Products
Matco has built itself a strong and credible reputation
in this constantly changing financial world
Authorised Company
Global Business
Company
Special Licence
Company
Domestic Company
Trust
Foundation
AUTHORISED COMPANY
A company that proposes to conduct business principally outside Mauritius and to have its principal place of effective management outside Mauritius is required to seek authorisation from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to be an Authorised Company.
The majority of shares of voting rights or legal or beneficial interest in an Authorised Company are held or controlled by a person who is not a citizen of Mauritius.
An Authorised Company must, at all times, have a registered agent in Mauritius, which shall be a Management Company. MATCO Limited is duly licensed by the Financial Services Commission to act as a Management Company in Mauritius.
Tax Features
The income of an Authorised Company is not subject to tax in Mauritius, unless such income is derived from Mauritius. It does not have access to Mauritius’s tax treaty network.
GLOBAL BUSINESS COMPANY
A company that proposes to have its principal place of effective management in Mauritius and whose shares or voting rights are held or controlled majoritarily by persons who are not citizens of Mauritius is required to apply for a Global Business Licence.
A Global Business Company can be set up to carry out global business activities or such other financial business activities as may be approved by the Financial Services Commission.
Tax Features
A Global Business Company is resident for tax purposes and has access to the extensive network of double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) which Mauritius has with other countries.
A Global Business Company is taxed on its net chargeable income at the concessionary rate of 15%. However, it can claim foreign tax credit of 80% of the concessionary rate for withholding taxes suffered abroad on income remitted to Mauritius.
Subject to meeting pre-defined substance requirements issued by the Financial Services Commission, an 80% exemption is applicable to the relevant income of a Global Business Company such as:
- Foreign-sourced dividend, provided it has not been allowed as a deduction in the source country;
- Foreign-sourced interest income, provided the lender is a company;
- Profits attributable to the permanent establishment of a Global Business Company in a foreign country;
- Income derived outside Mauritius by a Collective Investment Scheme (‘CIS’), Closed End Fund, CIS Manager, CIS Administrator, Investment Adviser or Asset Manager
- Income derived outside Mauritius by a reinsurance company or a reinsurance brokering company; and
- Income derived by companies engaged in ship and aircraft leasing.
- Mauritius has no thin capitalisation rules. Interests and royalty payments paid by a Global Business Company are fully tax deductible in Mauritius.
- There is no withholding tax on outward payments from Mauritius, no capital gains tax or estate duty and no stamp duties or capital taxes.
SPECIAL LICENCE COMPANY
A company that proposes to conduct non-bank financial business activities is required to apply for a special licence, which is issued by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the regulator for non-bank financial services sector in Mauritius.
The FSC will ensure that the company meets the ‘fit and proper’ criteria and that it fulfills prudential requirements and conditions of operation.
Mauritius has a very wide selection of licence types which are available to specialist financial services providers that are looking to set up and do business in and from Mauritius. Non-bank financial services activities include insurance and re-insurance, leasing, credit finance, payment intermediary services, market intermediaries (investment manager, asset manager, investment adviser, custodians, investment dealer, brokers and distributor of financial products) as well as investment schemes such as global funds.
MATCO Limited has the necessary expertise in setting up companies requiring special licences in Mauritius.
DOMESTIC COMPANY
A Domestic Company can be used to conduct business with Mauritian residents and non-residents and is the preferred vehicle to investing in Mauritius.
Tax Features
A Domestic Company is liable to corporate income tax at 15% and a corporate social responsibility tax of 2% onchargeable. It has access to the extensive network of double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) that Mauritius has with other countries.
There are special schemes and incentives available for domestic companies in the following sectors:
- Freeport
- Textile and clothing
- Industrial diversification
- Information and communication technology
- Knowledge and service industry
- Tourism and leisure
- Fish and marine projects
- Real estate holding (commercial or residential)
Trust
A Trust is a fiduciary relationship whereby the owner of a property or asset, the settlor, vests the legal ownership of that property or asset to another person, the trustee, for the benefit of a class of beneficiaries. A Trust is used for various purposes such as asset protection, inheritance planning and wealth management. There is confidentiality of trustee deliberations as the registration of a Trust is not compulsory in Mauritius.
Tax Features
A Trust, whose settlor and/or beneficiaries are resident in Mauritius, is liable to income tax at the rate of 15%. However, with the use of foreign tax credits (through the Double Taxation Agreement network), this can be reduced or even made tax-exempt.
FOUNDATION
A Foundation is in a lot of ways similar to a Trust but enjoys legal personality and offers the administrative flexibility of a Company. It may be used to conduct business in or outside Mauritius, entering into any transactions and holding assets.
Foundations are also widely used for wealth management, estate planning and asset protection.
It may be set up to achieve both charitable and non-charitable objects and can be either to benefit a person or class of persons or to carry out a specific purpose. It acts through its council, which is the body in charge for the administration of the Foundation’s assets and the attainment of its objects.
Tax Features
A Foundation holding a Global Business licence may elect to be tax resident in Mauritius to benefit from the double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) that Mauritius has with numerous countries.
