Companies, Partnerships and Trusts

Investors who would like to invest in Mauritius or who would like to route their investments in other jurisdictions can make use of the different structures available in Mauritius.

The most common structures are Companies, Partnerships and Trust. A brief outlook of these structures are as per below:

COMPANIES

There are three types of companies which can be formed in Mauritius. These are:

1. Domestic Company

A domestic company is one which is incorporated when the business is conducted in Mauritius, There is no restriction to the business activity which a domestic company can carry out as long as the same is legal. Such companies are regulated mainly by the Companies Act 2001 and the Income Tax Act 1995.

Domestic Companies are taxable at a rate of 15% on its profit.

Time taken to set up such company is 1-2 days. 

2.   Category 1 Global Business Companies

Category 1 Global Business Companies can be incorporated in Mauritius as long as the activity of the Company is carried outside Mauritius. These companies are tax residents in Mauritius and are mainly used for tax structuring/planning due to the fact that they can benefit from the various Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement which Mauritius has signed with other countries. (The countries with which Mauritius has signed these treaties are listed at the end of this page)

Such Companies are regulated mainly by the Companies Act 2001, the Financial Services Act 2007 and the Income Tax Act 1995.

Category 1 Global Business Companies are taxable at a rate of 3% on its profit

Time taken to set up these Companies is approximately 1-2 weeks.

3.   Category 2 Global Business Company.

Category 2 Global Business Companies can be incorporated in Mauritius only when the activity of the Company is considered to be carried outside Mauritius. This Company is however not considered as tax resident in Mauritius.

Category 2 Global Business Companies are regulated by the Companies Act 2001 and the Financial Services Act 2007 and are not subject to tax in Mauritius.

Such Companies can be set up within a time frame of 1 week.

Differences between the above Companies

Details	Domestic Company	GBL1 Company	GBL2 Company
Taxation Rate	15%	3%	Not tax resident in Mauritius - Hence can not benefit from tax treaties
Access to tax Treaties Mauritius has with different countries	N/A	Yes
Directors	Minimum 1 Mauritian Resident	Minimum 2 Mauritian Resident	Minimum 1 director
Shareholders	Minimum 1 Shareholder	Minimum 1 Shareholder	Minimum 1 Shareholder
Share Capital	Minimum 1 Share	Minimum 1 Share	Minimum 1 Share
Preparation of Accounts	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Statutory Audit	Mandatory only if turnover > Rs 50million	Mandatory	Not Mandatory
Approximate time taken to incorporate/ set up company	2-3 days	2-3 Week	1 - 2  Week

Tax Treaties which Mauritius has signed so far:

NORTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES		MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES
1	Barbados	1	Kuwait
		2	Oman
		3	State of Qatar
		4	United Arab Emirates
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES		AFRICAN COUNTRIES
1	Belgium	1	Botswana
2	Croatia	2	Congo
3	Cyprus	3	Egypt
4	France	4	Lesotho
5	Germany (new)	5	Madagascar
6	Guernsey	6	Mozambique
7	Italy	7	Namibia
8	Luxembourg	8	Rwanda
9	Malta	9	Senegal
10	Monaco	10	Seychelles
11	Sweden (New)	11	South Africa
12	United Kingdom	12	Swaziland
		13	Tunisia
		14	Uganda
		15	Zimbabwe
		16	Zambia
ASIAN COUNTRIES
1	China
2	India
3	Malaysia
4	Nepal
5	Pakistan
6	Bangladesh
7	Singapore
8	Sri Lanka
9	Thailand

PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships is a flexible partnerships which can be used by investors to route their investments in Asia, Africa and Europe through Mauritius. A limited partnership requires can apply for a Category 1 Global Business Licence with the Financial Services Commission such that it can benefit from the various double taxation avoidance agreements as per above.

A Partnership can also elect as to whether to be taxable in Mauritius or not. To register a partnership, we should have atleast one general partner and one limited partner.

A Partnership can be formed within 3-4 days.

TRUSTS

A trust can only be created by an instrument in writing which should state its object, subject, intention and duties and powers of the trustees. It can be formed by a resident or non-resident of Mauritius . 

Different type of trust can be created and these includes the discretionary trust, charitable trust, and the purpose trust.


A trust should have a settlor, a trustee and a beneficiary. Protector is optional.