Facing allegations of being a route for round-tripping of funds and money laundering by Indian entities, Mauritius says it is fully committed to remain a credible financial centre and there has been 170 cases of exchange of information with Indian authorities in the past three years.
Allaying the perception of Mauritius being a tax-haven, the government’s investment promotion agency Board of Investment (BOI) also said that Mauritius on contrary is recognised as “a clean, efficient and compliant jurisdiction”.
This view is supported by global bodies like International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), Financial Action Tax Force (FATF) and Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), it said.
Besides, the country has one of the world’s most stringent anti-money laundering legislations, showing the “pro-activeness of Mauritius to prevent any kind of illicit transactions from being structured in the country”, the BOI said in its latest report on the Mauritian economy.
“The Mauritius Revenue Authority has fully collaborated with information requests and remains committed to do so. In fact, over the last three years, effective exchange of information has taken place in 170 cases between MRA and the competent Indian authorities in India, of which some are even outside the framework of the DTAA,” the BOI said.
India and Mauritius are now looking to revise their Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA), which currently does not have provisions like banking information exchange.
Mauritius Finance Secretary Ali Mansoor also said at an international taxation conference here yesterday that the two countries have finalised a new tax information exchange agreement, while discussions are continuing on the revised DTAA.