Mauritius promises India clean and trusted jurisdiction

NEW DELHI: Often accused of being an offshore financial centre misused for round tripping, Mauritius today assured India that it will "walk the extra mile" to ensure that its reputations as clean and trusted jurisdiction is upheld at all costs.

"We will put in all the necessary efforts and walk the extra mile to ensure that our reputation as clean, proven and trusted jurisdiction is upheld at all costs," Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth said.

He was speaking at the opening of Board of Investment Office (BoI) in India, Mauritius government's investment promotion agency.

India has concerns that Mauritius, which is one of the top sources of foreign direct investments into the country, is being used for round-tripping of funds.

Round-tripping is usually referred to routing of domestic investments through Mauritius to take advantage of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries.

A host of global firms, including those from the US and Europe, have traditionally been using the island nation to route their investments in India to benefit from an Indo-Mauritius DTAA in force since 1983.

Ahead of his meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jugnauth said "he is looking forward to a friendly and positive discussion on the India-Mauritius DTAC (Double Tax Avoidance Convention) with Modi."

He further said that Mauritius is today widely known as a financial centre of choice and excellence, also adding that the island nation is in adherence to international best practises norms.

Earlier this year, Mauritius had become a signatory to the multilateral framework that provides mutual administrative assistance on tax matters with India and other countries.

Mauritius had signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The framework is primarily aimed at ensuring more exchange of tax information among countries to help curb the flow of unaccounted money and assets.