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| IN THIS ISSUE: |
SEPTEMBER 2008 - VOL 3 |
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OFFSHORE Annual Returns for Mauritian Domestic Companies – What does it entail?
Directors Responsibilities: A position INFRASTRUCTURE Corporate Tax Return and Advance Payment System – A more Sophisticated System AVIATION NEWS Aircraft Leasing and Finance in Mauritius - A clever structuring alternative OTHER NEWS
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Corporate Tax Return and Advance Payment System – A more Sophisticated System
With the ever increasingly popularity of Mauritius as a jurisdiction from which to operate and as a result the increasing number of companies domiciled here, new legislation was passed, in the form of the Finance Act 2007. The new Act has introduced significant changes pertaining to filing of annual income tax returns and payment of tax by corporates. Below is a brief summary of the changes which have been effected.
Corporate Tax Return
Section 116 of the Income Tax Act 1995 has been amended and now requires companies to submit their annual return of income no later than 6 months from the end of the month in which their accounting year ends. The amendment takes effect as from 1 July 2008 in respect of the year of assessment commencing 1 July 2008 and thereafter in respect of every subsequent year of assessment.
A company whose accounting year ends on 30 June will have to file its annual return of income in respect of assessment year 2008-09 by 31 December 2008. As regards other companies, the return of income in respect of assessment year 2008-2009 will have to be filed by 30 September 2008, if the accounting year ends on or before 31 December 2007. However, if the accounting year of a company ends on or after 1 January 2008, the return of income will have to be filed within six months from the end of the accounting year.
Advance Payment System
The Income Tax Act has also been amended to provide for the operation of an Advance Payment System (APS) whereby companies are required to submit an APS Statement and pay tax on a quarterly basis on either last year’s income or the income of the current quarter, whichever is applicable.
The effective date of APS for companies with turnover exceeding MUR 100 million (large companies) is 01 July 2008 while that for companies with turnover less than MUR 100 million is 01 July 2009.
Where a company commences business in an income year in respect of which it is required to submit an APS statement, the chargeable income of the company for each quarter in that income year should be ascertained on basis of its gross income and the allowable deductions for the current quarter.
Any company which pays tax under APS during the Year of Assessment 2008/09 may pay the tax payable in accordance with its annual return for that Year of Assessment in 3 equal installments payable by the due date for submission of its annual return for the Years of Assessment 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11.
Electronic Filing of Corporate Tax Return and APS Statement
All companies deriving gross income and exempt income exceeding MUR 30 Million have the legal obligation to file annual returns and pay tax electronically. Failure to file electronic returns carries a penalty of 20% of the tax payable (maximum MUR 100,000 or MUR 5,000 where no tax liability is declared in the return.
The new regulation requires strict adherence and any issues or concerns which you may have, can be addressed to Laval at lalaw@inter-oceanmgt.com or Nitish at npandohee@inter-oceanmgt.com or either can be reached on +230 210 9334. |
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| © All material displayed in this brochure, including, without limitation, articles, text, photographs, images and\or illustrations, (collectively, the Content) are protected under Mauritian and foreign copyright or other laws, and are owned by Inter-Ocean Management Limited, its licensors or the party accredited as the provider of the Content. Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is for general guidance and interest only and is not intended as authority or a substitute for specific advice in considering the legal effects of any particular structure or product. Anyone intending to base a decision on the information as contained in this document should therefore do so with professional advice. | ||||
