Mauritius: Government Wage and Self-Employed Assistance Schemes for May 2021

The Government of Mauritius decided to extend the two assistance schemes, namely Government Wage Assistance Scheme (GWAS) and Self-Employed Assistance Scheme (SEAS), for the month of May 2021.

Therefore, the Mauritius Revenue Authority published the modalities for the payment of GWAS and SEA for May 2021.

A. Tourism Sector

Financial Assistance under GWAS and SEAS will be provided to employers and self-employed individuals operating in the tourism sector in the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues for the full month.

B. Sectors Other Than The Tourism Sector

Financial assistance for a full month will be provided under GWAS and SEAS to those carrying out the following activities and who were not allowed to operate during May 2021.

1. Fitness centres and Professional Sports

2. Horse racing bookmakers (outlets), casinos and gaming houses

3. Leisure parks, amusement centres, including aquariums

4. Multi-purpose halls, including wedding halls, theatres and cinema halls

5. Nightclubs licensed by the Tourism Authority, and bars

6. Self-employed individuals who are – 

(i) Stallholders in markets that remained closed

(ii) Haberdashers operating in a market

(iii) Hawkers not allowed to operate

(iv) Artists

C. Operators in The Red Zones and Who Are Not Allowed To Operate

There are two types of people eligible for the GWAS and SEAS: 

1. Employers having their principal place of business in a red zone 

2. Self-employed individuals residing in a red zone or having their business activity within a red zone.

Note:  

A. Red Zones: Rivière des Anguilles, Batimarais, St Aubin, Tyack, Benares, Camp Diable and Bonne Terre.

B. Markets/ shopping malls/ hypermarkets/ supermarkets/ superettes/ meat/ poultry/ fish shops/ food retail shops/ retail shops (magasins)/ hardware shops (quincailleries) were allowed to operate in red zones.

D. Operators in The Gaming Sector

For the employers operating in the following sectors, they are eligible for GWAS for half a month.

1. Horse Racing Organisers

2. Bookmakers conducting fixed odds bets on horse racing through remote communication

3. Totalizator operators of horse racing by remote communication

E. Application Process

GWAS: Employers who are eligible for GWAS are required to submit a new application.

SEAS: 

1. Red Zones – Self-employed individuals eligible for SEAS as operators in the red zones are required to submit a fresh application through the MRA website.

2. Other eligible self-employed individuals are not required to submit fresh applications.

If you want to know more about the GWAS and whether you might be eligible to apply, please read this article.

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