Tax Residency Certificate To Be Modified

This information was confirmed by sources at the Mauritius Revenue Authority to The Independent.

The new format proposed would include additional details such as the address of the assessed person, his tax identification number and the status of the entity as to whether it is an individual, a partnership or a company, and is expected to be released soon.

The new format is also proving necessary owing to amendments made to sections of the Income Tax Act in India.

This makes it mandatory for investors claiming treaty benefits under different Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) to share ‘certain particulars’.

Currently, the two nations share a 30-year-old DTAA.

Around 40 per cent of nearly $ 247 billion Foreign Direct Investment flows into India over the last 12 years has come from Mauritius through this DTAA. The Indian tax authorities suspect that this route is being used for tax evasion.

An Indian Supreme Court ruling in July said that a TRC given by Mauritian authorities is adequate to avail tax benefits under the Indo-Mauritius tax treaty.