Company Formation in Mauritius: Domestic Company, GBC or Authorised Company

Three Kinds of Mauritian Company and Which One You Form

Company formation in Mauritius starts with a test in the Financial Services Act 2007, not with a choice of name. Where most of the shares, votes or beneficial interest in a Mauritian company are held by people who are not citizens of Mauritius and the company does its business principally outside Mauritius, it must hold a Global Business Licence or an authorisation as an Authorised Company from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) (sections 71(1) and 71A(1)). A company that trades in Mauritius is a domestic company, registered only with the Registrar of Companies at the Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD).

Point	Domestic company	Global Business Corporation (GBC)	Authorised Company (AC)
Main business	In Mauritius	Principally outside Mauritius, managed and controlled from Mauritius	Principally outside Mauritius, central management and control abroad
FSC licence	None	Global Business Licence	Authorisation under section 71A
Directors	At least one ordinarily resident in Mauritius; natural persons only	At least two resident in Mauritius at all times	At least one, resident anywhere; may be a company
Secretary	Resident secretary, unless it is a small private company	Required	Not required
Who files	Founders or their representative, online through CBRIS	A management company licensed by the FSC	A management company acting as registered agent
Income tax	Resident, 15%	Resident, 15%, partial exemption possible, Tax Residence Certificate available	Treated as non-resident; taxed on income derived from Mauritius

Under all three forms shareholders may live anywhere and hold any nationality, and the Companies Act 2001 sets no minimum share capital.

Mauritius Offshore Company Formation: GBC or Authorised Company

What is marketed as a Mauritius offshore company is one of the two FSC vehicles, and they work in opposite directions.

The GBC must at all times carry out its core income generating activities in or from Mauritius, be managed and controlled from Mauritius and be administered by a management company (section 71(3)(a)). When the FSC judges management and control, it looks in particular at whether the company:

• has at least two directors resident in Mauritius, of sufficient calibre to exercise independence of mind and judgement;
• keeps its principal bank account in Mauritius;
• keeps its accounting records at its registered office in Mauritius;
• has its statutory financial statements prepared and audited in Mauritius;
• holds board meetings that include at least two directors from Mauritius.

Incorporated and managed on the island, a GBC is tax resident and can ask the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) for a Tax Residence Certificate, the document a treaty claim rests on. Mauritius has about 45 comprehensive double taxation agreements in force.

The Authorised Company keeps its central management and control outside Mauritius. The Income Tax Act treats it as non-resident although it was incorporated in Mauritius (section 73A), so it pays Mauritian tax only on income derived from Mauritius, still files a return and has no treaty access. One director is enough, who may live anywhere or be a company, but it must always have a registered agent in Mauritius that is a management company (section 71A(7)). It files a financial summary with the FSC within six months of its year end.

How to Register a Company in Mauritius, Step by Step

1. Check the name. A name check is not compulsory, but the Registrar will not register a name identical to an existing or reserved one. A reserved name stays available for six months from the date of the Registrar’s notice (Companies Act, section 34).
2. Line up the officers. A domestic company needs at least one director ordinarily resident in Mauritius (section 132), and every director must be a natural person (section 133). Where the only director is a foreign national, the CBRD asks for a permanent residence permit or an occupation permit as investor. Unless the company is a small private company, meaning a private company with turnover under 100 million rupees and no Global Business Licence, it also needs a secretary resident in Mauritius (section 163). Every company needs a registered office in Mauritius and a resident authorised person, with an alternate, who answers the authorities’ requests for ownership information (section 190(6)).
3. Prepare the file. Form F1 goes in with the consent of each director (F7), secretary (F8) and shareholder (F9), the shareholder’s form stating the class and number of shares taken; the constitution, if there is one, with a legal certificate signed by a law practitioner; a declaration of beneficial ownership; passport copies for non-residents; proof of the resident director’s address; and a structure chart where ownership is indirect. The business activity, place of business and start date go in the same application.
4. File through CBRIS. A domestic company is incorporated online through the CBRD’s CBRIS system on the MNS portal, or at the Registrar’s counter. Where the application complies with the Act, the Registrar enters the company on the register, assigns it a company number and issues the certificate of incorporation electronically (section 24). The CBRD publishes no processing time for this step.
5. For a GBC or Authorised Company, add the FSC application. The management company files it with a law practitioner’s certificate that it complies with Mauritian law (section 72(1)), and the CBRD incorporates the company subject to the FSC’s approval. The file carries a business plan and due diligence on promoters, beneficial owners, controllers and proposed directors (section 16). Further information the FSC asks for is due within 15 days, and an incomplete file counts as withdrawn (sections 17 and 17A). Once the file is complete, the Act requires the FSC to grant it within 10 working days (sections 17B and 17C).
6. Obtain any activity licence. Business that needs its own licence, such as virtual asset services under the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021, must be licensed before it begins (section 71(2)).

Certificate of Incorporation, BRN and the Register

The certificate of incorporation is conclusive evidence that the company exists from the date it states (Companies Act, section 25). Separately, the Business Registration Act 2002 forbids carrying on business in Mauritius without registration; the Registrar allocates each registered business a single business registration number (BRN) and issues a business registration card (sections 6 and 8). For a company the CBRIS incorporation route obtains the BRN in the same application.

Anyone can check whether a name or company exists through the CBRD’s online search. Any person may also request an extract of a domestic company’s file or a certificate of current standing, which the CBRD says it issues within three working days. For a GBC or an Authorised Company only the management company or registered agent, a director, a shareholder or a representative may obtain them (section 346(3)).

Tax after Formation: 15%, Partial Exemption and Tax Residence

Item	Rule	Source
Corporate income tax	15%; 3% for companies engaged in export of goods	Income Tax Act, First Schedule; MRA
Partial exemption	80% of listed income is exempt, among it foreign dividends not deducted in the source country, interest other than that of banks and the lenders listed, and profit of a foreign permanent establishment, so that income bears 3%	Second Schedule, Part II
Condition for it	Core income generating activities in Mauritius, an adequate number of suitably qualified staff and expenditure proportionate to the activity	MRA
Residence	Incorporated or centrally managed and controlled in Mauritius; a company incorporated here but centrally managed and controlled abroad is treated as non-resident	Sections 73 and 73A
Tax Residence Certificate	Issued within 7 days of the application, once the return is filed	Section 73(3)
Return	Within six months from the end of the month in which the accounting year ends; quarterly advance payments unless turnover is below 10 million rupees	MRA
VAT	Registration compulsory where taxable supplies exceed or are likely to exceed 3 million rupees a year, since 1 October 2025	MRA communiqué

The partial exemption is not reserved to GBCs, and it is not a flat 3% rate: income outside the listed categories is taxed at 15%. A company holding a Global Business Licence is outside the corporate social responsibility charge (section 50K).

What a Mauritian Company Files Every Year

• Domestic company. An annual return within 28 days of the annual meeting (Companies Act, section 223), which a small private company with turnover up to 100 million rupees files only when its shareholders, directors or their particulars change; audited financial statements, or for a small private company a financial summary that may be a cash basis profit and loss statement (section 215).
• GBC. Audited financial statements filed with the FSC within six months of the year end (Financial Services Act, section 30). The resident directors, the management company and the Mauritian bank account must stay in place, and the licence lapses if its yearly renewal is not paid on time (section 74).
• Authorised Company. A financial summary to the FSC within six months (section 71A(10)) and a Mauritian tax return.
• Every company. Beneficial ownership information is lodged with the Registrar through CBRIS whenever the shareholding changes, within 14 days of the entry in the share register (section 91), and changes of directors within 28 days (section 142).

When a Ready-Made Mauritian Company Is the Better Route

A new company is the default. A ready-made one is worth a look when the business needs an earlier incorporation date, or a GBC whose licence, management company and Mauritian bank account are already in place. It does not bypass the regulator: shares in a licensed company change hands only with the FSC’s approval. How that works is explained on ready-made shelf companies in Mauritius.

What We Do

We form new Mauritian companies and can also supply a ready-made one. We prepare the incorporation documents and the filings with the Registrar and, with the licensed management company where a GBC or Authorised Company is involved, the FSC application; we help prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, make an introduction, while the bank alone decides. Resident directors, a secretary or a nominee shareholder are arranged only through an FSC-licensed management company or a company service provider registered with the Registrar under section 167A of the Companies Act: such a director carries every duty the Act places on directors, and a nominee shareholder is recorded together with the real owner in the share register and in the beneficial ownership register filed with the Registrar.

Frequently Asked Questions about Company Formation in Mauritius

How do I set up a company in Mauritius as a foreigner?

Choose the form by where the business is done. A foreign-owned company trading inside Mauritius is a domestic company: it needs at least one director ordinarily resident in Mauritius and, where the only director is a foreign national, a permanent residence permit or an occupation permit as investor. A foreign-owned company doing business mainly abroad needs a Global Business Licence or an Authorised Company authorisation from the FSC, applied for through a licensed management company. Shareholders can be of any nationality.

How long does it take to register a company in Mauritius?

For a GBC or an Authorised Company, the Financial Services Act requires the FSC to grant an application within 10 working days of finding it complete, and the clock starts only once the file is complete. The CBRD publishes no processing time for incorporating a domestic company. A Tax Residence Certificate follows within 7 days of the application, provided the company has filed its tax return.

What is a BRN in Mauritius?

The business registration number allocated under the Business Registration Act 2002. Nobody may carry on business in Mauritius without being registered under that Act, and the registered business receives one BRN and a business registration card, which is evidence of the registration. When a company is incorporated through CBRIS, the same application obtains its BRN.

Is there a minimum share capital for a Mauritius company?

The Companies Act 2001 sets none. A company limited by shares needs at least one share, and the application for incorporation states the number of shares each shareholder takes and the amount paid or other consideration. GBC and Authorised Company shares may be issued without par value or in more than one currency, and an Authorised Company’s shares are fully paid on issue.

What business can I start with a Mauritius company?

Almost any lawful business, but the form follows the activity. Trading with Mauritian customers is done through a domestic company. A GBC does its business principally outside Mauritius while keeping its core income generating activities on the island. An Authorised Company, which the CBRD links with holding, international trade and consultancy, may not carry on the activities in the Fourth Schedule to the Financial Services Act. Fund management, insurance broking or virtual asset services need their own FSC licence first.

How do I close a company in Mauritius?

A company that no longer trades can ask the Registrar to remove it from the register under section 309(1)(d) of the Companies Act. The CBRD asks for form F23, a shareholders’ resolution, a letter confirming there are no charges, clearance from the MRA and the FSC for a GBC, or from the FSC alone for an Authorised Company, and notices published in the Government Gazette and two daily newspapers.

More on Mauritius: the Mauritius overview, ready-made companies in Mauritius, bank accounts for Mauritius companies and our guide to off-the-shelf companies.