Mauritius company registration

DOING BUSINESS IN MAURITIUS IN 2019

Please find below a table detailing the main types of business entities available for registration in Mauritius.

Summary table of Mauritius company registration

Summary	Non-resident company	GBC	Investment fund	CIS fund	Limited Liability Partnership
Locally known as	Authorized company	Global Business Company	Investment fund	Collective Investment Scheme	LLP
Best use of entity?	Global trading	Holding Company	Asset management	Portfolio Investments	Professional services
License always required before invoicing global customers?	Yes (Authorized Company License)	Yes (GBC license)	Yes	Yes	No
How soon can you invoice Clients/sign sales contracts?	1 month	1 month	6 months	6 months	1 month
How soon can your Firm hire staff?	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month
How soon can your Firm sign a lease agreement?	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month	Immediately
How long to supply corporate bank account numbers?	1 month	1 month	3 months	3 months	1 month
How long to supply company registration/tax numbers?	2 weeks	3 weeks	3 weeks	3 weeks	2 weeks
How long to supply license certificate?	1 month	1 month	5 months	5 months	Not required
Mauritius corporate tax rate on annual net profits? (foreign sourced income)	0%	3%	3%	3%	0%
Mauritius corporate tax rate on annual net profits? (locally sourced income)	15%	15%	15%	15%	0%
Limited liability entity?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resident director/legal representative required?	No	Yes (at least 2)	Yes (at least 2)	Yes (at least 2)	Yes (at least 2)
Company secretary legally required?	Recommended	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minimum/recommended paid up share capital?	US$1	US$1	5% of funds raised from investors	Depends on license applied for	US$1
Our recommended corporate bank account location?	ABC Bank	MCB	Bank One Mauritius	Afrasia Bank	ABC Bank
VAT payable on sales to local customers?	15%	15%	15%	15%	15%
Average total business set up engagement costs?	US$10,148	US$18,600	US$45,540	US$39,340	US$12,415
Average total engagement period?	2 months	2 months	6 months	6 months	3 months

See full table

Accounting and tax considerations	Non-resident company	GBC	Investment fund	CIS fund	Limited Liability Partnership
Statutory corporate tax payable? (foreign sourced income)	0%	3%	3%	3%	0%
Statutory corporate tax payable? (locally sourced income)	15%	15%	15%	15%	0%
Legally tax exempt in Mauritius if no locally sourced income?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Must file an annual tax return?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Must file annual financial statements?	Yes (financial summary)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (statement of income)
Must always appoint an auditor?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Can have access to Access to Mauritius DTAAs?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Withholding tax on dividends to foreign shareholders?	None	None	None	None	None
Entity registration considerations	Non-resident company	GBC	Investment fund	CIS fund	Limited Liability Partnership
Resident director/legal representative required?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Appointment of a local company secretary required?	No but Recommended	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minimum number of shareholders/partners?	1	1	1	1	2
Minimum number of directors/managers?	1	2	2	2	1
Minimum/recommended paid up share capital?	US$1	US$1	5% of funds raised from investors	Varies across licenses	US$1
Can secure a financial services license?	No	Yes	Yes (required)	Yes (required)	Yes
Must appoint a local custodian?	No	No	Can be required	Can be required	No
Shelf companies available?	No	Yes	No	No	No
Must sign an office lease agreement during incorporation?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can easily convert to a PLC / limited company?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Public register of entities?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can have preference shareholders/partners?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Business Considerations	Non-resident company	GBC	Investment fund	CIS fund	Limited Liability Partnership
Can bid for Government contracts?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Depend on license	Yes
Recommended to secure Mauritius residence for business owner?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Government grants available?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Good entity for trademark registration?	Yes
Can secure an import and export license?	Yes
Monthly VAT reporting to the Government always required?	No
Sponsorship by a local citizen required?	No
Our Client needs to travel to Mauritius for business set up?	No
Temporary physical office solutions available?	Yes
You need a local resident as bank signatory?	No
Can be wholly foreign owned?	Yes
The entity will likely be regulated by?	Financial Services Commission
Shareholders & directors documents to be attested/translated?	Yes
Each foreign director needs a personal income tax number?	No
Foreign non-resident director needs a residence visa?	No
Maximum number of staff allowed?	No maximum number
Expatriate to local staff ratio?	None
Other useful information
What will be included in my customer sales invoice?	Click link
This country has signed free trade agreements?	Yes over 40
This country is a member of WIPO/TRIPS?	Yes
This country is a member of the ICSID?	Yes
Average custom duties incurred?	1.7% (2016 data)
Government foreign investment approval required?	No
Average monthly office rental? (US$ per sq. m)	US$20 (2017 data)
Minimum statutory monthly salary?	US$260 (MUR9,000)
US$ deposit interest rate? (1-year average)	3% (2017 data)
Overseas remittance currency controls?	None
Group HQ tax incentives?	No
Security deposit to be kept with Government?	No
Can secure trade finance?	Yes
Maximum shareholding for foreigners?	100%
Banking considerations
Multi-currency bank accounts available?	Yes
Corporate visa debit cards available?	Yes
Quality of e-banking platform?	Good
Crowd funding available in this country?	Yes