VAT registration from Rs 3 million: what changes
VAT registration is compulsory above Rs 3 million turnover from 1 October 2026. What it means for your prices, invoices and monthly records. A guide from Envoice.mu.
Since 1 October 2026, VAT registration in Mauritius is compulsory for businesses with turnover above Rs 3 million. Plenty of owners who never thought of themselves as "VAT businesses" now sit on or near that line, and the change touches more than paperwork.
Who it catches
Rs 3 million a year works out to Rs 250,000 a month. A busy snack in Quatre Bornes, a hardware counter in Rose-Hill or an electrician running two vans can reach that without feeling rich, because turnover means sales, not profit.
The test also runs on a rolling basis rather than only on your last financial year, which means a business can cross the threshold halfway through the year and not notice. Watch your monthly sales figures, not just the annual accounts, and ask your accountant exactly how the test applies to your figures.
Crossing the line is a pricing decision
This is the part people miss. Once you're registered, you charge VAT on taxable sales. At 15%, a Rs 1,000 sale becomes Rs 1,150 for the customer.
Customers who are themselves VAT-registered can usually recover that VAT on their own return, so for them the real price barely moves. Households and small unregistered businesses can't, so for them your price has just gone up 15%. Somebody absorbs that: your customer, you, or a bit of both.
Decide which before your registration date. Changing prices with a week's notice is how shops lose regulars; working it out a month ahead gives you time to talk to the customers who matter.
What changes on your invoices
Your invoices need your VAT registration number, a clear VAT line and the other particulars of a VAT invoice. According to the MRA's guidance, those include the words "VAT INVOICE", your BRN, a serial number and date, the VAT rate and amount, and, when you sell to another business, the buyer's name, address and BRN (plus their VAT number if they're registered). Our article on writing an invoice gives the full list. Every line needs the right treatment, because standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies are handled differently.
Zero-rated and exempt look alike on paper and behave in opposite ways. A zero-rated supply carries no VAT, yet you can still recover the input VAT on related purchases; an exempt supply also carries no VAT, but the related input VAT isn't recoverable. Get them the wrong way round and every return is wrong in the same direction. When you're not certain, mark it and ask.
What changes every month
You'll need to keep your sales and purchases in a form that adds up to a return. Output VAT is what you charged; input VAT is what you paid on business purchases you're entitled to recover. How often you file depends on your size. According to the MRA's guidance, businesses with taxable turnover up to Rs 10 million normally file quarterly and larger ones file monthly, though a smaller business can choose monthly. The return is normally due 20 days after the period ends, or by the end of the following month when you both file and pay electronically. Your accountant can tell you which period you're on.
Purchase receipts suddenly matter more than they did. A receipt that ends up in a glovebox in Vacoas is input VAT you can't support.
E-invoicing is a separate question
Being VAT-registered doesn't by itself put you into e-invoicing. The MRA is phasing e-invoicing in by turnover band, and according to the MRA's guidance the published bands go down to businesses above Rs 40 million from 1 September 2026. The MRA can also bring in any business by notice, whatever its turnover. Our article on e-invoicing explains the rest.
Where Envoice fits
Envoice puts your VAT number and the VAT line on every invoice, keeps issued invoices locked, and handles corrections through credit notes. Expenses come in with AI receipt reading, so the purchase side of your records builds up as you go instead of in a panic at month end.
On the Business plan, the VAT Manager prepares your monthly worksheet and the VT03 annex. On Starter and Starter Plus, VAT preparation is an add-on (check envoice.mu/pricing for current prices). Either way, Envoice prepares and you file: you submit the return on the MRA portal yourself, under your own registration.
None of this replaces your accountant's view on your registration date or the treatment of a particular supply. It means they get clean figures to look at.
Checklist
- ☐ Track turnover month by month, not just at year end
- ☐ Ask your accountant how the Rs 3 million test applies to you
- ☐ Decide who carries the 15% for customers who can't recover VAT
- ☐ Tell your regular customers before prices change
- ☐ Add your VAT number to your invoice template
- ☐ Mark each product or service as standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt
- ☐ Keep every purchase receipt from your registration date
- ☐ Check with your accountant whether you file monthly or quarterly, and diary the due date
Get your invoices VAT-ready
Try Envoice on the free trial, VAT Manager included and no card needed, at www.envoice.mu. If you'd rather talk it through, WhatsApp +230 5881 9999.