Authorised Company

authorised-company

In August 2018, the Mauritian parliament approved the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to amend the Financial Services Act 2007 and introduce the Authorized Company (AC) that replaces the category two global business license company.

What is an AC?

The AC is a company carrying out its activities principally outside of Mauritius and of which the majority of its shares, rights to vote, legal or beneficial interest are detained or controlled by a person or a group of people who are not Mauritian citizens and is managed and controlled outside of Mauritius.

Key characteristics of AC

  • Must have a licensed Management Company such as Venture Corporate Services as its registered agent and it’s registered office in Mauritius.
  • Must file its register of members, directors and secretary as well as particulars of charges with the local authorities;
  • Must submit an outline of the business objective and identity of the promoter, beneficial owner and ultimate beneficial owner to the Commission;
  • Is allowed to have Corporate Directors;
  • Must file an annual financial summary with the FSC within six months of the balance sheet date;
  • Must file annual tax return to the Mauritius Revenue Authority within 6 months of the balance sheet date;
  • Must keep accounting records, minutes and registers at the registered office or at such other place determined by the directors

What kind of activities can an AC carry out?

  • Investment holding;
  • Property holding;
  • International trade;
  • Management and consultancy;
  • IT Services;
  • Logistics;
  • Marketing;
  • Shipping and ship Management; or
  • One-off transaction using a Special Purpose Vehicle.

Tax in Mauritius

As its control & management is outside of Mauritius, an AC is considered as non-tax resident and consequently does not have access to the Double Tax Avoidance Agreements network of Mauritius.  Not being tax-resident, they are not subject to Mauritius income tax on income from foreign sources.

They are however required to submit an annual tax return to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) and would be subject to tax on income from Mauritius sources.