Mauritius penalises deferred import VAT declared in the wrong period
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Mauritius as they stand today, see the Mauritius guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Mauritius
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Compliance
- Status
- Enacted
- Impact
- Action required
- Announced
- 13 August 2026
- Effective
- 1 October 2026
- Instrument
- MU-14-2026
- Authority
- Mauritius Revenue Authority
- Systems
- Customs, Tax engine, Reporting
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
VAT-registered importers in Mauritius using the deferral of VAT at importation.
Declare VAT deferred at importation as output tax in the correct Mauritius taxable period from 1 October 2026 - a miss costs MUR 10,000 and must be corrected in the next period.
CustomsTax engineReporting
Section 25(c) repeals and replaces section 9A(3) of the VAT Act and adds section 9A(4): where VAT deferred at importation is not declared as output tax in the taxable period of deferral, the registered person is liable to a MUR 10,000 penalty and must declare it in the next taxable period; if still undeclared the deferred VAT becomes due and recoverable under section 24A of the Customs Act.
What changed in detail
Section 25(c) repeals and replaces section 9A(3) of the VAT Act and adds section 9A(4): where VAT deferred at importation is not declared as output tax in the taxable period of deferral, the registered person is liable to a MUR 10,000 penalty and must declare it in the next taxable period; if still undeclared the deferred VAT becomes due and recoverable under section 24A of the Customs Act.
What it means
The deferral scheme was previously forgiving about timing. From 1 October, failing to declare deferred VAT as output tax in the period of deferral costs MUR 10,000 and obliges declaration in the very next period; miss that too and the deferred VAT becomes due and recoverable under section 24A of the Customs Act. The recovery route matters — it moves collection out of the VAT machinery and into customs enforcement.
Proof
(3) Where VAT deferred at importation is not declared as output tax in the taxable period in which the VAT is deferred - (a) the VAT registered person shall be liable to pay to the Director-General a penalty of 10,000 rupees and shall be dealt with in accordance with section 9B(2A) of the Customs Act; and (b) the VAT registered person shall declare the VAT deferred at importation as output tax in the next taxable period immediately following that in which it should have been declared.
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