Mauritania: Global Tax Guide

Legislation

General Tax Code (2023)

2024 Finance Law

Residence/Territorial Scope

Article 5 of the General Tax Code provides that (subject to the terms of a double tax treaty) the following are subject to corporation tax:

• companies resident in Mauritania, i.e. companies whose registered office or place of effective management is located in Mauritania;
• non-resident companies with a permanent establishment in Mauritania.

Permanent Establishment

Under Article 6 of the General Tax Code, a permanent establishment is a fixed place of business through which the non-resident company carries out all or part of its activity.

A permanent establishment includes or may include a place of management, a branch, an office, a factory, a workshop, a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place where natural resources are extracted.

A permanent establishment may also include:

• a construction project, an assembly or installation project, but only if such construction site or project lasts more than 12 months for subcontractors and other oil operators, or 6 months for others;
• the provision by a non-resident enterprise of services, including consulting services, through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for that purpose, but only if activities of that nature continue (for the same or a related project) in Mauritania for the purpose of a period of more than 12 months for subcontractors and other oil operators, or 6 months for others.

The following do not constitute a permanent establishment in Mauritania:

• the use of facilities for the storage or display of goods or goods belonging to the company;
• the exploitation of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the company for the sole purpose of storage or display;
• the exploitation of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the company for the sole purpose of processing by another company;
• the operation of a fixed place of business for the sole purpose of purchasing goods or gathering information for the company;
• the operation of a fixed place of business for the sole purpose of carrying out any other activity of a preparatory or ancillary nature for the undertaking;
• the operation of a fixed place of business for the sole purpose of carrying out the cumulative activities referred to above, provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination remains preparatory or ancillary.

Agents

Where a person, other than an agent with an independent status, acts on behalf of a non-resident enterprise, that enterprise is considered to have a permanent establishment in Mauritania for all activities undertaken by that person for the enterprise, if this person:

• has powers in Mauritania which it habitually exercises there, enabling it to conclude contracts on behalf of the non-resident enterprise, and which, if carried out through a fixed place of business, would not permit that place of business to be regarded as a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph;
• does not have such powers, but usually operates a stock of goods or merchandise in Mauritania on behalf of the non-resident enterprise.

A non-resident enterprise is not considered to have a permanent establishment in Mauritania solely because it carries out its activities there through a broker, a general commission agent or any other agent with an independent status, provided that these persons are acting in the ordinary course of their activity.

However, where he acts wholly or almost entirely on behalf of that undertaking and where conditions are established or imposed between that undertaking and the agent which differ from those which would have been established between independent undertakings, that agent is not be considered to be an agent enjoying independent status.

The fact that a company resident in Mauritania controls or is controlled by a non-resident company is not, in itself, sufficient to make any of these companies a permanent establishment of the other.

Non-resident insurance company

A non-resident insurance company shall, except in the case of reinsurance, be considered to have a permanent establishment in Mauritania if it collects premiums in Mauritania or insures against risks in Mauritania through a person other than an agent enjoying an independent status.

Entities Within Scope

Article 2 of the General Tax Code provides that the following are liable to corporation tax:

• capital companies or similar companies, whatever their purpose, in particular public limited companies and limited liability companies, including those with only one shareholder;
• general partnerships, limited partnerships, joint ventures and economic interest groupings.
• public establishments, State or local authority bodies, which enjoy financial autonomy and engage in an industrial or commercial activity or in profit-making operations.
• funds created by law or regulation that do not have legal personality and whose management is entrusted to bodies governed by public or private law, when these funds are not expressly exempted by a legislative provision.
• civil companies, whatever their form, which:

o engage in a commercial, industrial, craft or agricultural operation or operation, including:

o when they engage in intermediary transactions for the purchase or sale of real estate or business assets, shares or shares in real estate companies or when they habitually purchase the same assets in their own name with a view to reselling them;

o when they proceed with the subdivision and sale, before or after the execution of the development and servicing works of land acquired for consideration;

o when they rent out a commercial or industrial establishment equipped with the furniture and equipment necessary for its operation, whether or not the rental includes all or part of the intangible elements of the business or industry;

o engage in non-commercial economic exploitation or operations;

o include among their members one or more capital companies or which have opted for this tax regime;

• All other legal persons engaged in profit-making operations or operations.

Corporate Income Tax Rates

Article 43 of the General Tax Code provides that the taxation of profits for corporate income tax purposes is split into three regimes:

• The normal real profit regime, 

• The intermediate real profit regime, or

• The simplified tax regime for commercial fishing.

Normal Real Profit Regime

The normal real profit regime applies to companies whose annual turnover before tax is more than 5,000,000 Ouguiya.

Companies whose turnover falls below the limit are subject to the intermediate real profit regime only when their turnover has remained below this limit for 2 consecutive financial years.

Under Article 51 of the General Tax Code, companies subject to the normal real profit regime are subject to corporation tax due at 25% of the net taxable profit or 2% of the taxable income defined in Article 8.

The minimum tax collection is set at 100,000 Ouguiya for taxpayers under the normal real profit regime.

Intermediate Real Profit Regime

The intermediate real profit regime applies to companies whose annual turnover before tax is less than or equal to 5,000,000 Ouguiya.

Taxpayers subject to the intermediate real profit regime may opt, before February 1, of each year, for the normal real profit regime. The option takes effect from January 1, of the year in which it was exercised for a minimum period of 2 consecutive fiscal years.

A taxpayer subject to the normal real profit regime cannot opt for the intermediate real profit regime.

For companies subject to the intermediate real profit regime, the corporation tax due is equal to 25% of the net taxable profit or 2.5% of the taxable income defined in Article 8.

Taxpayers subject to the intermediate real profit regime are not allowed:

• to take into account exchange gains or losses in accordance with Articles 12 and 21;
• to deduct head office expenses in accordance with Article 17;
• to deduct gifts, donations, subsidies in accordance with Article 20;
• to deduct depreciation “deemed to be deferred” in a period of loss according to Article 26;
• to apply accelerated depreciation in accordance with Article 27 or declining balance depreciation in accordance with Article 28 on its fixed assets;
• to deduct from the provisions in accordance with Article 30.

Simplified Tax System for Commercial Fishing

Article 48bis states that the simplified commercial fishing tax regime applies to enterprises that export the following fishery products:

• Frozen products on land or on board;
• Finished products;
• Fresh or live products. The following are excluded from this regime:

o Fishmeal and fish oil;
o Deposit for the foreign regime;
o Processing and freezing;
o Small pelagic products;
o The shipchandler;
o Free license contracts.

For companies subject to the simplified tax regime for commercial fishing, the tax is equal to 1% of the gross value exported, for artisanal exporters who have processing plants listed as fixed assets intended solely for the processing of their own production.

This rate is set at 1.2% for artisanal workers who do not have processing plants.
For companies that carry out operations to refuel ships in the Mauritanian maritime area as an exclusive activity, corporation tax is equal to 2% of the income defined in Article 8.

For taxpayers who engage in the land transport of persons, goods or the rental of vehicles, regardless of their tax regime, the corporate income tax due is equal to 25% of the net taxable profit, or 2% of the taxable income defined in Article 8 or the amount set per vehicle according to a specific scale if the latter amount is higher than the first.

Taxable Income and Allowances

Article 7 of the General Tax Code provides that taxable profit for corporation tax purposes is the net profit determined on the basis of the overall results of operations of all kinds carried out by taxable persons, including in particular the disposal of any element of the assets, either in progress or at the end of their operation.

Net profit is made up of the difference between the values of the net assets at the end and at the beginning of the period the results of which are to be used as the basis for tax, less additional contributions and increased by the deductions made during this period by the shareholders or partners. Net assets are defined as the excess of asset values over the total liabilities of third-party receivables, depreciation and provisions.

For the calculation of the tax, the net taxable profit or taxable product is rounded down to the nearest ten Ougiya.

Taxable income is income corresponding to the consideration received during the final phase of main, ancillary or occasional activities, as well as all operations contributing to the increase in net income. They are accounted for on an acquired basis.

Taxable income includes, in particular:

• sales and revenue;
• miscellaneous or exceptional products;
• ancillary income or benefits;
• financial income and gross income from movable capital;
• income from the rental of built and unbuilt buildings, including ancillary income;
• bonuses on trade-ins and disposals of packaging;
• self-supplies;
• operating subsidies and balancing subsidies;
• work in progress, valued at cost price;
• capital gains on the sale of fixed assets;
• foreign exchange gains.

Payments in advance

Under Article 9 of the General Tax Code, income corresponding to receivables from customers or payments received in advance in payment of the price of a good or service is linked to the financial year during which the goods are delivered for sales and similar transactions and the performance of services are made.

The annual fees provided for in the context of a contract for the provision of services spread over several financial years constitute, unless otherwise provided for in the contract, a separate taxable income which is acquired by the company only when it becomes due.

Subsidies

Article 11 of the General Tax Code provides for special rules for subsidies. Equipment subsidies granted to companies for the acquisition or creation of fixed assets are not included in the results of the year in which they are received. These subsidies are included to the net result of the financial years up to the amount of depreciation applied at the end of the financial years, on the cost price of depreciable fixed assets, when they are used for the acquisition and creation of these fixed assets.

Operating and balancing subsidies are an integral part of the net result of their collection year and are taxable.

Forex gains

Article 12 of the General Tax Code provides that translation differences between assets and transactions in foreign currencies, including receivables and payables, and amounts initially recognized, are determined at the end of each financial year according to the latest exchange rate of the Central Bank of Mauritania and taken into account for the determination of the taxable result for the financial year.

Stock/Work-in-progress

Under Article 13 of the General Tax Code, stocks is valued at the cost price or at the price on the closing day of the financial year, if this price is lower than the cost price.

Work in progress is valued at cost price.

Capital gains regime on mergers, demergers and partial contributions of assets

Article 38 of the General Tax Code provides that capital gains, other than those realized on goods or on mining or oil titles, resulting from the allocation of shares following the merger of public limited companies, limited liability companies or any other similar company are exempt from corporation tax.

The same applies to capital gains, other than those realised on goods or on mining or oil titles, resulting from the free allocation of shares or shares, following the contribution by a public limited company or limited liability company to another company constituted in one of these forms, of part of its assets, provided that:

• the company receiving the contribution has its registered office in Mauritania;
• the contribution is in the form of a merger, a partial contribution or a division of the company.

However, the company receiving the contribution is required to:

• calculate, in respect of the items, other than goods or mining or oil titles, included in the contribution, the annual depreciation to be deducted from profits and the subsequent capital gains resulting from the realisation of these items, according to the cost price which they had in the accounts of the merged company or the transferring company, after deduction of depreciation already made by them;
• to enter immediately in its liabilities, in return for the assets assumed, provisions for the renewal of regularly constituted tools and equipment, equal to those appearing at the time of the merger or contribution, in the records of the merged companies or the transferring company and which related to the items contributed.

Exemptions

Article 4 of the General Tax Code states that the following are exempt from corporation tax:

• cooperative companies and bodies;
• non-governmental organizations;
• economic interest groupings. However, the members of economic interest groupings are subject, each for their share of the profit from the grouping, to the tax on the profits to which they belong;
• non-profit public establishments of the State or local authorities that are not of an industrial or commercial nature, with the exception of their income from the rental of built and unbuilt buildings of which they are the owners.

However, companies and other legal persons listed above, with the exception of Economic Interest Groupings, become liable to corporation tax in respect of the profits they make in the context of profit-making operations in a competitive economic sector.

Deductions

Under Article 14 of the General Tax Code, in order to be deductible, expenses must meet the following conditions:

• be incurred in the direct interest of the business or be connected with the normal management of the business;

• correspond to an actual charge and justified by a regularly issued invoice or import declaration;

• result in a decrease in the net assets of the operation or business;

• not contribute to the formation of a tax-exempt result;

• be included in the expenses of the year in which they were incurred.

Expenses paid in cash to another company are not deductible if their unit amount exceeds 200,000 MRU. For companies involved in the export and processing of fishery products, this threshold is set at 50,000 MRU.

Personnel expenses

Under Article 16 of the General Tax Code, personnel expenses and other deductible remuneration are:

• remuneration allocated to employees insofar as it corresponds to actual work. This provision applies to all direct or indirect remuneration, including allowances, allowances and benefits in kind;
• remuneration of any kind paid to the managing partners of capital companies or their spouses for effective employment in the company;
• compulsory employer contributions paid to build up an expatriate’s pension and of a compulsory nature up to a limit of 20% of the basic salary;
• return transport costs paid for the leave of staff under expatriate employment contracts, their spouses and dependent children, at the rate of one trip per year and provided that the trip was made and provided for in the employment contract.

Head-office expenses

Article 17 of the General Tax Code provides that when a company carries out an activity in Mauritania without having its registered office there, the share of the registered office costs payable by companies established in Mauritania may not exceed, subject to international conventions, 2% of the turnover achieved in Mauritania by the company.

Head office expenses correspond to secretarial costs, remuneration of staff employed at the head office and other costs incurred by the parent company for the needs of all subsidiaries and/or permanent establishments.

Commissions and brokerage fees

Article 18 of the General Tax Code provides that commissions, brokerage fees, rebates, gratuities and other remuneration paid or due to taxpayers exercising a liberal profession and subject to tax on the business profits of natural persons, are deductible provided that:

• that they have been the subject of a declaration by the paying company
• that the company presents the receipt issued by the tax authorities proving that this income has been subject to the withholding tax.

Rent

Under Article 19 of the General Tax Code, the amount of the rent of the buildings of which the company is a tenant appearing in the lease contract duly registered with an approved notary and correctly accounted for is deductible provided that the company produces the receipt issued by the tax authorities proving that these rents have been subject to withholding tax. This also applies to the rent of leased goods.

Gifts and donations

Under Article 20 of the General Tax Code, the following are deductible:

• gifts and objects specially designed for advertising justified by respective invoices up to 2% of turnover and 2,000,000 Ougiya;
• payments made to sports and cultural associations, works or organizations of general interest of a philanthropic, educational, scientific, social nature recognized as being of public utility by the competent authority, up to a limit of 2% of turnover and 2,000,000 of Ouguiya.

The amounts are only deductible where:

• the net taxable result before these deductions is positive;
• a statement is attached to the declaration of results indicating the amounts, the date of the payments and the identity of the beneficiaries.

Note that payments made to the national social solidarity fund to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its consequences are deductible, without limitation, from taxable profits for the financial year ended December 31, 2020.

Foreign exchange losses

Under Article 21 of the General Tax Code, unrealised foreign exchange losses are deductible up to f 3% of the turnover achieved in Mauritania.

Financial expenses

Article 22 of the General Tax Code provides that interest is tax deductible providing the company produces:

• the receipt issued by the tax authorities proving that this interest has been subject to withholding tax or the annual certificate of withholding tax issued by the financial institution;
• a copy of the loan contract concluded with a bank, a financial institution or between affiliated or independent companies and duly registered with an approved notary.
• and:

o for loans contracted with Mauritanian financial institutions, within the limit of those calculated in accordance with the provisions of Mauritanian banking regulations;

o for loans contracted with foreign financial institutions, within the limit of those calculated in accordance with the banking regulatory provisions of the State where the lender is located, without exceeding those calculated at the key rate of the Central Bank of Mauritania increased by 2 points;

o for other loans, within the limit of those calculated at the key rate of the Central Bank of Mauritania increased by 2 points.

The total amount of net deductible interest due annually in respect of all debts paid by a company is limited to 25% of the taxable profit plus the interest, depreciation and provisions taken into account for the determination of the result.

This rate is reduced to 15% where the entity belongs to a group of companies which has achieved an annual consolidated turnover, excluding tax, greater than or equal to ten billion 10,000,000,000 Ouguiya, during one of the three financial years preceding that in which the interest is due.

The reduction of the threshold to 15% does not apply if the entity provides evidence that the net interest expense ratio of the group of companies to which it belongs is greater than or equal to its own net interest expense ratio. The ratio of the group’s net interest expense corresponds to the ratio between the total amount of the group’s net interest payable by the companies belonging to the group to unrelated persons and the consolidated profit or loss of the group plus such net interest, depreciation and provisions taken into account for the determination of that result.

Any interest not immediately deductible may be carried forward and deducted in subsequent up to a maximum of three years. This does not apply where interest is paid or due, directly or indirectly, to a person established in Mauritania or to a person established in a State with a preferential tax system.

The 25% and 15% deduction limitation does not apply to interest paid or due by financial institutions subject to the Banking Law, by insurance companies subject to the Insurance Code, as well as companies with an annual turnover including all taxes of less than thirty million 30,000,000 Ouguiya.

Interest paid by a branch to its head office in return for the sums that the head office has drawn from its own funds and makes available to the branch in any form is not deductible.

Payments to States with a preferential tax regime

Under Article 23 of the General Tax Code, entities which make payments to persons established in a State with a preferential tax regime, must include these expenses in their taxable income unless they can prove that these expenses correspond to actual transactions and are not of an abnormal or exaggerated nature.

An entity is deemed to be established in a State with preferential taxation if it is not taxable in that State or if it is subject to a tax on profits or income in that State, the amount of which is more than half the amount of the corporation tax for which it would have been liable in Mauritania.

Depreciation

Article 25 of the General Tax Code provides that depreciation relating to costs related to the acquisition, construction or improvement of fixed assets actually accounted for or authorized, is deductible within the limit of those generally accepted according to the practices of each type of industry, trade or operation.

However, depreciation of fixed assets paid in cash to another company is not deductible if the acquisition amount exceeds two hundred thousand 200,000 Ouguiya.

The following are also considered to be depreciable fixed assets:

• packaging that can be reused as is, provided that it is identifiable;
• property rented out;
• constructions and developments on other people’s land.

The following capital assets are not depreciable:

• tangible fixed assets not subject to normal wear and tear and obsolescence such as land, works of art, antiques or jewellery;
• financial assets.

Depreciation applies to fixed assets valued at more than 50,000 Ouguiya. Acquisition expenses of less than 50,000 Ouguiya are fully deductible in the year of acquisition.

The depreciation basis includes any cost directly related to the acquisition, construction or improvement of a capital asset. Deductible value added tax is excluded from these costs.

In the case of capital assets generated by the taxpayer, the indirect costs incurred to produce the capital asset are also added to the depreciation basis, provided that they are not otherwise deductible.

The starting point for calculating depreciation is the day on which the asset is put into service. Depreciation is prorated over the period from the date of in-service to the closing date of the financial year.

The costs associated with the acquisition, construction or improvement of capital assets, as well as the associated dates, are recorded in a capital asset register. Each fixed asset must be registered separately.

Depreciation must be calculated on a straight-line basis on a cost basis. The normal useful life of the assets and the depreciation rates are fixed at the time of acquisition of the assets in accordance with the following table:

Under Article 26 of the General Tax Code, depreciation recorded, but deemed deferred in a period of loss, is deductible for an unlimited period, provided that it has been mentioned in a special off-balance sheet line.

Accelerated depreciation

Article 27 of the General Tax Code provides that accelerated depreciation may be claimed for equipment and tools acquired new with a lifespan of at least 5 years and exclusively used for industrial operations of manufacturing, processing, handling, telephony, transport, bakery or mining or hotel operations.

For these materials and tools, the amount of the first annual depreciation, calculated on the basis of the normal period of use, is doubled. This period is then reduced by one year.

Reducing balance depreciation

Under Article 28 of the General Tax Code, equipment and tools acquired new and whose lifespan is more than 3 years may be subject to the reducing balance basis.
The reducing balance basis rate is obtained by applying the following coefficient to the straight-line depreciation rate, set according to the life of the asset:

• 1.5 for a life of less than 5 years;
• 2.0 for a life of 5 years;
• 2.5 for a life of more than 5 years.

Other depreciation

Assets leased as part of a leasing operation or an operation conducted according to Sharia principles and recorded on the assets side of the balance sheet are depreciable by the lessor over the term of the contract. The lessee is not allowed to depreciate the leased assets.

Provisions

Article 30 of the General Tax Code provides that provisions made in order to meet clearly specified losses or expenses and which current events make probable are deductible provided that they have actually been recorded in the entries for the financial year and entered in the table of provisions annexed to the financial statements.

The following are not deductible:

• provisions for own insurance constituted by a company;
• provisions for paid leave, gratuities and the provision for retirement allowances;
• provisions for exchange losses;
• provisions for depreciation on depreciable fixed assets.

A provision made by banks and financial institutions approved by the Central Bank of Mauritania that make medium and long-term loans, and intended to deal with the particular risks related to these operations, is deductible, if this provision is made in accordance with the banking regulations issued by the Central Bank of Mauritania.

Tax Losses

Under Article 35 of the General Tax Code, unutilised tax losses can be carried forward for offset against taxable profits of the following years until the fifth financial year following the loss-making year.

Withholding Tax

General

Article 120 of the General Tax Code applies a withholding tax to:

• Income from shares and shares, in particular:

o dividends, interest, arrears and other income from shares of any kind and founders’ shares distributed by public limited companies, simplified public limited companies and partnerships limited by shares;

o income from shares in limited liability companies;

o income from limited partners’ shares in limited partnerships;

• products distributed by civil companies whose purpose is commercial.
• advances, loans or payments on account when they are made available to the partners directly or through intermediaries.
• total or partial repayments and amortisations that companies make on the amount of their shares, interest units or limited partnerships, before their dissolution or liquidation.
• attendance fees and any other remuneration granted for any reason whatsoever to the members of the board of directors or the supervisory board by public limited companies.
• interest paid to legal or natural persons who are not established in Mauritania.
• capital gains from direct or indirect disposals of securities.
• capital gains on direct or indirect disposals of mineral exploration permits.
• income from the legal liquidation of persons subject to corporate tax.
• profits of permanent establishments subject to corporation tax, deemed to be distributed for each financial year to non-resident companies;
• profits of foreign companies established in Mauritania for the performance of a contract for the supply of goods and/or services. These profits are deemed to be distributed at the end of the contract. If the duration of the contract is longer than three years, the profits are deemed to be distributed every three years [inserted by the 2024 Finance Law].

Under Article 126 of the General Tax Code (and subject to the provisions of any relevant double tax treaty), the rate of withholding tax is set at:

• 20% for capital gains on the sale of securities if the transferor is established in a State with a preferential tax regime;
• 10% in all other cases.

Payments to residents

Under Article 131 of the General Tax Code, natural or legal persons subject to a real tax regime are required to withhold taxes at source on sums paid to taxpayers exercising a liberal profession and subject to tax on the business profits of natural persons at the rate of 2.5%.

Article 137 of the General Tax Code provides that rental payments are subject to a withholding tax of 10% for the tax on property income and 8% for the property tax on built properties.

“Liberal profession” includes:

• notaries, legal or tax advisors, lawyers and bailiffs;
• accountants, chartered accountants and auditors;
• architects;
• surveyors;
• dentists, doctors and veterinarians.

Payments to non-residents

Under Article 132 of the General Tax Code, subject to the provisions of double tax treaties, withholding tax is levied on the amounts that natural or legal persons who are not resident in Mauritania and who do not have a permanent establishment in Mauritania receive as remuneration for services of any kind provided or used in Mauritania.

The rate of withholding tax is set at 15%.

If, in the same contract, the provision of services is accompanied by a sale of equipment, the amount of this sale is not subject to withholding tax, provided that the sale transaction is invoiced separately.

Transfer Pricing

Under Article 40 of the General Tax Code, for the purposes of establishing the corporation tax payable by entities which are dependent on or have control over enterprises situated in Mauritania or outside Mauritania, the profits indirectly transferred to the latter, either by increasing or decreasing the purchase or sale prices, or by any other means, are incorporated into the results shown by the accounts. Indirect pass-through profits are determined by comparison with those that would have been realized at arm’s length or in the absence of control.

The condition of dependency or control is not be required where the transfer is made with undertakings established in a foreign State or in a territory outside Mauritania whose tax regime is privileged.

Relationships of arm’s length or control are deemed to exist between two companies:

• when one holds, directly or through an intermediary, the majority of the share capital of the other or in fact exercises decision-making power therein; or
• when they are both placed, under the conditions defined above, under the control of the same undertaking or the same person.

CFC Rules

None