Excise Levy on inefficient electrical appliances

Published on January 31, 2022

In 2011, the Energy Efficiency Act was proclaimed with the objective of promoting energy efficiency. The Energy Efficiency Act includes provision for the drafting of regulations to enhance energy efficiency, one of them being the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Regulated Machinery) Regulations 2017. These Regulations provide for mandatory affixing of energy efficiency labels to household appliances.

Further to these Regulations, Energy Efficiency Labels have been developed for three appliances, namely refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers. The labels have been developed based on the European Union Standards and customized to Mauritian context by the Mauritius Standards Bureau.

The objective of the Energy Efficiency Labels is to regulate the quality of electrical appliances being imported in Mauritius with a view to improve energy efficiency levels. As such, a 25% levy has been applied by the Customs Department of the Mauritius Revenue Authority to deter the importation of electrical appliances which are not aligned to the Energy Efficiency Labels. This financial instrument aims at reducing the number of imports of electrical appliances which are deemed to be ‘inefficient’ and encourage the import and purchase of more energy efficient appliances.

The Regulations on Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Regulated Machinery) Regulations 2017 have been drafted to encourage the import and purchase of Energy Efficient appliances. The Energy Efficiency Labels have been developed by the Mauritius Standards Bureau. These labels are aligned to the EU Energy Efficiency Labels.

To this end, the minimum energy performance standards for any regulated machinery which is imported, manufactured or sold in Mauritius had been developed. Additionally, the labelling requirements and specifications for regulated machinery had also been formulated. These labels have been developed for 3 appliances, namely refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers. The Regulations also make provision for the affixation of these labels on the appliances at the point of sale.

The Energy Efficiency Labels aim at informing the consumer on the energy performance of the appliance and promote the purchase of more energy efficient appliance, thereby improving energy efficiency. This will trigger the shift towards sustainable consumption and production and improve energy use and energy efficiency.

A levy of 25% has been applied by the Customs Department on electrical appliances with an energy consumption exceeding the threshold worked out by the Energy Efficiency Management Office, the dedicated institutional framework for Energy Efficiency. The levy serves as a deterrent to discourage the purchase of appliances deemed to be inefficient. This will contribute to reduce the number of inefficient appliances in use and hence boost the acquisition of more efficient appliances. Hence, the shift to sustainable consumption and production will be accelerated and energy efficiency improved.

The levy on inefficient appliances will also serve as a lever to promote the shift to sustainable public procurement. This will boost the purchase of more energy efficient appliances to be used in the public sector. Furthermore, Mauritius depends heavily on fossil fuels and thus an improvement in energy efficiency will bring a subsequent reduction in the levels of greenhousegas emissions. This will contribute to meet our set targets and objectives in our Nationally Determined Contributions, that is improve our energy efficiency by 10% by 2030.