Mauritius
Legal
Country code – MU
Legal Basis – Common law
Legal framework – Foundations Act, 2012
Regulatory board - Mauritius Financial Services Commission
Entity –Foundation
Liability - The properties and resources of a Foundation constitute an independent patrimony from that of the Founders, the Foundation Council members, Protector, and Beneficiaries.
Endowment of assets – From the time of establishment, the foundation shall hold all property effectively transferred to it for the purposes and objects, and that property shall constitute the initial assets of the foundation.
Upon the transfer, the property shall cease to be the property of the founder and the foundation shall hold the good title of such property. Any property transferred to the foundation shall become the property of the beneficiary only after any distribution has been made.
Where a non-citizen endows property to a foundation, the transfer shall not be set aside, avoided or otherwise declared invalid or ineffective by virtue of any rule or law of his domicile or nationality relating to inheritance or succession or any rule or law of a similar nature; restricting the right of a person to dispose of his property during his lifetime so as to preserve the property for distribution at his death, or any rule or law having similar effect.
Founder – The founder is who establish the Foundation, it may be a juristic or a natural person. A founder may be also the beneficiary of a foundation.
Foundation Council – The Foundation shall have a Council which shall be responsible for administering the property of the Foundation and carrying out its objects in accordance with its Charter, the Articles if any, and the Foundations Act. The Council shall have at least one member who must be ordinarily resident in Mauritius.
Council members may be either individuals or juristic persons.
Protector – Appointment of a Protector is optional, and may be an individual or a corporate body. A Protector must ensure compliance by the foundation and the councilors with the provisions of the charter, bylaws and the Foundation Act, and must supervise the management and conduct of the foundation by the councilors.
Beneficiaries – A Foundation can be set up for the benefit of persons, class of persons, and/or to carry out a purpose which may be charitable, non-charitable or both
Beneficiaries' Right to Information - A beneficiary of a Foundation shall, on written request to the secretary, be entitled –
- to obtain information from the Foundation as regards the fulfillment of the objects of the Foundation;
- to inspect and have a copy of the charter; the Articles, if any; any audit report, including any special audit report and books of account; any report on the financial position of the Foundation and the annual accounts; and the minutes of proceedings of any meeting of the Council.
Secretary - Every foundation shall have a secretary who shall be a management company or who shall be such other person resident in Mauritius as may be authorized by the Financial Services Commission.
Registered Office – Every foundation shall have a registered office in Mauritius to which all communications and notices shall be addressed and which shall constitute the address for service of legal proceedings on the foundation. The registered office shall be the place described as such in its charter.
Foundation Charter – A foundation can be set up intervivos (by charter) or by will.
The Charter must be submitted to the Registrar at the time of registration. The Charter shall specify the name of the Foundation, its registered office address, particulars of the Founder, its purposes and objects, endowment of initial property, the name of beneficiaries or the manner in which such appointment will be made and the procedure for appointment of the Council and the protectors.
Articles of a Foundation – Where the Charter so provides, the Council may or shall adopt the Articles of a Foundation which may include provisions relating to the distribution of assets to be made by the Council, the addition of beneficiaries, and distribution of assets on winding up and regulation of the affairs of the Council. The Articles shall be signed by all members of the Council.
Disclosure – Any person who has acquired information in his capacity as an officer, a protector or a member of a Council shall treat the information as confidential.
Details of the founder, council members, and beneficiaries are not disclosed in a public registry.
Re-domiciliation – Redomiciliation of foundations from other jurisdictions to Mauritius is allowed, as well as, migration of Mauritius foundations to other countries.
Mergers - There is no ability for a Mauritius foundation to merge with any other entity.
Charitable/Philanthropic Purposes - Permitted.
Electronic Signature – Allowed.
Compliance – Every foundation shall keep proper records of all sums of money received, expended and distributed, specifying the purpose of any such receipt, expense, and distribution; all sales and purchases made by the foundation; and the assets and liabilities of the foundation.
A foundation shall keep accounting records which shall be sufficient to show and explain the transactions of the foundation, disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the foundation and to allow financial statements to be prepared.
A foundation shall keep at its registered office a file containing accurate records and a copy of all documents filed with the Registrar including accurate copies of its charter and articles (if any), the minutes of proceedings of any meeting of the council and a register showing the names and addresses of the members of its council, founder and any person who may have endowed assets to the foundation.
These documents shall be available for inspection by any founder, officer, and supervisory person, the Registrar or the Commission during business hours.
- Corporate founder permitted
- Corporate council members permitted
- Protector/Guardian required
- Local regulated person required
- Founder not disclosed in a public registry
- Council members not disclosed in a public registry
- Protector/Guardian not disclosed in a public registry
- Beneficiaries not disclosed in a public registry
- Beneficiaries have right to information
- Merge permitted
- Redomiciliation permitted
- Charitable purposes permitted
- Registered agent required
- Mixed (Civil and Common) Legal basis
- - Initial endowment of assets
- 1 Minimum council members
- $350 Registration fee
- $350 Annual government fee
- 2018 AEOI
Taxes
A Foundation of which the founder is a non-resident or holds a Global Business License under the Financial Services Act; and all the beneficiaries appointed under the terms of a charter or a will are, throughout a financial year, non-resident or hold a Category 1 Global Business License under the Financial Services Act, shall be exempt from income tax in respect of that year.
For the purpose of the exemption, any Foundation shall deposit a declaration of nonresidence with the Director-General within 3 months from the expiry of the income year.
- Offshore Income Tax Exemption
- Offshore capital gains tax exemption
- Offshore dividends tax exemption
- CFC Rules
- Thin Capitalisation Rules
- Patent Box
- Tax Incentives & Credits
- Property Tax
- Wealth tax
- Estate inheritance tax
- Transfer tax
- Capital duties
- 0% Offshore Income Tax Rate
- 0% Corporate Tax Rate
- 0% Capital Gains Tax Rate
- 0% Dividends Received
- 0% Dividends Withholding Tax Rate
- 0% Interests Withholding Tax Rate
- 0% Royalties Withholding Tax Rate
- 0 Losses carryback (years)
- 0 Losses carryforward (years)
- FIFO Inventory methods permitted
- 15% Personal Income Tax Rate
- 15% VAT Rate
- 56 Tax Treaties
Country details
The Republic of Mauritius is a sovereign island country located in the southwest of the Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometers from Toamasina, a town on the easternmost coast of Madagascar and approximately 3800 kilometers southwest of Cape Comorin on the southern tip from India.
In addition to the island of Mauritius, the republic includes the islands St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius forms part of the Mascarene Islands, along with the French island of Reunion, about 170 kilometers to the southwest.
Mauritius is inhabited by about 1.4 million people. Its capital and the most populated city is Port Louis.
The people of Mauritius are multiethnic, multi-religious, multicultural and multilingual. The Mauritian Creole, French, English, and Bhojpuri are its vernacular languages, plus other 9 languages spoken in the territory.
Its official currency is the Mauritian rupee (MUR).
Mauritius is highly ranked for democracy and for economic and political freedom.
The Head of State of Mauritius is the President, who is elected for a period of five years by the National Assembly, the Mauritian unicameral parliament.
The National Assembly has 62 members elected by direct and popular suffrage and comprises between 4 and 8 members elected by minorities representing ethnic minorities, depending on the election results. The government is headed by the prime minister and a council of ministers.
Since its independence from the British in 1968, Mauritius has seen a dazzling evolution.
The island went from being a low-income country with per capita income, in which the economy was based on agriculture, to be a country with the status of an emerging and constantly developing country with intermediate incomes and a diversified economy based on a growing industrial, financial and tourism sector.
During this period of economic growth, the country grew at a rate of 5 to 6% per year. This result translates into a significant improvement in the quality of life and a significant increase in life expectancy, a decline in infant mortality and a great infrastructural development.
Regarding the primary sector, sugar cane accounts for 90% of crops and accounts for 25% of exports. Livestock in Mauritius mainly comprises porcine and caprine, and fishing is also an important source of income.
Its main industrial sectors are the textile, information and communications technology and seafood processing, as well as petrochemical and chemical industry in Port Louis.
Tourism is its more prominent sector and a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. Mauritius is a growing tourism destination for its natural beauty and man-made attractions, multi-ethnic and cultural diversity of the population, tropical climate, beautiful beaches, and water sports.
The financial sector is a major economic pillar on Mauritius economy, with more than 10,000 offshore companies incorporated and a comprehensive offer of banking, insurance and reinsurance services, captive insurance managers, trading companies, ship owners or managers, fund managers and international corporation services.
Tax treaties
Tax treaties Map
Services
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