Tax in Mauritania

Who is the tax authority and where do filings live?

Mauritania's Direction Generale des Impots (DGI) under the Ministry of Finance administers Mauritania's tax system [SC1]. Substantive law: Code General des Impots (CGI), Code Petrolier, Code Minier, OHADA framework, and successive Loi de Finances amendments. Mauritania is an Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), GAFTA, and AfCFTA member; Mauritania withdrew from ECOWAS in 2000 and from the African Union briefly in 2009-2017.

What is the tax year and when are returns due?

Individual tax year is the calendar year. ITS withheld monthly. Corporate annual returns due 31 March for prior fiscal year [SC1]. TVA monthly returns. Provisional CIT through quarterly acomptes regime.

Who is a Mauritanian tax resident?

Under CGI, an individual is tax resident if (a) habitual residence in Mauritania, (b) physically present 183+ days, OR (c) Mauritania-source professional activity [SC2]. Residents taxed on worldwide income.

What are the personal income tax rates?

Progressive ITS brackets: 15 percent up to MRU 90,000 monthly; ascending rates 25/40 percent ascending [SC1]. Top 40 percent above MRU 210,000 monthly. Personal allowance applies. Self-employment under separate framework.

How does Mauritania's corporate tax work?

BIC 25 percent flat for resident companies [SC2]. Petroleum sector under Code Petrolier: 35 percent + PSC framework + state-stake provisions (GTA gas-field development with Senegal critical post-2024). Mining 25 percent + Royalty (sliding scale by mineral; iron-ore concentration). Withholding on dividends to non-residents 10 percent. Pillar Two not transposed. Tax losses 5 years.

What about VAT?

TVA 16 percent under CGI [SC3]. Zero-rated on exports.

How are cryptoassets taxed?

Banque Centrale de Mauritanie advisory: cryptoassets restricted [SC2]. Where declared, gains under existing income-tax categories.

What is the treaty network and what are the audit triggers?

Mauritania has approximately 5 active double tax treaties [SC4]. AMU framework. MLI not yet ratified. Standard SOL 5 years; extended for fraud or for petroleum/mining-sector matters.

What are the common penalties and pitfalls for foreigners?

Penalty framework: late filings, failure to file, incorrect declarations [SC5]. Common pitfalls: (1) post-2024 GTA gas-field operability with Senegal under joint-development framework critical for petroleum-sector compliance; (2) iron-ore concentration (SNIM) creates sector-specific compliance complexity; (3) AMU and GAFTA framework with limited operational integration; (4) francophone-Arab dual tax-administration tradition; (5) Pillar Two not transposed; (6) very limited treaty network (5 DTCs); (7) MLI not yet ratified; (8) OHADA framework; (9) Loi de Finances annual amendments; (10) AfCFTA member; (11) MRU-denominated tax base (post-2018 currency redenomination); (12) Mauritania-EU Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement framework.