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A Mauritius company is usually chosen for business that happens somewhere else: holding investments, trading or consulting across Africa and Asia, and claiming relief under the island’s treaty network of about 45 comprehensive double taxation agreements in force. Mauritius is outside the EU, so treaty access, not EU directives, is what it offers, and it depends on the company really being managed from the island. Founders who will trade with Mauritian customers form a domestic company instead.
The law sorts these cases for you. Where most of the shares, votes or beneficial interest are held by non-citizens and the business is done principally outside Mauritius, the company needs a Global Business Licence or an Authorised Company authorisation from the Financial Services Commission (FSC); otherwise it is a plain domestic company. A ready made company in Mauritius, also sold as a ready company or an off the shelf company, is one of these same three forms, incorporated earlier and never traded.
| Form | Who authorises it | Tax residence | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic company | Registrar of Companies (CBRD) only | Resident | Business with customers in Mauritius |
| Global Business Corporation (GBC) | CBRD, plus a Global Business Licence from the FSC; administered by a management company | Resident, with a Tax Residence Certificate available | Holding and trading abroad, run from Mauritius, where a treaty matters |
| Authorised Company (AC) | CBRD, plus FSC authorisation; a registered agent at all times | Treated as non-resident | Holding, international trade or consultancy managed from abroad |
The Companies Act 2001 sets no minimum share capital for any of the three. Foundations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, sociétés and branches of foreign companies are registered by the CBRD too. Officers, documents and the CBRIS filing are on company formation in Mauritius.
| Item | Position in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 15%; 3% for companies exporting goods |
| Partial exemption | 80% of listed income exempt, among it foreign dividends, most interest and foreign branch profit, if the substance conditions are met; that income then bears 3% |
| Authorised Company | Treated as non-resident and taxed only on income derived from Mauritius; no treaty access |
| Dividends paid by a resident company | Exempt income of the shareholder, and not among the payments from which tax is deducted at source |
| VAT | Registration compulsory above 3 million rupees of taxable supplies a year, since 1 October 2025 |
| Corporate social responsibility charge | Does not apply to a company holding a Global Business Licence |
The “3% GBC” figure often cited is a result, not a rate. It applies only to the listed kinds of income, only to a company carrying out its core income generating activities in Mauritius with adequate staff and spending, and everything outside those categories is taxed at 15%.
Shareholders may be of any nationality, live anywhere and be companies. The directors are where Mauritius differs:
Every company also keeps a register of its beneficial owners and lodges the details with the Registrar, which holds a central register. The test is 20% of the shares, votes or economic interest, lower than the usual European 25%, and access is limited to the Registrar, the FSC, the Bank of Mauritius, the Financial Intelligence Unit and law enforcement. Where resident directors, a secretary or a nominee shareholder are needed, we arrange them only through a management company licensed by the FSC or a company service provider registered under section 167A of the Companies Act: a director appointed this way owes every duty the Act imposes, and a nominee shareholder is entered with the real owner in both the share register and the beneficial ownership register held by the Registrar.
For a GBC an account in Mauritius is not optional, since keeping its principal bank account there is part of the FSC’s management and control test. The Bank of Mauritius listed 18 licensed banks in October 2026, and at least two of them take on global business companies through management companies or introducers. The deposit insurance scheme, with a limit of 300,000 rupees, covers individuals resident in Mauritius, not companies. Shelf companies sold with a working account are not readily available in Mauritius. Requirements are on bank accounts for Mauritius companies.
Form a new company when nothing turns on the date: a domestic company is incorporated online through CBRIS, and a complete Global Business Licence application has a statutory decision period, so the law does not make new structures slow.
Buy a ready-made or shelf company when you need an earlier incorporation date, or a GBC that already has its licence, management company, resident directors, Mauritian account and filed accounts, the history a Tax Residence Certificate and a bank both look at. The FSC must approve the buyer before the shares of a GBC or AC move. How the purchase works is on ready-made shelf companies in Mauritius, and what age does and does not add is discussed in our guide to aged shelf companies.
We supply ready-made Mauritian companies and form new ones: we prepare the incorporation or transfer documents and the Registrar filings, work with the licensed management company on anything that goes to the FSC, and help prepare the bank application. Where we have a working contact at a suitable bank we can introduce you; the bank alone decides.
A company already incorporated under the Companies Act 2001 that has never traded and is sold by transferring its shares. Its company number and the date on its certificate of incorporation stay the same, and that date is conclusive evidence of when it came into existence. It can be a domestic company, a GBC or an Authorised Company, and what the buyer takes over differs accordingly.
Either, so check which one before anything else. A domestic company suits business with Mauritian customers. A buyer who is not a Mauritian citizen and plans business mainly abroad needs a GBC or an Authorised Company, and a domestic shelf company bought for that purpose must then obtain a licence or authorisation from the FSC like any new company.
Mainly for the treaties. Mauritius has about 45 comprehensive double taxation agreements in force, many with African and Asian countries, and a GBC managed and controlled on the island can obtain a Tax Residence Certificate to claim under them. The certificate is issued only once the tax return is filed, and treaty access rests on the company genuinely being managed and controlled in Mauritius; an Authorised Company has none.
It needs real substance. A GBC must carry out its core income generating activities in or from Mauritius, be managed and controlled from there and be administered by a management company, with two resident directors, board meetings including them, its accounting records at its registered office and its principal bank account in Mauritius. The partial exemption also asks for adequate qualified staff and spending.
Yes. Company law sets no nationality or residence condition for shareholders, and at incorporation a corporate shareholder gives a letter naming its authorised signatory. Directors are different: a domestic company must have natural persons as directors, with at least one ordinarily resident in Mauritius, while an Authorised Company may appoint a corporate director. Every structure still records the individuals at the top in its beneficial ownership register.
Not sure whether your Mauritius plans call for a domestic company, a GBC or an Authorised Company? Tell us where the business will be done and who will own it, and we will say which form fits and which ready-made companies are available now. We also answer on Telegram and WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.