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Overview
For the eighth consecutive year, the World Bank’s 2016 Ease of Doing Business report ranks Mauritius 1st among African economies and 32nd worldwide out of 189 economies in terms of ease of doing business, making Mauritius the leader in economic freedom for the region of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Timeframe: 4-6 months from the date application is lodged with the Financial Service Commission of Mauritius
Minimum stated capital requirement: There should be paid up capital in amount of approx. 2 000 000 MUR (there are no regulations set, the authorities would provide conditions / requirements in the post licensing letter). This means that the capital amount is decided in case-by-case basis depending on the scale of business
Overview
- ▪ The license which is issued in Mauritius regarding payment intermediaries is PIS or Payment Intermediary Services (also known as Payment Service Provider)
- ▪This type of company has to mandatorily be a GBL and hence need to have 2 resident directors
- ▪This category of license is categorized in the special license category and hence would take a minimum of 3 months for processing by the authorities
Comprehensive Guide to Company Incorporation
General information
Board of Directors
It is mandatory for the board to have 2 resident directors which will be provided by Offshorelicense
Disclosure requirements
- ▪The proposed company will be required to file its audited financial statements and tax return within 3 months from its balance sheet date
Local presence (optional and in the long term)
- ▪As a strategy, we would propose that the company has a local presence by employing local staff. This local presence will be shown through a Mauritian support office
Taxation
- ▪No tax on income and dividends
- ▪No capital gains and inheritance tax
- ▪No exchange control restrictions
- ▪Free repatriation of profits, dividends and capital
- ▪100% foreign ownership
- ▪No stamp duty and no capital duty levied on the issue of share capital
- ▪The company will be taxed on its chargeable income (including dividends, interests and other income but not capital gains less expenses) at a corporate rate of 15% which is reduced to a net effective tax rate of 3% or even less *
*The standard corporate income tax rate is 15% in Mauritius. But for an offshore company which holds a Category 1 Global Business License, the tax rate is reduced to 3% since such companies benefits from a tax credit of 80% (on 15%). The effectively tax rate of 3% can be further reduced by offsetting the tax already suffered outside Mauritius and hence, the income tax rate can be further decreased to 0%.
The tax is payable after the audited financial statements have been submitted to the authorities and within 6 months from the balance sheet date. Offshorelicense being the administrator of the proposed company will arrange for all payments and filings.
In order to obtain a license, the following steps will be carried out:
- ▪Application and reservation of company name
- ▪Preparation and submission with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for the application of a Global Business Company License
- ▪Incorporation (inclusive of incorporation documentation: application for incorporation and statutory documents in respect of appointment of directors, secretary)
- ▪Providing standard client constitution (M&A) for the company
- ▪Opening of first Corporate Bank account* for the company in Mauritius
- ▪Liaising with our lawyer for the provision of a legal certificate required for incorporation
- ▪Preparing the statutory file
- ▪Preparation of a Company Seal / Stamp
- ▪Holding of first meeting and preparation of first minutes, initial share issuance, appointment of initial officers and preparation of register of Members, Directors and Secretaries
In order to obtain license, Offshorelicense will fill all necessary application forms and also acquire apostilled corporate documents.
For that reason, please provide us with the following documents.
- ▪Detailed Business Plan
- ▪Various manuals which will be drafted / reviewed by Offshorelicense (e.g. procedure manual, privacy policy, disaster recovery plan, complaints hanging policy, AML policy, security policy and procedures)