence.

56. Failure to keep records or to issue VAT invoice

Any person who —

(a) being a registered person, fails to issue
a VAT invoice under
section 20;

(b) for the purposes of this Act —

(i) fails to keep records or to iss
ue a receipt or an invoice
under section 19; or
(ii) fails to furnish information under section 29 or to p
roduce books,
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records or other documents under section 31,

shall commit an offence.
57. Incorrect return or information

Any person who, for the purposes of this Act —
(a) makes an incorrect return or statement by omitting
or understating any
output tax or by overstating any input tax;

(b) makes an incorrect claim for repayment unde
r section 24; or

(c) gives any incorrect information in relation to any
matter affecting his
own tax liability or the tax liability of any other person,

shall commit an offence.

58. False returns, books, records or VAT invoices

Any person who wilfully and with intent to evade VAT –
(a) submits a return under section 22 or a stat
ement under section 23,
which is false in any material particular;

(b) makes a false claim for repayment under section 24;

(c) gives any false information to the Commissioner;
(d) makes to the Commissioner any statement which is false
or incomplete in
any material particular;

(e) prepares or maintains or authorises any other person t
o prepare or
maintain any false books, records, VAT invoices or other documents;

(f) falsifies or authorises any other person to falsify any books,
records, VAT invoices or other documents; or
(g) misleads or attempts to mislead the Commiss
ioner in relation to
any matter or thing affecting his own or any other person’s liability
to VAT,
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shall commit an offence.

59. Other offences

Any person who —
(a) fails to comply with any of the requirement
s under section 25(1),
29,31 or 32;

(b) not being a registered person or being a pe
rson who has ceased
to be a registered person, holds himself out to be a registered person;
(c) obstructs any officer in the performance of
his functions under the
Act or any regulations made thereunder; or

(d) otherwise contravenes any other provisions of this Act
or any regulations
made thereunder,

shall commit an offence.

60. Penalties for offences

(1) Any person who commits an offence under section 36(5), 56, 59(a) or
(d) shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 50,000 rup
ees and to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.
(2) Any person who commits an offence under
section 57, 59(b) or
(c) shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine which shall be —

(a) 100,000 rupees; or
(b) double the amount of tax inv
olved,
whichever is the higher, and to imprisonment for a term n
ot exceeding 5
years.
(3) (a) Any person who commits
an offence under
section 54, 55 or 58 shall, subject to paragraph (b), on conviction, be liable to a
fine which shall be —

(i) 200,0
00 rupees; or
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(ii) trebl
e the amount of tax involved,
whichever is the higher, and to impr
isonment for a term
not exceeding 8 years.
(b) Where a person is convicted for an offence under
section 55(a) or (b), he shall, in addition to any penalty imposed u
nder
paragraph (a), be ordered by the court to submit the return or statement, as
the case may be within such time as the court may determine.

61. Compounding of offences

(1) The Commissioner may, with the concurrence of the Revenue A
uthority
established under the Unified Revenue Act, compound an offence committed
by a
person under this Act or any regulations made under it, where such perso
n agrees in
writing to pay an amount acceptable to the Commissioner representing —

(a) any tax unpaid; and
(b) an amount not exceeding the maximum
pecuniary penalty imposable.
(2) Every agreement under subsection (1) shall be made in writing under the
hand of the Commissioner and the person, and witnessed by an officer.
(3) Every agreement under subsection (1) shall be final and co
nclusive and a
copy thereof shall be delivered to the person.
(4) Where the Commissioner compounds an offence in accor­danc
e with this
section —
(a) the amount for which the offenc
e is compounded
shall be deemed to be tax assessed under this Act and shall be recoverab
le as
tax; and
(b) no further proceedi
ngs shall be taken in
respect of the offence so compounded against the person.

Amended by [
Act No. 10 of 1998]

62. Tax payable notwithstanding prosecution
Any person convicted of an offence under this Act or any reg
ulations made
thereunder or who has agreed to the compounding of an offence under sect
ion 61 shall
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not be relieved of his liability for payment of any tax due.

PART XII – MISCELLANEOUS
63. Cessation or transfer of business
(1) Where a registered person intends to cea
se business, he shall
immediately notify the Commissioner in writing of the date of the cessat
ion of
business.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a registered person who c
eases business shall,
within 15 days of the date of the cessation —
(a)
submit a return and pay all tax due including the tax due on any goods
forming part of the assets of the business other than those specified in
section 21
(2) (b); and
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
Amended by [ Act No. 18 of 2003] (b) return to the Commissioner his certificate of
registration and all his copies.
(3) Where a registered person, who ceases to carry on bu
siness, sells or
otherwise transfers his business as a going concern to another person, h
e shall not
submit a return and pay the tax as required under subsection (2)(a),
but the
purchaser or transferee of the business shall be deemed to be a taxable
person and
shall forthwith register as a registered person under section 15.

64. Tax liability of appointed person
(1) Where an administrator, executor, receiver or liquid
ator is appointed to
manage or wind up the business of any taxable person, the appointed pers
on shall
—
(a) give notice of the appoi
ntment to the
Commissioner within 15 days of the date of the appointment, in such manner
and in such form as may be approved by the Commissioner;
(b) before disposing of any asset of the taxable person, s
et aside such
sum out of the asset as appears to the Commissioner to be sufficient to
provide for any tax that is or may become due and payable by the taxable

person; and
(c) do everything that is required to be done by a taxable
person under
this Act.
(2) Any appointed person who, without reasonable cause o
r justification,
fails to comply with any of the requirements of subsection (1) shall b
e personally
liable to pay any tax that is or may become due and payable and shall co
mmit an
offence.

65. Refund of tax

(1) Any person other than a taxable person may, within 3 years o
f the
date of payment of the tax, make an application to the Commissioner, in
a form approved by the Commissioner, for a refund of tax paid at
importation, where –
(a) the tax was paid in error;
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(b) the goods are found to be defective and are
subsequently exported under Customs control; or (c) the person subsequently benefits from a duty remission
.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), where the Commissioner is sati
sfied that the
applicant is entitled to a refund, he shall proceed to make the refund.
(3) No refund of tax which is less than 250 rupees or su
ch other amount as
may be prescribed shall be made.

Amended by [
Act No. 28 of 2004]

66. Exempt bodies or persons
Any person specified in Column I of the Ninth Schedule shall
be exempted from the
payment of VAT in respect of goods and services corresponding to the per
son specified in
Column 2 of that Schedule.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]

67. Erroneous refund, exemption or reduction
(1) Where any person has benefited through error from a re
fund,
exemption or reduction of tax, he shall be liable to pay the amount of t
ax which has
been erroneously refunded, exempted or reduced.
68. Service of documents
(1) Any return, statement or other document or any payme
nt required or
authorised to be served on, given or made to, the Commissioner shall be
forwarded
to him so as to reach the Office of the Commissioner not later than the
due date.
(2) Any notice of assessment or other notice or other do
cument required to
be served on, or given to, any person by the Commissioner may be served
or given
by —

(a) delivering it personally to him; (b) leaving it at, or sending it by post
to, his usual
or last known place of business or residence; or
(c) transmitting it electronically through computer or
other mechanical or electronic device.

(3) Where a person —
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(a) refuses to accept delivery of a letter addressed to hi
m; or
(b) fails to take delivery of such a letter which he has b
een informed
awaits him at a post office,
the letter shall be deemed to have been served on him o
n the date on
which he refused to accept the letter or was informed that the letter wa
s at the post
office.

69. Admissibility of documents produced by computer
(1) In any legal proceedings under this Act or any regulat
ions made
thereunder, a statement contained in a document produced by a computer s
hall be
admissible as evidence of any fact stated therein of which direct oral e
vidence would
be admissible if it is shown that the prescribed conditions have been sa
tisfied.
(2) In any proceedings, the court may for special cause re
quire evidence to
be given of any matter under this section.
(3) Any person giving any information under this section w
hich is false or
misleading in any material particular shall commit an offence and shall,
on conviction
be liable to a fine not exceeding one million rupees and to imprisonment
for a term
not exceeding 8 years.

69A. Rulings

(1) A person, who in the course or furtherance of his business, makes
taxable supplies, may apply to the Commissioner for a ruling as to the a
pplication of
this Act to any of the supplies made to him or made by him.

(2) An application under this section shall be in writing
and shall –
(a) include full details of the transaction relating
to the supply
together with all documents relevant to the transaction;

(b) specify precisely the question as to which the ru
ling is required;

(c) give a full statement setting out the opinion of
that person as to
the application of this Act to that supply; and

(d) be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(3) The Commissioner shall, within 30 days of the receipt
of an application
under this section, give a ruling on the question to the applicant.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), a ruling under this secti
on shall be binding on
the Commissioner.

(5) Where there is a material difference between the actua
l facts relating to
the transaction and the details contained in the application, the ruling
shall not be
binding on the Commissioner.
(6) A ruling under this section shall be published by the
Commissioner in
such manner as he thinks fit except, that the identity of the person to
whom the
ruling relates shall not be indicated in the publication.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), a person may rely upon a
ruling published
under subsection (6) as a statement binding on the Commissioner with r
espect to
the application of this Act to the facts set out in that ruling.
(8) The Commissioner may publish a notice in the Gazette to the effect that a
ruling, which he had previously published, shall cease to be binding wit
h effect from
a date which shall not be earlier than the date of the notice.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]

70. Jurisdiction of Magistrate

Notwithstanding —
(a) section 114(2) of the Courts Act; and
(b) section 72(5) of the District and Intermediate Courts (Criminal
Jurisdiction) Act,
a Magistrate shall have jurisdiction to try an offence under
this Act or any
regulations made thereunder and may impose any penalty provided by this
Act.

71. Burden of proof
(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the burden of p
roof that any tax
has been paid, or any supply of goods or services, or any person, is exe
mpt from tax
shall lie on the person —

(a) liable to pay the tax;
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(b) claiming that the tax has been paid; or
(c) claiming that he is, or
the supply of the goods or
services is, exempt from tax.

(2) In any action or proceedings arising out of the seizure of any g
oods
under this Act, the burden of proving that the seizure is illegal shall
lie on the person
making the allegation.
72. Regulations

(1) The Minister may —
(a) make such regulations as he thi
nks fit for the
purposes of this Act;

(b) by regulations —
(i) prescribe any matte
r which may or is
required to be prescribed under this Act; or

(ii) amend the First S
chedule, the Second
Schedule and the Third Schedule.
(2) Any regulations made under this section may provide for the fees
and charges. levying of fees and
charges.
73. Transitional provisions
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, where
, on the appointed
day, a person was registered under the Sales Tax Act 1982 and his return
for the
last taxable period under the Sales Tax Act 1982 shows an excess amount,
that
amount shall be deemed to be sales tax on trading stocks held by that pe
rson and
shall not be refundable and shall not be carried forward as a credit to
be offset
against his VAT liability, if any,

(2) Where a person becomes a registered person under this
Act on the
appointed day, he shall, within 15 days of that day, submit to the Commi
ssioner, as
at the day immediately preceding the appointed day, a certified inventor
y of —

(a) his trading stocks; and
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(b) capital goods, being plant, machinery or equipment, of a capital
nature, acquired within a period not exceeding 3 months immediately
preceding the appointed day,

showing the amount of sales tax paid or pay
able thereon.
(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), where a person has submitted a
certified inventory under subsection (2), the sales tax paid or payabl
e on his trading
stocks and capital goods shall be deemed to be value added tax and he ma
y take a
credit of —
(a) where his taxable p
eriod is a month, 50 per
cent of the amount deemed to be value added tax in his retur
n for each
of the third and sixth taxable periods; or
(b) where his taxable period is a quarter, 50 per cent of
the amount deemed to be value added tax in his return for each of the s
econd
and third taxable periods.

(4) Any credit in respect of capital goods under subsectio
n (3)
shall be allowed in conformity with the Seventh Schedu
le.

(5) No credit under subsection (3) shall be allowed, unless —
(a) the person has complied with the requirements of the S
ales Tax Act
1982 and paid all tax due under that Act, as appropriate;
(b) the inventory referred to in subsection (2) has been
submitted;
(c) the credit is exclusively in respect of sal
es tax paid or
payable on taxable goods for resale or for manufacture of other taxable
goods
for sale and on capital goods, being plant, machinery or equipment of a
capital
nature;
(d) the sales tax on the trading stocks was paid or p
ayable within a
period not exceeding 3 months immediately preceding the appointed day; a
nd

(e) the sales tax paid or payable is substantiated by prop
er invoices
from registered persons under the Sales Tax Act 1982 or by Customs impor
t
declarations, either electronic or otherwise.
(6) The person shall, together with the inventory referred to in s
ubsection (2),
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
submit a statement specifying —

(a) the amount of sales tax which r
elates to —

(i) taxable goods for resale or for
manufacture of other taxable goods for sale; and
(ii) capita
l goods, being plant,
machinery or equipment of a capital nature;
(b) the amount of sales tax paid or payable within a perio
d not
exceeding 3 months immediately preceding the appointed day.
(7) The inventory referred to in subsection (2) and
the statement referred
to in subsection (6) shall be duly certified by a qualified auditor.

74. Consequential amendments

(1) The Sales Tax Act 1982 is amended in secti
on 2 —
(a) in the definition of “Commissioner”, by deleting
the words “Sales
Tax” and replacing them by the words “Value Added Tax”; and
(b) in the definition of ”officer” by deleting
the words ”Sales Tax
Department” and replacing them by the words “VAT Department”.
(2) The Hotel and Restaurant Tax Act 1986 is amended in section 2, by
deleting the words “Sales Tax Act 1982” wherever they appear and r
eplacing them
by the words “Value Added Tax Act 1998”.
(3) The Customs Act 1988 is amended in section 2, in the definition of

“taxes”, in paragraph (a), by deleting the words “sales tax”
wherever they appear and
replacing them by the words “value added tax”.
(4) The Excise Act 1994 is amended —
(a) in section 2 —

(i) by deletin
g the definition of ”sales tax”; and (ii)
by inserting in its
appropriate alphabetical order, the following new definition –

“value ad
ded tax” means the value
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
added tax chargeable under the Value Added Tax Act 1998;
(b) in section 10, in subsection(3)(b), by deleting the
words “Commissioner for Sales Tax” and replacing them by the words

“Commissioner for Value Added Tax”; and
(c) in section 48, in subsection (2Xa), by deleting the
words “sales tax” and replacing them by the words “value added
tax”.
(5) The Gaming Act is amended in section 2, in the definition
of
Commissioner”, by deleting the words “the Sales Tax Act 1982” a
nd replacing them
by the words “the Value Added Tax Act 1998”.

(6) The Tax Appeal Tribunal Act 1984 is amende
d —
(a) in section 4, in subsection (3), by adding immediately after
paragraph (g) the following new paragraph —

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(h) in the case of liability to value added tax unde
r the
Value Added Tax Act 1998 —
(i) where he is a registered person, submit al
l
returns and statements due and pay the amount of any tax shown
on those returns and statements together with any surcharge and
any penalty due and the specified amount; or
(ii) in any other case, pay the specified amou
nt; or
(b) in section 6, in subsection(S) (b), by deleting
the words “and the
Hotel and Restaurant Tax Act 1986” and replacing them by the words “
,the
Hotel and Restaurant Tax Act 1986 and the Value Added Tax Act 1998”;
and
(c) in the Schedule, by adding the following
—

The Value Added Tax Act 1998
(7) The Unified Revenue Act 1983 is amended in
the Schedule –
(a) in PART I, by deleting the words “Commis
sioner for Sales
Tax” and replacing them by the words “Commissioner for Value Added
Tax”;
and
(b) in PART II, in paragraph (a), by adding the following –

The Value Added Tax Act 1998
75. Repeal and savings

(1) The following enactments are repealed —

(a) The Sales Tax Act 1982;
(b) The Sales Tax Regulations 19
82; and
(c) The Sales Tax (Exemptions)
Regulations 1983.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the enactments spe
cified in that
subsection shall be deemed to be still in force in relation to any matte
r arising under
those enactments in respect of any period prior to the appointed day.
76. Commencement

(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act sh
all come into force on 1 July
1998.
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(2) Sections 9, 22, 74(3), 74(4)(a) and (c), 74(
7)(u) and 75 sha1l come into
force on the appointed day – 7
th September 1998

——————-
FIRST SCHEDULE
(sections 2, 9, 10, 49, 51, 52 and 53)
Goods or services exempted

1. Rice.

2. Wheat cereal flours (including wheat flour)

3. Bread.
4. Animal or vegetable fats and oils (other than ghee produced
in Mauritius and edible
oils).
Amended by [
GN No. 113 of 2000]

5. Butter.
6. Milk and cream, (other than sterilized liquid milk), butter
milk, whey, kephir and
other fermented or acidified milk and cream; cheese and curd.

7. Food of a kind used for human consumption –
(a)
fish (excluding fresh, chilled or frozen fish, the produce of Mauritius
, and canned
tuna, smoked fish and processed fish produced in and exported from Mauri
tius)

Amended by [
GN No. 113 of 2000]; [G.N. No. 12 of 2003]; [ GN No. 37 of 2003] ; [ GN
No. 89 of 2004] (b) meat (excluding meat of poultry) other th
an canned meat produced
in and exported from Mauritius; meat offal (excluding offal of poultry)
;

(c) primary agricultural and horticultural produce (including toma­toes,

potatoes, onions and other vegetables, fruits, tea coffee, cocoa beans a
nd nuts)
which have not been process except for reaping, threshing, husking, crus
hing,
winnowing, trimming, drying and packaging to put them into marketable co
ndition
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other than vegetables and fruits produced in and exported from Mauritius
and birds’
eggs in the shell; and

(d) soya bean protein cakes or chunks.
8. Food preparations from goods of heading Nos. 04.01 to 04.04 n
ot containing cocoa
powder or containing cocoa powder in a proportion by weight of less than
10%, for infant
use, put up for retail sale of heading No. 1901.101.
9. Common salt other than common salt produced in Mauritius.

Amended by [
GN No. 113 of 2000] 10. Live animals of a kind generally used as, or yielding or produ
cing food for human
consumption other than live poultry.

11. Unprocessed agricultural and horticultural produce other than horti
cultural produce
produced in and exported from Mauritius.
Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003]

12.Medical, hospital and dental services including clinical laboratory s
ervices, services provided
in a health institution and veterinary services.
13. Antibiotics of heading No. 29.41 other than those produce
d in and
exported from Mauritius. 14. Pharmaceutical products of heading Nos. 30.01 to 30.06.,
other than those
produced in and exported from Mauritius.

Amended by [
GN No. 89 of 2004]

15. Invalid carriages of heading No. 87.13; orthopaedic or o
ther appli­ances or
articles of heading No. 90.21.

16. Educational and training services.

17. Journals and periodicals of heading No. 49.02 other than
those produced in and exported from Mauritius.

18. Deleted by [
GN No. 97 of 1999]

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19. Deleted by [ GN No. 97 of 1999]

20. Goods re-imported in respect of which no refund under this Act
was made on
exportation under item Nos. El and E2.
21. Goods imported under the transhipment procedure laid down in t
he Customs Act
1988 under item No. E4.
22. Articles re-imported after repairs on proof that they were sen
t from Mauritius
provided that they shall be charged with VAT on the value of the repairs
and the customs
duty and excise duty chargeable thereon under item No. E6.

23. Bona fide baggage of a passenger under item No. E8.
24. Household and personal effects of a passenger under item
No. E9. 25. Goods imported in the baggage of a passenger under item
No. El0.

26.
Goods (excluding merchandise for sale, tobacco in any form, wines, spir
its, arms
and ammunition) imported by post of a value for duty purposes not excee
ding 1000 rupees
under item No. E11.
26A. Sharlon shade, greenhouse, shade screens, fertigation
pumps, irrigation pumps, drip irrigation and automatic irrigation
controllers imported by persons for use in agriculture under item No.
E12.

Added by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] 27. The transport of passengers by public service vehicles excludi
ng contract buses for
the transport of tourists and contract cars.

28. –

29. –

30. (a) Charges under a hire purchase agreement or
under a finance
lease agreement; and

(b) Postal services and services provided by a person ho
lding a Postal Service
Licence under the Postal Services Act 2002 in connection with payment of
pension and
utility bills.
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Amended by [ Act No. 28 of 2004]

31. Vegetable seeds, fruit and flower seeds, bulbs and plants
, used for sowing or
planting.

32. Deleted by [
GN No. 97 of 1999] 33. Molasses when supplied, either for consideration or
otherwise, to planters
and bagasse.

34. Herbicides

35. –
36. (a) The renting of fixed telephone lines.

(b) Charges in respect of internet services provided by an internet service
provider, of an amount of up to 100 rupees per billing period.
Amended by [
GN No. 40 of 2004]

37. Deleted by [
GN No. 97 of 1999]

38. Aircraft leasing.

39. Aircrafts of heading No 88.02.
Amended by [
GN No. 113 of 2000] 40. Ships for the transport of persons or goods or both persons go
ods falling under
heading No. 89.01.
41. Fishing vessels, factory ships and other vessels for processin
g or preserving
fishery products of heading No. 89.02.
42. Works of art, collectors’ pieces and antiques of heading No
s. 97 to 97.06.
43. Cargo handling services in respect of goods so transported by
sea or air –

(a) from or to Mauritius
(b) from or to the Island of Rodrigues;
(c) from or to the Outer Islands; or (g)
from a place outside Mauritius to another place outside Mauritius
.

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Amended by [ Act No. 18 of 2003]

44. Kerosene including kerosene jet type fuel.
45.
Entrance fees to any event in respect of any sport discipline specified
in the
Physical Education and Sport (Designation of Sport Disci­plines) Re
gulations 1986.
46.
The renting of, or other grant of the right to use, accommodation in a b
uilding used
predominately as a place of residence of any person and his family, if t
he period of
accommodation for a continuous term exceeds 90 days.
47. The grant, assignment or surrender of any interest in or right
over land or of any
licence to occupy land liable to Registration Duty under the Registratio
n Duty Act.
48. The Sale or transfer of an immovable property, or the construc
tion, sale or transfer
of a building or part of a building, flat or tenement used for residenti
al purposes.

49. Burial and cremation services and coffins.

50. The following financial services –

(a) banking services (other than services supplied by holders of a Category
2
Banking Licence) including –
(i) services provided by the Bank of Mauritius; and
(ii) the issue, transfer or receipt of, or any dealing with, money, an
y security for
money or any note or order for the payment of money and the operation of
any
current, deposit or savings account, but except –
(A) services provided to merchants accepting a credit card or debit ca
rd
as payment for the supply of goods or services (merchant’s discount);
(B) services in respect of safe deposit lockers, issue and renewal of
credit cards and debit cards; and
(C) services for keeping and maintaining customers’ accounts (other
than transactions involving the primary dealer system);
(b) services provided by foreign exchange deale
rs and money
changers;

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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
(c) the issue, transfer or receipt of, or
dealing with any stocks,
bonds, shares, debentures and other securities, including the underwriti
ng and the
settlement and clearing of such securities;
(d) the issue or transfer of ownership of a unit under an
y unit trust;

(e) the management of investment funds and of
pension funds;
(f)
the arrangement, provision, or transfer of ownership, of any contract of
insurance or
re-insurance under the Insurance Act but except services provided by
an insurance
agent, insurance broker of insurance salesman.
Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] (fa) the making of loans between entities withi
n the same group; and

(g) such other financial services as may be pr
escribed.

For the purposes of this Schedule —
(a) the heading Nos. refer to the heading nu
mbers of Part I of the
First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act;

(b) the item Nos. refer to the item Nos. of Part II of the First
Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act;

(c) “fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates”

and “meat (including chicken) and meat offal” in item 7(a) and
7(b) —
(i) include food preparations containin
g more than 20 % by
weight of fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates,
sausage, meat (including chicken), meat offal, blood, or any combinati
on
thereof; but

(ii) exclude caviar and caviar substitutes of
heading 16.04 and the stuffed products of heading No. 19.02 or the
preparations of heading No. 21.03 or 21.04;
(d) “health institution” in item 12 has the same meaning as in the
Private Health Institutions Act 1989;

(e) “public service vehicles” in item
27 has the same meaning as in
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the Road Traffic Act;
(f) “contract cars” in item 27 has the
meaning assigned to it by
section 75 of the Road Traffic Act;
(g) “Outer Islands” in item 43 has the sa
me meaning as in the Outer
Islands Development Corporation Act 1982;

(h)“land” in item 47 means any vacant land or any land or part t
hereof with any building,
flat or tenement thereon.

(i) “services” in item 50(f) i
n relation to –
(i) an insurance agent, shall not include serv
ices in
respect of contracts of life insurance entered into prior to 10
January 2003; or
(ii)
an insurance broker or insurance salesman, shall not include
services in respect of contracts of life insurance entered into prior to
1
October 2003.

51.
Bus chassis and buses to be operated under a road service
licence and to be used for the transport of the general public by a
company operating more than 75 buses under road service licences.
(j) the exemption granted under item 51 shall be valid up to 31 August
2007.
Amended by [
GN No. 160 of 1998]; [ GN No. 113 of 2000]; [ Act No. 97 of 1999];[ Act No. 33
of 2000]; [ Act No. 13 of 2001]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002]; [G.N. No. 12 of 2003]; [ Act No. 18 of
2003]; [ GN No. 167 of 2004]

————
SECOND SCHEDULE (sections 2 and 25)

Amount of annual turnover … … …
12 million rupees
————
THIRD SCHEDULE
(section 4)
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MATTERS TO BE TREATED AS SUPPLY OF GOODS OR SERVICES

1. The sale, transfer or disposal of a business is a supply of g
oods.
2. The grant, assignment or surrender of any interest in or righ
t over land or of any
licence to occupy land is a supply of goods.
3. The transfer of an undivided share inmovable or immovable pro
perty is a supply of
services.
4. Any transfer of the whole property in goods is a supply of go
ods; but the transfer —

(a) of any undivided share of the property;
or
(b) of the possession of goods,

is a supply of services. 5. Goods produced by applying to another person’s goods a tre
atment or process is a
supply of goods.

6. Where the possession of goods is transferred –
(a) under an agreement for the sale of the goods; or
(b) under an agreement which expressly contemplates that the
property also will pass at some time in the future
(determined by, or ascertainable from, the agreement but
in any case not later than when the goods are fully paid
for),

it is then in either case a supply of the goods.
7. Where by or under the direction of a person carrying on a busin
ess, goods held or
used for the purposes of the business are put to any private use or are
used, or made
available to any person for use, for any purpose other than a purpose of
the business,
whether or not for a consideration that is a supply of goods.

8. Any goods given as donation, any goods put to private use or an
y gift of goods
made for any purpose other than for business is a supply of goods.

9. The supply of any form of power (including electricity), gas,
water, heat,
refrigeration, air-conditioning or ventilation is a supply of goods.

10. The development, sale or transfer of computer software is a supp
ly of services.
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998

11. The leasing of, or other grant of the right to use, goods is a s
upply of services.

12. The sale, transfer, assignment, or licensing of patents, copyrig
hts, trademarks,
software, and other proprietary information is a supply of services.
————-
FOURTH SCHEDULE
(section 10)

Rate of VAT … … … 15 per cent

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002]

————-
FIFTH SCHEDULE(Section 11)
1. Goods, other than those specified in the First Schedule, export
ed from Mauritius
under Customs control.

2. 2. The following goods –

(a) wheat flour, wheat bran;
(b) edible oils;
(c) margarine;
(d) sterilized liquid milk, curdled milk and cream, yoghurt;
(e) sugar; (f) live poultry, meat of poultry, edible offal of poultry and bi
rds’ eggs in the shell;
(g) fertilizers;
(h) animal feeding stuffs other than prepared pet foods; (i) printed books, booklets, brochures, pamphlets, leaflets and
similar printed matter
(except directories and reports) of heading No 49.01 atlases of H.S. C
ode 4905.911;
(j) children’s picture, drawing or colouring books of head
ing No 49.03; (k) music, printed or in manuscript, whether or not bound or illu
strated of heading No
49.04;
(l) vegetables and fruits produced in and exported from Mauri
tius;
(m) horticultural produce produced in and exported from Mauri
tius;
(n) common salt produced in Mauritius;
(o) fish, fresh, chilled or frozen, the produce of Mauritius;
(p) ghee produced in Mauritius;
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Amended by [
Act No. 25 of 2000]; [ Act No. 18 of 2003] 3. The transport of passengers and goods by sea or
air –

(a) from or to Mauritius;
(b) from or to the Island of Rodrigues;
(c) from or to the 0uter Islands; or
(d) from a place outside Mauritius to another place outside Maurit
ius.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] 4. (a) A supply of goods made by an operator of a duty
free shop situated
at the port or airport.
(b) A supply of goods made by an operator of a duty free sh
op situated at a place
other than the port or airport, provided that the goods are delivered, u
nder Customs
control, to the visitor or traveler at the port or airport.
5. The supply of any goods or services, other than those specified in the First
Schedule and in section 21(2) provided that the goods and services so
supplied
are meant wholly and exclusively for the freeport activities of the lice
nsee.

Amended by [
Act No. 23 of 2001] 6. (a) The supply of services to a person who belon
gs in a country other
than Mauritius and who is outside Mauritius at the time the services are
performed.
(b) The supply of services – (i) by a holder of a management licence under the Financial Se
rvices
Development Act 2001 in respect of services supplied to corporations hol
ding a
Category 1 Global Business Licence or a Category 2 Global Business Licen
ce; or
(ii) by companies holding a Category 2 Banking Licence under th
e Banking Act.

Amended by [
Act No. 13 of 2001]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002] (c) For the purposes of paragraph (a), a person belongs in a country other
than
Mauritius if that person —
(i) has no permanent establishment in Mauritius for the c
arrying on of his
business; or
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(ii) has his place of abode outside Mauritius.

For the purposes of this Schedule, any reference to goods or services is
a reference to goods
or services, other than those specified in the First Schedule.
7. (a) Electricity supplied
by the Central Electricity Board
and the renting out of a meter, the reconnecting of electricity supply a
nd the carrying
out of infrastructure works, by the Board;
(b) Water supplied by the Central Water Authority a
nd the renting out of a
meter and the carrying out of infrastructure works, by the Authority;

(c) Water for irrigation.
8. Goods and services supplied by the Wastewater Management Auth
ority
established under Wastewater Management Authority Act 2000.

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 25 of 2000]; [ Act No. 33 of 2000]; [ Act No. 13 of
2001]; [ Act No. 35 of 2001]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002] [
Act No. 18 of 2003] ————

SIXTH SCHEDULE
(section 15)

Amount Periods

750,000 rupees Any per
iod of 3 months
1,500,000 rupees Any per
iod of 6 months
2,250,000 rupees Any per
iod of 9 months
3,000,000 rupees Any per
iod of 12 months
————-
SEVENTH SCHEDULE
(sections 5, 9 and 12)

PART I
1. Liquified petroleum gas
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2. Bars of iron or steel
3. Portland cement
PART II
1. Motor spirit and gas oils
2. Cigarettes containing tobacco

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 20 of 2002]

————-
EIGHTH SCHEDULE
(Section 24)
­­___

Repealed by [
Act No. 18 of 1999] ————-

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NINTH SCHEDULE(section 66)

Column 1 Column 2
1. Disabled persons and
the blind. Appliances and identifiable spare
parts
(including cells for hearing aids but
excluding such articles as
spectacles,
lenses and contact lenses); spare
parts of
invalid carriages; reading matter
and
articles specially designed for the
blind.
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2. Benevolent and
charitable institutions affiliated
with the Mauritius Council of
Social Services or receiving a
subsidy from Government.

3. Any religious body approved
by the Minister

4. The Mauritius Red Cross
Society, the St John’s
Ambulance
(Mauritius), Mauritius Scouts
Association, Mauritius Girl
Guides
Association and any other
society, association or
organisation approved
by the Minister.

5. Any person.

6.Airlines
Goods received as donations from
abroad and related to their normal
activities, not intended for sale.

Goods (not being articles or
materials
intended either for the
construction,
repair or furnishing of buildings
used for
public worship or for the
manufacture of
things to be used in connection
with
public worship) for actual use in
connection with public worship.

Articles directly related to their
normal activities, not intended for
sale.

Any goods not exceeding 1,000
rupees in customs value imported
in a single package where the
Comptroller is satisfied that the
package is not part of a larger
consignment.

(1) Instructional material and
training aids for use in connection
with the technical training
of ground and flight personnel in
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Mauritius;

(2)Repairs, maintenance and
servicing equipment for the
purpose of establishing and
maintaining international or
national service operated by that
airline;

When certified by the Director of
Civil Aviation that the goods are to
be used for the purposes
mentioned in paragraphs (1) and
(2);

(3)Fuel and lubricants and other
consumable
technical supplies
contained in the tanks
or other receptacles on
any aircraft arriving
in Mauritius, provided
that no quantity of
such fuel, lubricants or
other consumable
technical supplies is unloaded
without
paying tax except
temporarily and under
customs control; and fuel,
lubricants
and other consumable
technical supplies taken
on board the aircraft for
consumption
during flight.

Any goods imported or purchased
ex-bond as may be approved by
the Minister.

Specialised machinery and
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7. A non-citizen serving in
Mauritius under a Bilateral or
Multilateral Agreement with the
Government of Mauritius

8. Enterprises engaged in line of
activities approved by the
Minister

9. Diplomatic missions and
agents

10. Any company engaged
wholly and exclusively in –
(a)
the provision of e-
commerce services to
persons residing outside
Mauritius; or
(b)
the registration and
processing in Mauritius of
bets placed on overseas
sporting events by persons
residing outside Mauritius
equipment and parts thereof and
raw materials, as per list approved
by the Minister

Rent, telephone and other services

Services provided by banks in
respect of a credit card or debit
card accepted by the company as
payments for the supply of
services it provides

Services provided by banks in
respect of credit cards or debit
cards processed by the company
or accepted by the company as
payment for the supply of services
it provides

Amended by [
Act No. 18 of 1999]; [ Act No. 33 of 2000][ Act No. 28 of 2004]

Added by [
Act No. 18 of 2003] ————-

TENTH SCHEDULE
(sections 15, 19 & 20)
PART I
Business or profession of –
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THE VALUE ADDED TAX ACT 1998
1.
Accountant and or auditor
2.
Advertising agent
3.
Adviser including investment adviser and tax adviser
4.
Architect and or draughtsman
5.
Attorney and or solicitor
6.
Barrister having more than 2 years standing at the Bar
7.
Clearing and forwarding agent under the Customs Act
8.
Consultant including legal consultant, tax consultant, management consul
tant and
management company other than a holder of a management licence under the
Financial
Services Development Act 2001
9.
Customs house broker under the Customs Act
10.
Engineer
11.
Estate agent
12.
Land surveyor
13.
Marine surveyor
14.
Motor surveyor
15.
Notary
16.
Optician
17.
Project manager
18.
Property valuer
19.
Quantity surveyor
20.
Sworn auctioneer
21.
Tour operator
22.
Travel agent registered with the International Air Transport Association
(IATA)
23.
General sales agent of airlines.
24.
car rental

PART II
Business of –

1. Banking by a company holding a Category 1 Banking Licence
under the Banking Act
2. (a) Insurance agent under the Insurance Act except
the business in respect of contracts of life insurance entered
into prior to 10 January 2003
(b) Insurance broker under the Insurance Act
except the business in respect of contracts of life insurance
entered into prior to 1 October 2003

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3. Management services by a holder of a management licence under the Financ
ial Services
Development Act 2001 in respect of services supplied other than those su
pplied to
corporations holding a Category 1 Global Business Licence or a Category
2 Global
Business Licence under that Act
4. Services in respect of credit cards issued by companies ot
her than banks to
merchants accepting such credit cards as payment for the supply of goods
or services Note: – For the purposes of item 2(a) of Part II, no
adjustment or refund shall be allowed
In respect of the period prior 1 September 2003

Amended by [
Act No. 20 of 2002]; [ Act No. 18 of 2003]

Related documents:
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