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Importing a Car to Mauritius: Duty, Rules and Costs

By Rory Phillips · Published 30 October 2026

A car you bring to Mauritius pays 0% customs duty, excise of 0% to 100% depending on engine size and fuel, and 15% VAT, according to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA). A second-hand car must normally be 18 months to 4 years old from first registration, it must be right-hand drive, and it needs an import permit before it ships. We found no excise relief for foreign settlers.

This guide to importing a car to Mauritius is for people who already own a car and are weighing up whether to ship it. It sets out the age limit, the permit and its conditions, the tax order and the rates, a worked example with made-up numbers, and the registration and fitness steps at the land transport authority. Shipping the rest of your belongings is a separate matter, covered in our shipping guide.

The short version

Household effects can come in free of duty and VAT for a person taking up residence, but a car does not benefit. Item E8 of the Customs Tariff Act excludes motor vehicles, so the car is taxed as a separate import. For a petrol car of 1,001 to 1,600 cc the excise alone is 55% of its assessed value, and VAT follows on top. That is why the sum is large for a mid-size petrol car and small for a very small one or an electric one.

Check first: the MRA’s Second Hand Vehicle Unit is on +230 202 0500, extension 7085. Ask for a written calculation on the exact car, because the MRA sets the taxable value, not you.

Age limits, and who is an individual importer

The MRA’s prohibited and restricted goods list bars second-hand motor cars that are below 18 months or above 4 years from the date of first registration, counted at the date of shipment. The same sentence excepts the first vehicle imported by an individual importer. For double-cab trucks and other dual-purpose vehicles the window is 18 months to 3 years, and goods vehicles, vans and buses have their own upper limits.

The Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 define an individual importer as someone listed in Part I of the Second Schedule who imports a second-hand motor vehicle for personal use. The Government of Mauritius trade portal lists the same categories as exempted importers. For a person moving in, the relevant entry covers a foreigner who is:

• taking employment in Mauritius;
• an investor, self-employed non-citizen or professional granted an occupation permit of 3 years or more under section 9A of the Immigration Act;
• a retired non-citizen granted a residence permit under section 9B; or
• an Integrated Resort Scheme property holder with a residence permit under section 5(1)(g).

The car must be for the person’s own use and come from abroad without any transfer of funds from Mauritius. Premium Visa holders are not named in that list, so a Premium Visa holder should ask the MRA how the term applies. Our guides to the occupation permit, retiring in Mauritius and the Premium Visa explain those routes. The same Part I also covers a returning resident, or a Mauritian, who receives as a gift a second-hand car owned by a parent, sibling or child abroad.

The age limit is only one of several conditions, so a car inside the window can still fail on another point.

The import permit and the car’s conditions

Second-hand motor vehicles are restricted goods. The regulations exempt a passenger’s household effects from the permit requirement but say that exemption excludes second-hand motor vehicles. So the permit is applied for through the Ministry before shipment, it is valid for 12 months, it cannot be transferred, and the car has to ship on or after the issue date and no later than the expiry. Every document must carry the chassis number and Vehicle Identification Number. The regulations charge a Rs 60,000 fee only where a permit is sought after the car has already arrived, and that fee does not apply to individual importers.

For a motor car the Seventh Schedule lists these conditions:

The regulations also require a pre-shipment inspection certificate, valid if the inspection was done no earlier than 2 months before shipment, but not for an individual importer. These are the 2017 gazetted conditions. An MRA notice of 21 August 2026 refers to Amendment No. 3 Regulations 2026 (Government Notice 137 of 2026), which deals with vehicles imported for display, and we could not locate a consolidated text, so confirm that nothing else has changed.

Does a new resident get any relief on a car?

We found none. The MRA’s list of concessions (version of 1 October 2026) gives a returning Mauritian citizen who has lived abroad long enough one car at a reduced rate, and it lists officials and people serving under government agreements. It names no foreign retiree, permit holder or investor. Our reading of a long PDF could have missed an entry, so the unit above is the place to ask. The exempted-importer status described earlier waives the age limit and a permit fee. It does not touch tax.

What you pay: the rates

Customs duty on motor cars under heading 87.03 of the Integrated Tariff (as at 1 October 2026) is 0%. The tax that matters is excise, set by engine size and fuel, and then 15% VAT. These are the MRA’s rates for cars.

An electric car pays 15% excise if its power is 180 kW or less and 25% above that. The MRA page carrying these rates is undated, so confirm them before you commit. They agree with the rates in our cost-to-move calculator and our shipping guide.

How the MRA values a used car

You do not declare the tax value yourself. The MRA starts from the free-on-board value of identical vehicles previously imported or, if it has none, the retail price when new in the exporting country, less 5%. It then reduces that figure by 9% for the first month of use and 1% for each later month, to a maximum reduction of 50%. On that schedule the cap is reached in the 42nd month, which is our arithmetic. The page does not say from which date the months are counted, so ask. A car shipped after a year of use has a smaller reduction than one at three years, and the taxable value moves with it.

The order of the arithmetic, with an illustration

The MRA’s page works through examples for officers entitled to an excise concession. In them, excise is the value multiplied by the rate, and VAT is 15% of the value plus the excise payable. The general customs-charges page applies VAT to the value plus customs duty. We could not confirm from any official page whether excise is calculated on the value plus customs duty, but at 0% duty it makes no difference to a car. Freight and insurance are part of the dutiable value for goods that are not accompanied baggage, so the MRA’s figure may sit above a price tag.

Picture a 3-year-old 1,500 cc petrol car. Suppose the MRA starts from Rs 1,000,000 for identical vehicles and takes 44% off for 36 months of use (9% for the first month and 1% for each of the next 35). Every figure here is invented for illustration.

The two taxes come to about 78% of the assessed value, which is why the table stops at taxes and does not give a landed price. The result depends on figures only the MRA can fix.

Registering the car with the land transport authority

The National Land Transport Authority (NLTA, called the National Transport Authority in the 2017 regulations) sets out three steps for an imported car. First, the vehicle goes to a vehicle examination station, which issues a Particulars of Motor Vehicle Form. Second, the deed of sale is registered at the Registrar General’s Department. Third, you go to the NLTA registration section with the documents below.

• the registered deed of sale and a photocopy, and the Registrar’s payment receipt;
• the original Bill of Entry;
• the Particulars of Motor Vehicle Form;
• the import permit, for a second-hand imported vehicle;
• the receipt for any reserved registration mark.

Registration in your name costs Rs 400 for a car. A reserved mark in the running series costs a further Rs 2,000, and the page makes it optional. The examination fee for a motor car is Rs 600, with Rs 300 for verification of particulars at the station. For imported second-hand vehicles the examination station also asks for the exporting country’s deregistration certificate, the pre-shipment certificate and the log book if there is one. Examinations are run by private stations, three of which the NLTA lists. The NLTA page gives no deadline for registering an imported car, and no certificate validity period, so check both.

We found no official figure for the duty on the deed of sale or for the annual motor vehicle tax, so neither is priced here. Insurance is also unpriced, and the driving guide covers licences, the road rules and buying a car on the island instead. The first 30 days checklist shows where the car sits among the other early tasks.

Documents to have ready

• Import permit, applied for before shipment, with the chassis number and VIN.
• Bill of lading naming you as consignee, and the Bill of Entry.
• Deregistration and export papers from the exporting country.
• Roadworthiness certificate dated within 3 months before shipment.
• Evidence the car is not stolen, and its full service and repair history.
• Proof of your category as an individual importer, such as your permit.
• For registration: deed of sale, Registrar receipt, examination form and your identity card or passport.

Frequently asked questions

Page history. First published 30 October 2026, with every source checked that day. Corrections are listed here with their date and what changed.

Sources, checked 30 October 2026

All are official pages or documents from the Mauritius Revenue Authority, the Government of Mauritius or the National Land Transport Authority, apart from the regulations text, which is the copy notified to the WTO.

• Motor vehicles (Mauritius Revenue Authority): excise rates, 15% VAT, the valuation and depreciation of used cars, the worked examples and the Second Hand Vehicle Unit contact (undated).
• Prohibited and restricted goods (Mauritius Revenue Authority): the 18-month and 4-year limits and the individual importer exception.
• Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 (Government of Mauritius, copy notified to the WTO): the permit rules, the 12-month validity, the Rs 60,000 fee, the individual importer definition, the Seventh Schedule conditions and the inspection certificate.
• Exempted importers (Mauritius government trade portal): the foreign categories that import a car for their own use.
• Customs Tariff Schedules, Integrated Tariff (Mauritius Revenue Authority): heading 87.03 and the 0% customs duty (as at 1 October 2026).
• List of concessions (Mauritius Revenue Authority): the returning citizen car relief, and no entry found for foreign settlers (version of 1 October 2026).
• Customs charges (Mauritius Revenue Authority): VAT on the value plus customs duty, and freight and insurance in the value.
• Notice to economic operators, 21 August 2026 (Mauritius Revenue Authority): Amendment No. 3 Regulations 2026 and left-hand drive vehicles for display only.
• Registration (National Land Transport Authority): the steps, documents and Rs 400 and Rs 2,000 fees.
• Vehicle examination (National Land Transport Authority): the fee table, documents for imported vehicles and the examination stations.

General information only, not immigration, tax, legal or financial advice. Mauritius often changes these rules in its June Budget, so check the official pages above and speak to a qualified professional before you act.