Value Added Tax - Application for Refund of VAT on Residential Building / Apartment or House

Any person who satisfies the conditions set below may make an application for a refund of VAT on the construction of a residential building or the purchase of a residential apartment or house from a property developer.

1. Conditions Applicable
2. Particulars of claim for refund
3. Documents
4. General information for Electronic Filing (e-Filing) of your application for refund of VAT on residential building
5. Communique
6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
7. Template to upload invoice details - VAT 7C (CSV format)

Click Here to file your application for refund of VAT on residential building / apartment or house

Conditions Applicable

1. The applicant or the spouse of the applicant shall be a citizen of Mauritius of 18 years of age or over;

2. The construction of a residential building, house or residential apartment shall be started and completed in the years 2014 to 2024 and in the period of 6 months ending 30 June 2025;

3. The floor area of the residential building, or house or appartment in accordance with the approved building and Land Use Permit issued under the Local Government Act shall not exceed 1,800 square feet.

4. The cost of the construction of a residential building or house or the purchase price of a residential apartment shall not exceed 3 million rupees;

5. The annual net income for income tax purposes of the applicant and that of his spouse shall not, in the aggregate, exceed 1 million rupees;

6. The applicant or his spouse shall be the owner or co-owners of the residential building, house or residential apartment;

7. Any refund of VAT to the applicant and his spouse shall not, in the aggregate, exceed 300,000 rupees;

8. The refund is applicable on the construction or acquisition of a first residence only; and

9. No refund shall be made in relation to an immovable property :

   1. situated on Pas Geometriques;

   2. acquired under –

      1. the Investment Promotion (Real Estate Development Scheme) Regulations 2007;

      2. the Investment Promotion (Property Development Scheme) Regulations 2015; or

      3. the Investment Promotion (Invest Hotel Scheme) Regulations 2015; or

   3. situated in a Smart City under the Investment Promotion (Smart City Scheme) Regulations 2015.

Particulars of claim for refund

1. Claims for refund must be made within 30 days from the end of every quarter during which the VAT has been paid.

2. A claim for refund can be made only if the amount refundable in a quarter exceeds Rs 25,000, except where:

   1. the claim is in respect of a final application, or

   2. the amount of VAT paid during a quarter and the three preceding quarters does not exceed Rs 25,000.

3. Where the amount refundable does not exceed Rs 25,000, it may be claimed in respect of the subsequent quarter, provided that in respect of each subsequent quarter, the total amount exceeds 25,000 rupees.

4. In the case of the purchase of a residential apartment or house from a property developer, the amount of VAT refundable shall not exceed the purchase price multiplied by the factor 0.104.

5. Every application under 65C (Refund of VAT to persons on residential building, house or apartment), should be accompanied, in the case of:

   1. the construction of a residential building, by VAT invoices issued under Section 20;

   2. the purchase of a residential apartment or house from a property developer, by receipts issued under Section 19(2)(c).

   Under the provisions of Section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act, every VAT registered person who makes a sale transaction to any person has the obligation to issue a VAT invoice in respect of that transaction. The main information that the VAT invoice should contain are:

   1. the words “VAT INVOICE”;

   2. the name, business address, VAT Registration Number and business registration number of the business;

   3. its serial number and date of issue;

   4. the quantity/description of the goods/services transacted;

   5. the value of the sale and the amount of VAT charged; and

   6. the purchaser’s full name.

   A claim for refund will not be entertained unless same is supported by a proper VAT invoice/receipt issued under the above provisions of Value Added Tax Act.

6. No refund of VAT shall be made to a person where the application is made more than 12 months from the date of the VAT invoice or receipt.

Documents

The First Application for refund must be accompanied by the following documents:

1. In case of purchase of house/ apartment from a property developer:

   Original Receipt of payment issued under Section 19(2) (c) & details of the Transcription volume of the property.

2. In case of construction with a building contractor / mason:

   1. Building and Land Use permit on the applicant’s name;

   2. construction plan;

   3. Original VAT invoices issued under Section 20 of the VAT Act by contractor

3. Evidence of income, e.g. payslip for employee or income statements for self employed;

4. Contract/agreement with building contractor/property developer (with the BRN or NID of contractor, builder, property developer);

For subsequent applications, only original VAT invoices must be submitted in hardcopy for verification.

All documents and VAT invoices can be forwarded by post or submitted to the MRA Head Office together with the Full Name of Applicant, NID and the acknowledgement ID, received upon application from our E-Services facilities. No documents and/or VAT invoices will be considered without submission of the Acknowledgement ID for each application.

Once the documents are verified, it will be forwarded back to the applicant.

NOTE: In case of incomplete and incorrect information, the application for refund will not be entertained unless the missing information is submitted at this Office.

General information for Electronic Filing (e-Filing) of your application for refund of VAT on residential building.

Kindly read the instructions below before starting to file your application

1. Applicants are recommended to use a recent version of Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox as browser to file their declaration.

2. Ensure you have all the particulars of the documents and information for making the application handy.

3. Kindly note that it is the Applicant’s responsibility to make a correct and complete declaration.

4. Ensure that you provide your email address and telephone number as it will be used by MRA to communicate with you.

5. On successful submission of the application, an acknowledgement ID will be displayed on your screen, followed by an email and text message confirming same. If you have not received an acknowledgement ID, the submission is incomplete. Please take necessary actions to correctly submit your application.

e-Assistance: Income Tax / CSG returns

MRA e-Assistance is an electronic service for taxpayers to reserve a time slot on a particular day for assistance to file Income Tax / CSG returns.

The interactive session with the taxpayer will be done through WhatsApp video call.

You are kindly requested read the instructions below and agree with the terms and conditions while using this service.

Click here to take an appointment with an MRA officer

e-Assistance

1. The e-Assistance facility will be available only to taxpayers filing their Individual Income Tax / CSG returns.

2. The facility will be available during weekdays and taxpayers are advised to take advantage of this facility rather than calling at the MRA Customer Service Centre.

3. For the purpose of the e-Assistance, taxpayer will have to provide his mobile number, either his Tax Account Number, his National Identity card Number or his NCID.

4. The provided mobile number by the taxpayer will be used for communicating with the taxpayer.

5. A One Time Password (OTP) will be sent to the provided mobile number and the taxpayer will have to enter the OTP in order to confirm the selected time slot.

6. Once the time slot is confirmed, a confirmation SMS will be sent on the provided mobile number by the taxpayer with a an appointment ticket number.

On appointment day and time slot

1. An SMS with a WhatsApp link will be sent to the provided mobile number prior to the start of the interactive session with an MRA Tax Officer. Click on the link provided.

2. The taxpayer is required to start the WhatsApp video call within the next 3 minutes. The taxpayer will have to reserve another timeslot if he/she still needs assistance.

3. Taxpayer should have all documents and information ready prior to making the interactive session with the MRA officer.

Click here for Notes / Disclaimer for e-Assistance on Income Tax / CSG Returns

Contribution Social Generalisée (CSG) / Social Contributions

The ‘Contribution Sociale Généralisée’ (CSG) was introduced by the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020. This new system of social contributions replaced the National Pensions Fund (NPF) and was applicable as from the month of September 2020.

However, the  Social  Contribution  and  Social  Benefits  Act,  enacted in 2021, brought some changes to the social contributions, and the provisions are  applicable  as  from  the month of September 2021.

Click on the links below for more information.

• Registration and Submission of CSG / Social Contribution return for Self-Employed

• CSG / Social Contributions for Employer / Employee

Registration and Submission of CSG / Social Contribution return for Self-Employed

Following changes brought by the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, the Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG) has been introduced and is applicable as from the month of September 2020.

“Self-employed” means an individual, working on his own account, including a non-citizen, who is a professional such as an accountant, an architect, an attorney, a solicitor, a barrister, an engineer, a land surveyor, a legal consultant, a medical service provider, a project manager, a property valuer, a quantity surveyor, a tax adviser or any other individual carrying out similar type of activity or a person in business or carrying on a trade or activities such as mason, cabinet maker, plumber, hairdresser, artist or other similar activities but does not include an individual who derives exclusively passive income.

Passive income means income derived from rent, dividends or interest.

Registration of self employed for CSG / Social Contribution

Click here for Registration of Monthly CSG / Social contribution return (As from September 2021)

Every self-employed individual is required to register himself with the MRA.

For that purpose, click on the above link.

The Self-employed is required to insert his National Identity Card Number / Date of Issue and Mobile Phone Number. He will instantly receive a ‘One-Time Password (OTP)’ on his mobile phone via SMS that will allow him to proceed with the submission of the return and payment of CSG.

Before you start, please ensure that you have your:

1. National Identity Card Number and Date of Issue

2. Non-Citizen Identification Number (in case of a non-citizen)

3. Mobile Phone Number

You will receive a ‘One-Time Password (OTP)’ on your mobile phone via SMS that will allow him to proceed with the submission of the return on the following link:

CSG / Social contribution return and payment

Click here for Submission of Monthly CSG / Social contribution return

Where the Self-employed individual is required to pay, CSG of Rs 150 for the month of July 2021, he should do so at the time of submitting a CSG return to the MRA.

The same procedure as for the month of July 2021 is applicable for the month of August 2021 and the deadline for the submission of the return and payment of CSG is 30 September 2021.

As from the month of September 2021 and subsequent months, the provisions of the Social Contribution and Social Benefits Act 2021, for self-employed individuals will be applicable.

Communiqué: Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG) : Self-Employed - Click here

The rate of contribution applicable as from 01 September 2021 is shown in the table below.

Monthly Return

Annual Return

Click here for Annual CSG return

Self-employed may opt to submit the Social Contribution return and pay the Social Contribution on an annual basis. In such case the Self-employed individual shall compute his monthly net income on the basis of his net income for the preceding financial year, provided he has been operating during the corresponding 12 months.  

In case payment has not been effected on submission of return you may:

Click here for e-Payment

E-Filing Service Centres – Click here to file Return on behalf of a taxpayer

General information for Electronic Filing of Monthly / Annual CSG Return:

Kindly read the instructions below before starting to file the return.

• You are recommended to use a recent version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as browser to file their return. They may also submit same through mobile app MRAeasy that can be downloaded from Google Play Store or App Store.
• Kindly note that it is your responsibility to file a correct and complete return.
• Please ensure that you provide the name of the declarant, email address and telephone number as they will be used by MRA to communicate with you.
• On successful submission of returns, an acknowledgement message will be displayed on your screen followed by a confirmation email on the email address provided. If the acknowledgement message is not displayed, the submission is unsuccessful. Please take necessary actions to correctly submit your return.

Deadline for e-Filing of CSG/ Social contribution return
Monthly Return
For monthly return, both the return and the payment should be effected electronically on or before the end of the month following which contributions are payable.
The returns and payments for the months of May and November should be effected 2 days excluding Saturdays and public holidays, before the end June and December each year, respectively.

Annual return

In case, the Self-employed individual has opted to submit the Social Contribution return and pay the Social Contribution on an annual basis, both the return and the payment should be effected electronically.

Mode of Payment

Direct Debit

Self-employed individuals are required to use ONLY the Direct Debit facility to pay their CSG contributions directly from their bank account.

Self-employed individuals should fill-in a PLACH Direct Debit Mandate Form available here or at MRA Service Counter and send it to MRA Head Office before the due date for filing the return for onward processing to your bank. The form duly filled-in, and signed by authorised signatories, should reach the MRA at least 15 days before the due date for payment.