India discussing revision of tax treaty with Mauritius

The Centre is in talks with Mauritius with regard to the long-pending revision of the bilateral tax treaty, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said on Monday.

"We are in discussion with them. Some negotiations have already taken place and they wanted to reopen certain issues. we are in discussion with them," he said.

The changes to the more than three-decade old treaty have been hanging fire amid apprehensions of the Indian side that Mauritius, one of the largest sources of FDI, is being used to route unaccounted money.

Between April 2000 and June 2015, investments from Mauritius to India have totalled $89.64 billion, which accounts for 35 per cent of the country's total FDI during this period.

Both countries have set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) to find a mutually acceptable solution towards revision of the pact.

About 10 meetings of the JWG have taken place so far.

In its fight against the black money menace, India has started the process of revising its taxation treaties with various countries to include provision for mutual exchange of tax information.

India has Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with 96 countries and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) with 14 jurisdictions.