Following the decision of the Government of the Republic of Mauritius for the payment of a Special Allowance for the year 2024 to workers, some employees may be entitled to the Special Allowance (14th Month Bonus).
The effective date is 20 December 2024.
See the following published documentation:
The allowance will be equivalent to one-month basic wage or salary (including wage relativity adjustment) for eligible employees, limited to a maximum of Rs 50 000. The Special Allowance is payable on the last working day of December 2024.
Employers have the option to pay the Special Allowance in 2 months:
- The first instalment has to paid on the last working day of December 2024.
- The second half on the last working day of January 2025.
Or per agreement with employee (up to 4 equal instalments):
- The first instalment has to paid on the last working day of December 2024.
- If there is no agreement as to when the remaining instalments have to be paid, the Act provides that the employer will have to pay the outstanding Special Allowance at the end of each successive month following the month of December 2024 (last payment in March 2025 if 4 equal instalments).
Eligible employees may be entitled to receive the Special Allowance even if they are not in employment on the 31 December 2024 (If the employee has been in continuous employment with the same employer for only part of 2024, which will be paid pro-rata)
For payroll processing, the Special Allowance:
- shall be subject to income tax under the cumulative PAYE system and included in the taxable emoluments for that month; and
- shall not be subject to CSG.
Employers may be eligible to financial assistance with the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA).
In order to claim the financial assistance, after paying the Special Allowance to their employees, employers are required to submit a “special allowance 2024” return to the MRA by the end of the month following that in which the payment is made.
Where the payment of the special allowance is made in monthly instalments, employers are required to submit the special allowance 2024 return for each of the months in which the allowance is paid.
Take note:
- Further details with respect to the eligibility criteria and quantum of financial support are available on the MRA website (www.mra.mu)
- For any additional information or clarifications, Employers may phone the MRA Helpdesk during working hours (See communique for more information).
- At this time, there is not information on the Special Allowance return, to confirm if this will be a new report, or if. As soon as more information becomes available, we will publish more information on the Community Hub.
If you need any help with adjusting your payroll setup with these changes, feel free to reach out to your accredited Sage Business Partner.