THE LAND (DUTIES & TAXES) ACT - GENERAL

s. 27A - Assessment of land and buildings
1. Where no documentary evidence establishing that a building or any other fixture existing on a property belongs to, or has been erected by, a person, other than the transferor, is attached to a deed of transfer, the duty and tax leviable under this Act or the Registration Duty Act' shall, where applicable, be levied on
  1. the consideration mentioned in the deed
    1. whichever is the higher
  2. the open market value of the property including the building or fixture existing on the property
  3. shall not apply to a deed of transfer which contains
    1. a complete description of any building or fixture existing on the property
    2. a statement by the transferor that he retains full ownership of the building or fixture
  4. an undertaking by the transferor that he will not transfer the building or fixture otherwise than by an authentic deed.
s. 28 - Valuation of property
1. The value of any property that is transferred shall for the purposes of levying duty and taxes
2. any property, including any immovable property which forms part of the assets of a partnership, successive partnership, company or successive company
3. any immovable property which is the subject of a document attracting the proportional duty under any of items 10 to 13 of paragraph I or under any of items 10 to 14 of paragraph J of Part I of the First Schedule to the Registration Duty Act.
4. any property which is the subject matter of a deed by which a purchaser of the property declares that he has purchased the property on behalf of another person and in the name of that person with money belonging to and provided by that person
5. the immovable property or any part thereof to which a person has right of ownership, occupation or usage pursuant to a transfer of shares in a company or issue of shares by a company or transfer of part sociale in a société.
6. Where the Registrar-General is dissatisfied with the value mentioned in any deed of transfer or any other deed witnessing the transfer of any property
  1. exercise a right of pre-exemption under s.20 of the Registration Duty Act
  2. where he does not exercise the right of pre-emption, by notice in writing, make an assessment
    1. in the case where there has been a transfer of shares in a partnership/company
    2. be in a form approved by the Registrar-General
    3. give the basis of the assessment
    4. be forwarded to the transferee and the transferor and if there are several, to any of them, by registered post within 7 months from the date of the registration of the deed
      1. the person to whom the notice has been given shall pay any duty or tax specified therein within 28 days of the date of the notice.
        within 28 days of the date of the notice, object to the notice by letter sent to the Registrar-General by registered post.
        owing to illness or other reasonable cause, a person has been prevented from making an objection within the time specified - the Registrar-General may consider the objection
        shall be dealt with by an objection unit set up for that purpose.
        one representative of the Chief Government Valuer, not below the rank of Senior Government Valuer who shall be the Chairperson
        2 representatives of the Registrar-General, not below the rank of Chief Registration Officer
        amend the claim
        maintain the claim
        the person shall pay the duty or tax claimed in the notice within 28 days of the date of the notice.
        any amount of duty or tax paid in excess shall be refunded, together with the interest at the legal rate, free of income tax, from the date of payment is effected to the Registrar-General to the date it is refunded
        the Registrar- General shall inscribe against the person liable to any additional duty or tax, on all properties belonging or which may subsequently belong to that person, a privilege for the additional duty or tax specified in the notice.
        the additional duty or tax secured by the privilege inscribed may be claimed at any time.
        specify in his letter of objection, the grounds of the objection
        at the same time pay to the Registrar-General 30 per cent of the amount of duty or tax excluding penalty, claimed in the notice
7. the Valuer shall, not more than 5 months from the date of registration of the deed of transfer, advise the Registrar-General of the open market value of the property as at that date of registration.
  1. require, by letter forwarded by registered post, the transferee or transferor including the person who acquires by prescription or by inheritance or legacy and the partnership to which property has been brought or, if there are several, any one of them, to show and identify, within such time as may be specified in the letter, the property under reference and to furnish such information as to enable the valuer to make an accurate assessment of the open market value of the property,
  2. enter and inspect any property under reference after giving not less than 24 hours' written notice to the transferee or occupier of the property.
  3. The Chief Government Valuer shall keep and maintain a valuation database, by district, in respect of every valuation of immovable property he makes and which shall consist of the entries kept on computer or such other electronic device at the office of the Chief Government Valuer.
    1. a brief description of the immovable property including particulars of transcription, extent of land, area of building in square metres and its location including the town or village and street name
    2. the full name of the transferor and transferee
    3. an indication as to whether the building is for residential,business,commercial or industrial purposes
    4. the value of the immovable property
    5. the open market value of the immovable property made by the Chief Government Valuer, the methodology and the key parameters used including the valuation of another immovable property used as comparison and its reference in the database.
s. 29 - Transfer of immovable property between an ascendant and a descendant
1. Where a descendant transfers to an ascendant or to an ascendant and his spouse married under the legal community of goods and property, property which was acquired by the descendant from the ascendant, no tax under this Act and no duty under the Registration Duty Act shall be levied on the deed witnessing such transfer
2. Where an ascendant transfers to a descendant property which the ascendant acquired in the manner referred to in subsection (2), no tax under this Act and no duty under the Registration Duty Act shall be levied on the deed witnessing such transfer.
s. 34 - Amendment of tax and duty
1. Where the value of any property is revised under section 28 or is determined by the Committee, any tax or duty payable in respect of the property shall be revised accordingly.
s. 35 - Penalty for undervaluation
1. the Registrar-General shall impose and claim from the transferee or the transferor, as the case may be, in addition to the amount of the duty and taxes claimed, a penalty representing, where the difference between the open market value and the value specified in the deed
  1. is between 10 and 50% of the value specified in the deed, 20% of that amount
  2. exceeds 50% of the value specified in the deed, 50% of that amount
2. shall not apply where the transfer is made by a descendant or his spouse to an ascendant or his spouse or between brothers and sisters and their spouses.
s. 35A - Power to waive penalty
1. The Registrar-General may waive the whole or part of any penalty imposed under this Act where he is satisfied that failure to comply with this Act was attributable to a just or reasonable cause.
2. the Registrar-General shall record in writing the reasons for waiving the whole or part of the penalty.
s. 36 - Payment of duty and tax
1. a notary shall, in respect of any deed drawn up by him, claim the duty and taxes leviable under Part II, Part III and Part VIA of the Act and pay them to the Registrar-General.
2. Where land is acquired compulsorily, the amount representing the taxes leviable under Part III payable in respect of the land shall be withheld from the compensation payable to the transferor and shall be paid to the Registrar-General.
3. Where land is disposed of by judicial sale, levy or licitation, the Master and Registrar shall withhold from any deposit made at the time of adjudication, the amount representing the taxes leviable under Parts III and Part VIA and pay it to the Registrar- General.
s. 37 - Inscription of privilege
1. The Registrar-General may, at any time, inscribe a privilege on all properties belonging or which may subsequently belong to the transferee or the transferor for any amount of duty or taxes remaining unpaid under Parts II, III,IV and VIA and section 36 as appropriate.
  1. The inscription may be erased in respect of any property belonging to the debtor where the Registrar-General is satisfied that the value of his other properties is sufficient to secure payment of the amount due.
2. The authorised officer may cause an inscription of privilege to be inscribed on all properties belonging or which may subsequently belong to a person for any amount of tax due under Part V and Part VI by that person.
  1. The inscription of privilege shall be erased upon a request in writing to that effect by the authorised officer.
3. The inscription enrolled shall be erased on payment of the duty or tax.
s. 38 - Abatement or deferment of duty or tax
1. No payment of duty or tax shall be abated or deferred on the ground that the amount of duty or tax payable is in dispute or on any other ground.
s. 39 - Anti-avoidance provisions
1. Where the Registrar-General is satisfied that the sole or dominant purpose of any arrangement which involves one or more transactions on properties is to reduce or avoid any payment of duty or tax which would otherwise be payable under the Registration Duty Act or this Act, the Registrar-General may, without prejudice to the validity of such transactions, make an assessment of the amount of duty or tax that would otherwise be payable and claim such amount from the parties to the transaction.
2. Any party who is aggrieved by a claim may lodge written representations with the Clerk to the Committee in accordance with section 19 of the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act 2004.
3. A notary shall inform the parties to every notarial deed of the provisions of this section and shall insert a clause in the deed stating that he has so informed the parties.
s. 41 - Validity of notice by post
1. A notice or letter shall be deemed to have been validly served on the transferor or transferee if the notice or letter has been sent by registered post to the address
  1. of the transferor or transferee as indicated in the deed of transfer
  2. where the transferor or transferee has elected domicile in the deed
2. Where the notice or letter is returned undelivered, the provision of the above subsection shall apply to any notice or letter sent by registered post to the address of the transferor or transferee.
s. 42 - Recovery of duty
1. Where any duty or tax is due under Part II, Part III, Part V and Part VI, Part VIA and section 36, the Registrar-General or the authorised officer as the case may be may apply to a Judge in Chambers for an order (“contrainte”) to issue against the debtor.
  1. executory
  2. served on the debtor
    1. aggrieved by an order made, may within 10 days of the service of the order appeal to the Supreme Court.
s. 43 - Refund of duty or tax
1. Where duty or tax has been properly levied on any document in accordance with Parts II,III,IV and VIA, the duty or tax shall not be refunded whatever may be the effect of any subsequent event or declaration on the transaction witnessed by the document.
  1. Where duty has not been properly levied
    1. application may be made to the Registrar-General for a refund
    2. the Registrar-General may refund the excess
2. Where the owner of a campement or campement site proves to the satisfaction of the authorised officer that he has paid tax under Part V or Part VI in excess, the authorised officer may, subject to s. 44, refund the amount paid in excess.
s. 44 - Time limit for claims or refunds
1. shall not be receivable after the expiry of 5 years from the date on which the deed was registered
  1. Article 2245 of the Code Napoleon
  2. The time limit of 5 years shall, where the open market value of the property has been decided by the Committee, be reckoned from the date of the decision.
s. 45 - Payment to be in multiples of 5 rupees
1. Any duty payable under this Act, which is less than a multiple of 5 rupees, shall be increased to the next higher figure which is a multiple of 5 rupees.
s. 45A - Derogation
1. a deed of transfer, for the construction of a residential building, of a lot excised from a larger portion of land, or a portion of land on which exists a house, by a partnership or a company to a worker who is either employed or who, immediately before his retirement, was employed by the vendor shall, where the deed of transfer contains a declaration from
  1. the Fund that the partnership or company is registered with it
  2. the partnership or company that the transferee is, or was immediately before his retirement, in its employment and that it has not effected on or after 1 July 1986 any transfer of land to the worker
  3. be exempt from payment of the duty and taxes leviable under Part II, Part III and Part V of the Act and the duty leviable under the Transcription and Mortgage Act
  4. the heirs of a deceased worker collectively (“les ayants droits”) as they would have applied to a worker referred
  5. the transfer of land by a partnership or company forming part of the same group as the employer of the worker.
2. A deed of transfer referred to in the Eighth Schedule shall be exempt from duty or taxes leviable under the appropriate Part or Parts specified in that Schedule.
3. the transfer of a portion of freehold land during the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, to a company registered under section 161A(46) of the Income Tax Act, for the construction of a housing estate thereon of at least 5 residential units, shall be exempted from payment of land transfer tax under this Act;
4. the transfer or vente en état futur d’achèvement (VEFA) by a company under paragraph (a), of a housing unit forming part of a housing estate referred to in paragraph (a), the construction of which has started on or after 1 January 2012 and the value of which does not exceed 2.5 million rupees, shall be exempted from payment of land transfer tax under this Act, provided the transfer is made on or before 31 December 2015.
  1. written notice sent by registered post, claim the tax, together with a penalty of 20% of the amount of tax exempted.

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THE LAND (DUTIES & TAXES) ACT - GENERAL

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