Employment

Who is considered to be an employer?

An employer means a person responsible for the payment of emoluments and includes an agent of that person but does not include a person employing only household employees.

Exempt employee

An exempt employee means an employee whose emoluments in a month do not exceed one thirteenth of the Category A Income Exemption Threshold specified in the Third Schedule but does not include a director of a company.

Obligations of an employer

1. PAYE / NPF / NSF

   1. An employer should within 14 days of becoming an employer, register with the Director-General as an employer by submitting an Employer Registration Form dully filled in by him. The Employer Registration Form shall be in a form approved by the Director-General.

   2. Where, after the registration of an employer, there is a change in any of the particulars provided by him in the Employer Registration Form other than a change in the number of employees, he shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the change, notify the Director-General in writing of the change.

   3. Withhold tax as required from emoluments.

   4. Submit PAYE return and remit the amount withheld to the MRA by the due date.

   5. Submit statement of emoluments and tax deductions to employees on or before 15th August of every year.

   6. Where a person ceases to be an employer, he shall, within 7 days, give to each employee a Statement of Emoluments and Tax Deductions in duplicate for such period(s) as appropriate.

   7. Submit the Return of Employee (ROE) not later than 15th August of every year to the Director–General electronically through such computer system as the Director-General may approve in respect of the preceding income year ,specifying his business registration number and, in respect of every employee-

      1. the full name

      2. the NIC number where the employee is a citizen of Mauritius or the identification number where the employee is not a citizen of Mauritius or any other identification number allocated by the Director-General;

      3. the particulars of the emoluments and income exempted;

      4. the amount of income exemption threshold claimed in his Employee Declaration Form; and

      5. the total amount of tax withheld and remitted to the Mauritius Revenue Authority, if any.

   8. Obligation to pay contributions

      Every month to submit to the Director-General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) a statement giving the details of every employee who was employed during the preceding month and pay the amount of contributions in accordance with the National Pensions Act, National Savings Fund Act and Human Resource Development Act.

      Contributions are payable as from the month in which an employee takes up employment whether on a part-time or full time basis and whether on probation or not.

      Note: No contribution is payable in respect of:

      1. An employee who has not attained the age of 18;

      2. An employee who has attained the final retirement age (70 years); and

      3. A non-Mauritian citizen employee of an export manufacturing enterprise in respect of his first 2 years of employment. 

2. Employee Declaration Form (EDF)

   The MRA is consolidating its go-green initiatives and has made available an electronic EDF. To fill in an EDF, employees should go onto MRA website, select e-EDF and get access to a blank electronic EDF form by inserting their National Identity Card Number, their mobile phone number and their employer’s Registration Number (ERN) or name. The employee will have to insert the OTP send to him on his mobile phone before he may proceed to fill the EDF.

   Employers on the other hand will have to use their credentials as an employer (their ERN and the related password) to login to MRA e-services platform and download an excel file of the deductions claimed by their employees in their EDFs for PAYE purposes.

   MRA will not issue any EDF in paper form. However, a PDF copy of the EDF is available on MRA’s website for download by employers/employees who are unable to shift to the electronic system. Employers are kindly invited to communicate their ERN to employees and to encourage them to submit their EDF electronically through MRA website.

Obligations of an employee

1. Employee Declaration Form

   An EDF should be filed by every employee who wishes to claim Income Exemption Threshold and additional reliefs for the purpose of calculating Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to be withheld from his monthly emoluments.

   Every employee should submit an Employer Declaration Form (EDF) to his employer.

2. Filing a return

   Every employee deriving a total net income of an amount exceeding the Category A Income Exemption Threshold or where tax has been withheld under PAYE shall file a return.