Mauritius			Back
Mauritius is situated in the Indian Ocean 500 miles east of Madagascar. The island covers a total area of 720 square miles. Mauritius is a tropical island but its climate is cooled by the South East trade winds. Britain captured the island in 1810 from the French. It remained a British colony until 1968 when it became an independent member of the Commonwealth. On the 12th March 1992, Mauritius changed its status from Constitutional Monarchy to that of Republic under the Constitution of Mauritius (Amendment No. 3) Act 1991. The Republic of Mauritius continues as a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.      There are two offshore regimes which are both regulated by the Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority (MOBAA):    Offshore Companies  The legal framework governing offshore companies is the Companies Act 1984 and the MOBA Act 1992. An offshore company may either be locally incorporated or registered as a branch of a foreign company. Properly structured offshore companies may obtain certificates of fiscal residence gaining access to the network of tax treaties.      Each new application for an offshore company has to be submitted to the technical committee of MOBBA. If the application is in order, a new company will be incorporated and granted an Offshore Certificate in approximately 10 days. The following conditions apply to offshore companies:  The company must have a secretary and suitably qualified directors resident in Mauritius;  Statutory records must be held at the registered office situated in Mauritius;  Banking transactions must be channelled through an offshore bank account in Mauritius;   Accounting records must be maintained in Mauritius according to the Companies Act;  Board meetings must be held in or chaired from Mauritius;  Auditors situated in Mauritius must be appointed.  An offshore company is exempt from income tax but may, if it wishes, come within a charge to tax at a rate which it elects.   International Companies  The International Companies Act 1994 provides for the incorporation of international companies. which can benefit from the tax exemptions offered by Mauritius, but do not have access to the benefits of any tax treaty with any other jurisdiction.    The authorised capital can be denominated in any currency other than the Mauritius Rupee. Provided the authorised capital does not exceed US$100,000 the annual license fee is only US$100. There must be at least one shareholder, one director and a company secretary. They may be natural persons or corporations and need not be residents of Mauritius. The identity of the beneficial owner is not disclosed to the authorities. Board meetings can be held anywhere in the world and it is not necessary to file accounts and annual returns.    An international company provides a flexible, user friendly vehicle with minimal administrative burden. Ready-made companies are available, or a new company can be incorporated within 48 hours.
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