Mauritania VAT (TVA) Guide for 2026: Rates, Registration & Filing

Mauritania's VAT (TVA) standard rate is 16% on most goods and services, with a higher 18% rate on telecommunications and a 0% rate on exports [1][2]. SaaS and other digital services sold B2C are taxed at the 16% standard rate unless they are telecom services, and B2B SaaS from a non-resident that bears the 15% withholding tax is outside VAT [2]. The tax authority is the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) within the Ministry of Finance [1].

VAT applies once annual turnover excluding tax reaches MRU 3,000,000, whatever the activity, while importers are taxable regardless of turnover [2]. The 2026 amended Finance Law brings electronically supplied services such as SaaS, cloud, online advertising and streaming into VAT, and requires non-resident digital suppliers to register under a simplified regime (set by ministerial order) and collect 16% VAT on B2C sales [4]. A non-resident's B2B digital services to a Mauritanian business bear the 15% withholding tax on non-resident services, and the General Tax Code places services that bear this withholding outside the VAT scope [2]. For other taxable supplies, the General Tax Code requires a foreign company without an establishment to accredit a locally domiciled fiscal representative who files a monthly VAT return and pays the VAT on its behalf; if the VAT is not declared, the Mauritanian customer becomes liable for it [2].

How to handle Mauritanian VAT as a non-resident:

1. Confirm your services are used or exploited in Mauritania.

2. For B2B digital services to a Mauritanian business, the customer withholds the 15% tax and the sale is outside VAT.

3. For B2C digital services, register under the simplified regime and charge 16% VAT.

4. For other taxable supplies, accredit a locally domiciled fiscal representative to file a monthly VAT return on your behalf, and charge 16% VAT (18% for telecom services).

5. File monthly by the 15th of the following month.

VAT returns are filed monthly, with the return and payment due by the 15th of the month following the taxable period [3]. A foreign supplier's accredited fiscal representative files a separate monthly return on its behalf [2].

Exports of goods and services are zero-rated, and mining and hydrocarbon exports, along with directly related local purchases, are zero-rated or VAT-suspended [1][2]. Investment-Code incentives grant VAT exemptions on qualifying equipment and inputs [2]. SaaS and digital services sold B2C in Mauritania are taxable at 16% [4], and B2B SaaS that a non-resident supplies to a Mauritanian business bears the 15% withholding tax and is outside VAT [2].

Late filing of a VAT return attracts 10% of the duties due where the delay is under two months, rising to 25% beyond two months, and omissions or inaccuracies carry a 40% penalty on the duties at risk under the General Tax Code [2].

1. Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Mauritania

2. Mauritania Tax Booklet 2025 (Code Général des Impôts, Finance Law 2025)

3. PwC — Mauritania VAT and other taxes

4. Ministry of Finance, Loi de finances rectificative pour l'année 2026 (bill text of July 2026, adopted by the National Assembly that month; Art. 221 §5 and 221-bis of the General Tax Code)

Verified October 2026 against the General Tax Code (2025 Finance Law), the 2026 amended Finance Law, and PwC.