Mauritius VAT Guide 2026: MRA Threshold, 15% Rate and Digital Services

Mauritius VAT content needs a 2026 refresh because two rules changed close together. First, the Finance Act 2025 lowered the domestic compulsory VAT registration threshold from Rs 6 million to Rs 3 million, with MRA guidance and the September 2025 communique tying the change to 1 October 2025. Second, Mauritius brought foreign suppliers of digital and electronic services into VAT from 1 January 2026.

The headline VAT rate is still simple. MRA's VAT sensitisation page states that VAT is chargeable on taxable supplies of goods and services made in Mauritius by a VAT registered person, and that the rate is 15%. The harder part is operational: knowing when to register, what invoice data must appear, when returns are monthly or quarterly, when electronic filing gives a later deadline, and how the new foreign digital services regime affects software, media, advertising, hosting and other online services supplied into Mauritius.

This guide was checked against Mauritius Revenue Authority pages and MRA PDF guidance on May 24, 2026. It is written for founders, finance teams, creators selling digital products, SaaS operators, tourism suppliers, marketplace teams and accountants who need the current MRA workflow before using the Mauritius VAT calculator or the broader pan-African VAT calculator.

Mauritius VAT In One View

The practical takeaway is that Mauritius is not a high-rate VAT jurisdiction, but it is now a stricter registration and platform-compliance jurisdiction. A small operator that was below the old Rs 6 million threshold may now be inside the VAT net. A non-resident SaaS, streaming, advertising, app, software or hosting business can also be inside the VAT net even without a permanent establishment in Mauritius.

Registration Threshold And The October 2025 Change

The clearest current domestic threshold source is MRA's simplified VAT registration page. It says the Finance Act 2025 amended the Value Added Tax Act so that the VAT registration threshold was reduced from Rs 6 million to Rs 3 million. It also says every person whose taxable supplies turnover exceeds or is likely to exceed Rs 3 million must apply to the Director-General for compulsory VAT registration.

MRA's September 12, 2025 communique repeats the point in operational language. It says persons in business with annual turnover of taxable supplies exceeding, or likely to exceed, Rs 3 million are compulsorily required to register for VAT. It also adds a separate compulsory registration rule for holders of a Pleasure Craft Licence issued by the Tourism Authority for a pleasure craft more than 12 metres long and used for commercial purposes.

For the affected domestic population, the communique says the registration would take effect from 1 October 2025. That matters in 2026 because older Mauritius VAT pages, calculators and internal templates still repeat the previous Rs 6 million threshold. If your finance checklist says Rs 6 million, treat it as stale until reconciled against current MRA guidance.

MRA describes simplified registration as an online process where applicants can use a National Identity Card, Business Registration Number or Tax Account Number and password. The registration page says that, after submission, MRA allocates a VAT registration number that is the same as the taxpayer's Tax Account Number, then issues a certificate of registration and a distinctive mark. MRA also says those documents must be displayed at each business premises in a conspicuous place.

Registration is not just a formality. MRA's simplified registration page says a VAT registered person should charge VAT on taxable supplies made after the effective registration date, issue VAT invoices on those sales, submit VAT returns, keep proper written records in English or French, and keep those records for at least five years after the relevant transaction is completed.

The 15% Rate And VAT Invoice Rules

Mauritius continues to use a single standard VAT rate in the sources reviewed for this guide. MRA's VAT page states that the rate of VAT is 15%. For arithmetic, that means a Rs 10,000 taxable supply carries Rs 1,500 VAT and a Rs 11,500 VAT-inclusive price contains Rs 1,500 VAT.

MRA is also explicit about VAT invoices. Its VAT page says every VAT registered person making a sale transaction must issue a VAT invoice. The main information listed by MRA includes the words VAT INVOICE, the business name and address, VAT registration number, business registration number, serial number, date of issue, quantity or description of goods or services, sale value, and amount of VAT charged.

That invoice discipline matters because it supports input tax recovery and repayment claims. A VAT registered buyer normally needs proper support for input VAT. A supplier that fails to issue proper VAT invoices can create problems for both sides of the transaction. If you are building an invoice workflow, connect the article to the invoice generator for document structure and use the Mauritius VAT calculator for rate arithmetic.

Monthly And Quarterly Filing

MRA's simplified registration page says a VAT registered person should submit a quarterly or monthly return, declare taxable supplies, and claim allowable input tax. It says a registered person making annual taxable turnover not exceeding Rs 10 million is normally required to submit VAT returns quarterly, although that person may opt to submit monthly returns instead.

The same page lists the quarterly taxable periods: quarter ended 31 March covers January to March, quarter ended 30 June covers April to June, quarter ended 30 September covers July to September, and quarter ended 31 December covers October to December.

The deadline depends on filing and payment mode. MRA's simplified registration page says a return has to be submitted within 20 days from the end of the month or quarter to which it relates, with a following-working-day rule where the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. It then says that where a registered person submits both the VAT return and payment electronically, the submission and payment deadline is on or before the end of the following month.

MRA's dedicated VAT return page states the electronic filing deadline in table form: a quarterly electronic return with electronic payment is due at the end of the month following the end of the quarter, and a monthly electronic return with electronic payment is due at the end of the following month. In practical terms, most modern operators should build controls around the electronic MRA deadline, while still knowing the 20-day rule exists in MRA's general guidance.

Monthly filers have an extra data obligation. MRA's VAT return page says the law requires a VAT registered entity to submit, along with a monthly VAT return, a detailed list of taxable supplies made, uploaded as a CSV or XML file. That is a strong reason to reconcile invoice data before month-end rather than treating VAT as a last-day calculation.

Repayments, Input Tax And Records

Input VAT recovery is only as good as the evidence behind it. MRA's VAT repayment FAQ says a registered person may claim repayment where a return shows excess input tax over output tax and the person has acquired capital goods or made zero-rated supplies. It also says a person mainly engaged in zero-rated supplies may claim the whole excess amount shown in the VAT return, while other cases are limited by the proportion of zero-rated supplies to total taxable supplies for that taxable period.

MRA also lists situations where a repayment can be overclaimed. Those include undeclared output tax, input tax connected to exempt supplies, unsupported input tax, input tax already used to offset output tax, duplicated input tax claims, and certain blocked expenses. Accommodation and lodging, gas oils and mogas, and motor cars or other vehicles for transporting not more than nine persons appear among the restrictions described in MRA's repayment FAQ.

For operators, the lesson is simple. Do not treat input VAT as a free automatic deduction. Match purchases to taxable activity, keep VAT invoices and customs documents, separate exempt supplies from zero-rated supplies, and make sure the same input VAT is not claimed twice. If you are mainly exporting zero-rated supplies, the refund mechanics may be important to cash flow, but the supporting records need to be cleaner than for a simple payable return.

MRA's simplified registration page says records may be kept on paper or electronically in English or French and should be retained for at least five years after the completion of the transaction. That record rule should drive how you store invoices, annex files, payment confirmations and return acknowledgements. A VAT workflow that only saves the final payment receipt is weak because it cannot prove the invoice-level support behind the return.

Foreign Digital Services From January 2026

The biggest 2026-specific change is the new VAT treatment for foreign suppliers of digital and electronic services. MRA's digital services page says the Value Added Tax Act was amended to include a new Section 14A, extending VAT to digital or electronic services provided by foreign suppliers to persons located in Mauritius. The regime commenced on 1 January 2026, and qualifying services supplied from outside Mauritius to a person in Mauritius are subject to VAT at 15%.

MRA's foreign supplier guide gives concrete examples of digital or electronic services. These include images or text such as photographs, screensavers and electronic books, music, films, television shows, games and programmes on demand, applications and software maintenance, website supply or web hosting services, advertising space on a website, online magazines, and distance maintenance of programmes and equipment.

The registration rule is broad. MRA says foreign suppliers providing digital or electronic services to customers in Mauritius must register for VAT irrespective of turnover. That is different from the domestic Rs 3 million threshold. For foreign suppliers, Rs 3 million becomes important for the appointment of a tax representative. MRA's digital services page says a foreign supplier must appoint a tax representative with a permanent establishment in Mauritius where taxable supplies in Mauritius exceed, or are likely to exceed, Rs 3 million or the equivalent in foreign currency.

MRA's guide also explains how a supplier determines whether a recipient is in Mauritius. The foreign supplier should look for two non-contradictory indicators supporting Mauritius location, such as billing address, payment bank location, device IP or geolocation method, international country code in contact details, or other commercially relevant information.

Foreign suppliers must submit returns electronically. MRA's guide says VAT charged or collected should be included in the return based on the earlier of invoice issue or payment receipt. It also says foreign suppliers are not required to issue a VAT invoice under Section 20(7), but local businesses can still claim input VAT on digital or electronic services procured from foreign suppliers even when no VAT invoice is issued by the foreign supplier. The guide adds a specific restriction: no input tax is allowable to a foreign supplier of digital or electronic services.

Payments can be made in approved foreign currencies. MRA lists United States dollars, euros, pound sterling, Singapore dollars, South African rand and Swiss francs. That matters for global SaaS and creator platforms that sell subscriptions into Mauritius and do not operate in rupees.

Stale Mauritius VAT Claims To Stop Repeating

The fastest way to clean up a Mauritius VAT checklist in 2026 is to remove these old claims.

• Stale claim one: The compulsory domestic VAT threshold is still Rs 6 million. MRA's current registration page and September 2025 communique say the threshold is now Rs 3 million.
• Stale claim two: Foreign digital suppliers only register if they cross a normal turnover threshold. MRA's 2026 digital services guidance says foreign digital suppliers register irrespective of turnover.
• Stale claim three: A foreign digital supplier below Rs 3 million has no Mauritius VAT task. The Rs 3 million threshold is relevant to tax representative appointment, not to the basic registration obligation for foreign digital suppliers.
• Stale claim four: VAT filing is only a quarterly routine. MRA guidance distinguishes quarterly and monthly filing, and monthly filers may need to upload a detailed taxable supplies annex.

Those stale claims are common because Mauritius changed the threshold in late 2025 and then changed the digital services regime from January 2026. If a memo was correct in mid-2025, it can still be wrong for 2026 operations.

Sources Reviewed

The facts in this guide were checked on May 24, 2026 against current Mauritius Revenue Authority pages and MRA PDF guidance:

• MRA simplified VAT registration page
• MRA September 12, 2025 VAT registration threshold communique
• MRA VAT sensitisation and repayment page
• MRA VAT return e-filing page
• MRA VAT on digital or electronic services from foreign suppliers page
• MRA guide for foreign suppliers of digital and electronic services
• MRA guide on simplified VAT registration