Mauritius NRIs · NRO TDS Recovery
NRO account TDS recovery for NRIs in Mauritius
Your Indian bank deducts tax on NRO interest at the full non-resident rate. The India-Mauritius treaty lets you bring it down and reclaim the excess.
India-Mauritius key facts: nro tds recovery
| Default non-resident TDS rate | 30% |
| India-Mauritius DTAA treaty rate | 7.5% |
| Your saving via the treaty | 22.5% |
| Treaty article / basis | Article 11: 7.5% with TRC + Form 10F |
| Your TRC issuing authority | the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) |
Rates reflect India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026) and the India-Mauritius treaty. Surcharge and cess apply on top where relevant.
How it works on the India side
Indian banks deduct TDS on NRO interest at the 30% non-resident rate plus surcharge and cess, under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026). Where India has a treaty with your country that caps interest lower, Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) and a Tax Residency Certificate lodged with the bank get you that capped rate on future interest. Where there is no treaty, there is nothing to claim down to, so the same paperwork changes nothing and the 30% stands.
A lower-deduction certificate is the one piece of paperwork that works at the bank either way. You apply on Form 128 under Section 395 (the old Form 13 under Section 197) through the TRACES portal, and it is open to non-residents on interest. Where your estimated Indian tax for the year is below what the bank is deducting, the Assessing Officer can certify a lower or nil rate, which the bank then applies to future interest.
The refund route is the same either way, and it's your Indian return. The bank's TDS shows against your PAN in Form 26AS and the AIS, you work out what you actually owe (the treaty rate where one applies, otherwise your slab rate, because NRO interest is ordinary slab income), and the excess comes back with interest under Section 244A. Years you never filed can often still be reached: CBDT Circular 11/2024 lets you apply for condonation under Section 119(2)(b) of the 1961 Act, the law that governs the years you're reclaiming, up to five years from the end of that assessment year, though a refund allowed that way carries no Section 244A interest.
What changes because you live in Mauritius
On foreign income Mauritius only taxes what actually reaches Mauritius. Indian rent, interest and dividends land on your MRA return in the income year the money is received in Mauritius or is dealt with here in your interest (section 5(3), Income Tax Act 1995), and because Mauritius has no capital gains tax, a share or property sale is not taxed again on this side at all. The trap is in the credit. Under the Income Tax (Foreign Tax Credit) Regulations 1996 the MRA allows the least of the Indian tax you can prove, the amount the treaty lets India charge, and the Mauritius tax on that income, and if you remit only part of the income the credit shrinks to that part. So anything India withheld above the treaty cap is dead in Mauritius, only your Indian return gets it back, and the MRA wants written evidence of the tax India actually deducted, not your own workings.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from Mauritius NRIs
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NRO TDS Recovery sorted, by an Indian CA who works with Mauritius NRIs
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