On 6 January 2021, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) issued guidance on tax residence certificates. They highlighted the common errors made by taxpayers and gave some practical guidance.
Here is all you need to know:
1. All applications for tax residence certificates are now made online.
2. Companies holding a Global Business Licence are required to send their applications to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) before any processing by the MRA.
The MRA will only process the applications that are recommended by the FSC.
3. Tax residence certificates are usually issued within 7 days from the application date.
This is provided that these 3 conditions are satisfied.
- Valid FSC recommendation
- Income tax return has been duly submitted
- All fees have been paid
4. Payment of fees
Fees payable to apply for a tax residence certificate is required to be paid:
Option 1: In MUR and via direct debit using eservices platform
Option 2: In USD and via the MNS portal
5. Approval and collection of tax residence certificate
Upon approval of a tax residence certificate, the applicant will receive a notification and the certificate will be available for collection at the MRA reception desk.
Approved tax residence certificate will remain outstanding until payments have been made. Applicants have 1 month to complete payment as from the date of approval or the application will be set aside.
6. Common errors
- Name and Tax Account Number wrongly inserted.
- Validity period not appropriate – The validity period is a maximum of 1 year.
- Applicant status is wrong – The entity type should be in line with the FSC licence.
- Country and TRC type – Ensure the correct type/country is entered in the DTAA field.
- Email address – Ensure that only 1 email address is provided. Multiple email addresses will cause an error.
- Applications are saved but not submitted
- Wrong mode of payment is selected – Taxpayers should note that deduction/upliftment letters are not required anymore.
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