The VAT Refund Scheme allows citizens of Mauritius to claim up to Rs 300,000 of the VAT amount incurred during the construction of their residential building.

Although it might be tempting to hire an unlicensed contractor for the seemingly low costs, you are ending up paying more money for less value (No guarantees or insurance, potential construction site desertion and lack of skills).

However, given that a registered contractor has to charge Value Added Tax by law, they must cost significantly more, right? Well, thanks to the Mauritius Revenue Authority’s VAT Refund Scheme on Residential Building, this could not be any further from the truth.

What are the steps to undertake in order to benefit from the VAT Refund scheme?

1. Determine whether you are eligible for the VAT refund

The VAT Refund Scheme on Residential Building is accessible to citizens of Mauritius over the age of 18 and only concerns the first home being built. You should be the owner or co-owner, along with your spouse, of the residential building or apartment, and both of your annual net income must not, in the aggregate, exceed Rs 1 Million.

2. Determine whether your project is eligible for the VAT refund

The total cost of construction of the residential building should not exceed Rs 3 million. Generally speaking, it is safe to say that if the surface area of your home is above 200 m2 (2152 Sq. Ft.), your application will be automatically rejected.

As mentioned above, you should also hire a registered contractor who can issue VAT invoices and provide you with a contract of service in the proper form.

The scope of this scheme will however exclude projects in relation to the following:

  • Construction on ‘Pas Géométriques’
  • Real State under the Investment Promotion (Real State Development Scheme) Regulations 2007 
  • Property Development under the Investment Promotion (Property Development Scheme) Regulations 2015
  • Invest Hotel under the Investment Promotion (Invest Hotel Scheme) Regulations 2015
  • Smart City under the Investment Promotion (Smart City Scheme) Regulations 2015 

3. Calculate how much you can claim

The cumulated VAT amount refunded will not, in the aggregate, exceed Rs 300,000. In the scenario where you are making instalment payments to the contractor as per the advancement of the project, the minimum amount claimable per quarter is Rs 25,000. Whenever this amount is less than Rs 25,000, it may be cumulated with the next quarter as long as the cumulated amount exceeds Rs 25,000. 

 As per the MRA, a quarter is a period of 3 months ending at the end of March, June, September or December.  

4. Check whether you are within the deadlines 

The construction of the residential building must be started and completed before the 30th June 2025.

You should submit your application for refund to the MRA within 30 days from the end of every quarter during which you have paid the VAT to the contractor. 

In the case seen earlier where your quarterly VAT amount does not exceed Rs 25,000 and you are applying for a refund in posterior quarters, the application will not be valid if it is made more than 12 months from the date of payment of the final amount of VAT to the contractor. 

The MRA should proceed with the refund not later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the application. The application could of course be delayed in case of incomplete or incorrect information. 

All application should be made directly through the MRA’s website through the dedicated form.

5. File your claim for VAT refund  

You should be submitting the following documents with your first application for refund:  

  1. VAT invoices issued by your contractor.
  2. Contract of service between you and your building contractor.
  3. Building permit issued by the District Council or Municipality and bearing your name.
  4. Deed of purchase of land.
  5. Evidence of income (Pay slip for employee or income statements for self-employed). 

For the succeeding claims, you would only need to submit your subsequent VAT invoices.

Summary

  1. The construction must be started and completed by 30 June 2025.
  2. This scheme is aimed at adult citizens of Mauritius only and only on their first home.
  3. You or your spouse should be the owner or co-owners of the residential building.
  4. The total annual income of both your spouse and you should not exceed Rs 1 million.
  5. The cost of construction must not exceed Rs 3 million. 
  6. Always go with a registered contractor.
  7. Claims for refund should be made within 30 days from the end of every quarter during which VAT has been paid.

Update 2021

Several amendments have been brought to this scheme and the upper limit has been updated. Please do not refer to this article but directly to the MRA’s website as the scheme is ever changing.

The good news however is that the application is now entirely online on MRA’s website here.

Also, while MRA may accept individual receipts for processing, you will face thorough scrutiny for each expense. Several feedback indicate that items such as garage doors are not being refunded.

Find out how much your next project is gonna cost by requesting a free quote here.

We try to ensure that the information on this site is correct, but do not give any warranty as to its accuracy. Any suggestion on this site is merely for educational and inspirational purposes.  If you chose to undertake a project, home alteration or any other suggestion found on these pages, you will be doing so at your own risk and your own responsibility. Consequently, the Company does not accept any liability for errors, omissions and negligent acts.