Mauritania: VAT compliance obligations for nonresident digital service vendors
Nonresidents are only required to collect VAT on B2C transactions.
Mauritania's Parliament (National Assembly) on July 29, 2026, adopted the 2026 Amending Finance Act, introducing, among other things, VAT compliance obligations for nonresident digital service vendors.
Scope
New Article 210(q) brings "digital services provided by electronic means" within the scope of VAT as a taxable prestation de services. This includes: online advertising; cloud computing (including hosting and data storage); software/applications made available electronically (SaaS); electronic intermediation services, notably through digital platforms or marketplaces, in exchange for a commission or other remuneration; streaming of audio, video, or multimedia content; artificial intelligence, automated assistance, content-generation, and data-analysis services; and other automated services provided via the internet or any electronic network.
B2B vs. B2C
Nonresidents are only required to collect VAT on B2C transactions. Under amended Article 221(5)(b), when the service is supplied to a taxpayer established/domiciled in Mauritania (B2B), VAT continues to be handled through the existing fiscal-representative/self-assessment mechanism.
Customer location
Digital services are deemed used/consumed in Mauritania when any (non-cumulative) of the following criteria is met: the customer is domiciled/established in Mauritania; the billing address is in Mauritania; payment is made via a payment instrument issued in Mauritania; the IP address used is located in Mauritania; the phone number used is Mauritanian; or any other element establishes local consumption.
Marketplace rules
New Article 221 bis clarifies that platforms/marketplaces are always liable to collect VAT on their own commission/remuneration.
In addition, such platform/marketplace becomes the sole taxpayer liable for VAT on the underlying (principal) transaction when it meets at least one of the following conditions: (1) collects all or part of the price from the final customer; (2) sets, alone or with the vendor, essential transaction conditions (price, payment terms, general terms of service); or (3) acts as the contractual interface, notably when the final customer does not know the underlying vendor's identity or contracts only with the platform.
When triggered, the platform's VAT payment discharges the underlying vendor's liability, though the vendor remains jointly and severally liable in cases of fraud or collusion with the platform. The vendor retains simplified reporting obligations (absent regulatory exemption), including keeping evidence of the platform's tax collection on its behalf.
Registration
Nonresident digital service vendors and nonresident platforms designated liable under Article 221 bis must register for VAT from their first taxable sale. These nonresident vendors/platforms are subject to a simplified registration, filing, and payment regime, to be detailed in a forthcoming order (arrêté) of the Minister of Finance, implemented electronically—which may also set an adapted filing periodicity.
VAT invoicing
The 2026 Amending Finance Act does not clarify whether nonresident digital services providers will be required to issue VAT-compliant invoices.
Penalties
The 2026 Amending Finance Act does not introduce any digital-service-specific monetary penalty scale; the General Tax Code's existing sanctions remain applicable.
However, New Article 249 ter grants targeted enforcement powers: following an unanswered formal notice, the tax authority may (1) request suspension/restriction of access to the digital services concerned, (2) require blocking of related payment flows, or (3) request delisting of the services within Mauritania. Telecom and financial regulators must cooperate. New Article 249 bis additionally requires Mauritania-based banks, financial institutions, payment institutions, and e-money institutions to report monthly to the tax authority on payments to nonresident digital vendors/platforms (beneficiary identification and financial flows); the tax authority may also invoke international administrative assistance instruments (e.g., the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters).
For more information, contact a KPMG tax professional:
Philippe Stephanny | philippestephanny@kpmg.com