Mauritius has been the best country to do business in Africa for the longest time. World Bank released a report called “Ease of Doing Business”, In this report, Mauritius was ranked 1st in Africa and 13th globally. Although the World Bank said it discontinued the Ease of Doing Business Report after data irregularities on Doing Business 2018 and 2020 were reported internally in June 2020. Despite the report, Mauritius has consistently been of the top-ranked country in the continent.
According to Centurion Lawyers and Business Advisors Mauritius remains among the Sub-Saharan Africa region’s most business-friendly countries, with solid economic policies and prudent banking practices, suitable for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs and investors. The country also has one of the world’s most generous tax regimes. Personal and corporate tax are harmonized at a low 15% and dividends are tax-free. Mauritius also has non-double taxation agreements with 33 countries, additionally it has now moved to extend its awesome tax policies to catalyze the adoption of electric mobility. Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy in his budget speech of 2022-2023 said from the 1st of July 2022, all hybrid and electric vehicles were declared duty-free.
The Mauritian government also introduced a rebate on the excise duty scheme of 10% for the purchase of electric vehicles by individuals up to a maximum of Rs 200,000 ($4,500). These incentives were introduced under the “Accelerating The Land Transport Electric Vehicles Transition” program where the government wants to further reduce its dependence on import of petroleum products, decarbonize the land transport system, and accelerate the EV transition. This makes so much sense for an island nation that depends on imports for fueling ICE vehicles.
The government has increased the use of locally generated renewable energy. They have a target of 60% energy from renewable sources by 2030. The power of incentives for the electric mobility sector is well known. Norway led the way over the past decade and now the share of electric vehicles in Norway is consistently hovering above 85%. China is another example where incentives really sparked the EV revolution. In Africa, Rwanda introduced a wide range of awesome incentives last year.
Mauritius is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) where South Africa, the continent’s largest automobile market, is also a member. We hope South Africa and other African countries can get inspired by Mauritius. In South Africa, EVs still attract higher import duties and taxes than internal combustion engine vehicles.
Most of the electric vehicles still have higher prices than their equivalent ICE vehicles and hence will cost much more when they land in Africa after shipping and import duties. Removing import duties for EVs will be one of the quickest ways to ensure consumers get access to more affordable EVs. Mauritius and Rwanda are leading the way in Africa. We hope South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and the rest of the countries on the African continent follow soon.
Source:
i) Remeredzai Joseph Kuhudzai (2022) Electric Vehicles Are Duty Free In Mauritius!
