Ready-Made Shelf Company in Mauritius: Buying a GBC or Domestic Company

What a Ready-Made Company in Mauritius Is

A ready-made company in Mauritius, sold as a shelf or off-the-shelf company, is a company already incorporated under the Companies Act 2001 that has never traded and changes owner through a sale of its shares. Nothing is incorporated again. The company keeps its company number and the date on its certificate of incorporation, which is conclusive evidence that it has existed since that date (section 25). What the buyer takes over depends on which of the three Mauritian forms the company has.

Comes with the company	Domestic company	GBC	Authorised Company
Certificate of incorporation and company number	Yes	Yes	Yes
Licence from the Financial Services Commission (FSC)	None	Global Business Licence, if kept in force	Authorisation under section 71A
Administrator in Mauritius	Not required	Management company	Registered agent, which is a management company
Bank account in Mauritius	Not required by law	Principal bank account required at all times	Not required by law
Accounts already on file	Annual return and financial statements or summary with the Registrar	Audited financial statements with the FSC for each year	Financial summary with the FSC for each year

A buyer who wants to trade with Mauritian customers looks for a domestic company; a buyer who wants a Mauritian holding or trading vehicle for business abroad looks for a Global Business Corporation (GBC) or an Authorised Company (AC). The rules for directors, secretary and registered office are the ones a founder meets, set out on company formation in Mauritius. One trap applies to domestic shelf companies: once the majority owner is not a Mauritian citizen and the business is done principally outside Mauritius, the company needs a Global Business Licence or an authorisation like any new one (Financial Services Act, sections 71(1) and 71A(1)).

Buying a Shelf GBC or Authorised Company: FSC Approval Comes First

A Global Business Licence or an AC authorisation belongs to the company, so it is not issued again on a sale. It does not pass to a new owner without the regulator either. Section 23 of the Financial Services Act provides that no shares or legal or beneficial interest in a licensee may be issued or transferred without the FSC’s approval, and the Act defines a licensee as the holder of a licence, including any person authorised under the relevant Acts. Only a transfer of less than 5 per cent, or one to an existing shareholder, that leaves control where it was escapes approval, and it must still be notified to the FSC within 14 days. In Circular Letter CL200525 of May 2025 the FSC reminded management companies that approval has to come before the shares move, not after.

The FSC looks at the buyer, not only at the documents. The licensee supplies whatever particulars of the incoming shareholders the Commission requires (section 23(2)), and where the FSC is not satisfied that a controller or beneficial owner is fit and proper, it can direct that person to dispose of the shares or not to vote them (section 23(3)). The same circular points to the equivalent sections 14 and 16 of the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021, so a Mauritian crypto company for sale also changes hands only with the FSC’s consent.

How the Transfer Is Completed in Mauritius

Step	What happens	Legal basis
FSC approval (GBC or AC)	The management company applies with the particulars of the buyer and the beneficial owners	Financial Services Act s. 23(1), (2)
Instrument of transfer	Seller and buyer sign a transfer in the form approved by the Registrar; where the company holds immovable property in Mauritius the Registration Duty Act form is used instead	Companies Act s. 87(1); Registration Duty Act s. 24
Share register	The company enters the buyer and files a certified copy of the instrument with the Registrar; a refusal must be notified within 28 days	Companies Act ss. 87(1)(b), 89
Beneficial owners	The new beneficial owner signs a written declaration and the information is lodged through CBRIS within 14 days of the register entry	Companies Act s. 91(3A), (3B)
Directors and secretary	New directors consent and certify they are not disqualified; the Registrar is told within 28 days; a GBC notifies the FSC within 7 days of that filing and keeps two resident directors throughout	Companies Act ss. 134, 142; Financial Services Act s. 71(3)
Management company	Moving a GBC to another management company, or an AC to another registered agent, is a separate application to the FSC	Financial Services Act ss. 71(3)(aa), 71A(7)(b)
Name and registered office	A new name needs a special resolution and takes effect from the Registrar’s certificate, after which notices appear in two daily newspapers and the Government Gazette; the board can move the registered office	Companies Act ss. 36, 188

For a domestic company the FSC steps fall away, and the transfer is a matter for the company, the Registrar and the new directors.

Checking a Mauritian Shelf Company before You Buy

• the certificate of incorporation, the company number and the date;
• for a GBC or AC, the licence or authorisation and proof that its yearly renewal has been paid, since a Global Business Licence lapses otherwise (Financial Services Act, section 74);
• audited financial statements filed with the FSC within six months of every year end for a GBC, or the financial summary for an AC;
• a Mauritian tax return for every year, because the MRA issues a Tax Residence Certificate only once the return is in (Income Tax Act, section 73(3));
• that a GBC has had two resident directors and its principal bank account in Mauritius throughout;
• the share register, the beneficial ownership register and the filings made with the Registrar;
• whether the company owns any immovable property in Mauritius, which changes the form of the transfer.

The file of a GBC or Authorised Company is not open to the public. An extract or a certificate of current standing can be requested only by the management company or registered agent, a director, a shareholder or a representative of the company (Companies Act, section 346(3)), so ask the seller’s management company to obtain them; the CBRD’s stated time frame is three working days.

The Bank Account of a Ready-Made Mauritian Company

A GBC that has kept to its licence already banks in Mauritius, because maintaining its principal bank account there is part of the FSC’s management and control test. That account belongs to the company and a sale of the shares does not close it. The bank will, however, review the new owners, directors and signatories, and may keep the account, ask for more or close it. Mauritian banks deal with global business companies through the management company: MCB’s onboarding sheet asks a structure that already exists for its latest audited financial statements and its reason for approaching the bank, and AfrAsia’s checklist calls for an eligible introducer’s certificate. Shelf companies sold with a working bank account are not readily available in Mauritius, as in most Indian Ocean jurisdictions. Bank requirements are on bank accounts for Mauritius companies, and where pre-banked companies are available on shelf companies with bank accounts.

Why Buyers Look for a Ready Company in Mauritius

• An earlier incorporation date. The certificate shows when the company came into existence, and that date cannot be moved.
• A licensed structure already running. A GBC that comes with its licence, management company, resident directors and Mauritian account has the substance a new one still has to put together, although the FSC must approve the new owners.
• A filing record. Audited accounts and tax returns already filed are what the MRA wants to see before it certifies tax residence, and what a bank asks an existing structure for.

When a Shelf Company Brings Nothing over a New One

The law does not make a new Mauritian company slow to obtain. A domestic company is incorporated online through CBRIS with no minimum capital to deposit, so a shelf one adds little beyond its date. For a GBC or AC the Financial Services Act obliges the FSC to grant a complete new application within 10 working days, while a shelf company needs FSC approval of its sale anyway. The tax is the same: 15%, with the 80% partial exemption only for listed income and only with substance. A shelf company can also carry problems a new one cannot, such as a lapsed licence, missing audited accounts or a period without two resident directors. If the date and the existing licence are not what you need, form a new company; company formation in Mauritius explains the steps.

What We Do

We can supply a ready-made Mauritian company or form a new one. For a purchase we prepare the instrument of transfer, the resolutions on directors, name and registered office and the filings with the Registrar, and support the management company’s approval request to the FSC; we help prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce you, leaving the decision to the bank. If the company needs resident directors, a secretary or a nominee shareholder after the sale, 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, on the terms that Act sets: a director appointed that way owes the company every statutory duty of a director, and a nominee shareholder appears alongside you in the share register and the beneficial ownership register lodged with the Registrar.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ready-Made Companies in Mauritius

Can a foreigner buy a ready-made company in Mauritius?

Yes. Mauritian company law sets no nationality or residence condition for shareholders, and a foreign company can be the buyer. What the buyer must meet are the officer rules: a domestic company keeps at least one director ordinarily resident in Mauritius, a GBC keeps two resident directors and a management company, and an Authorised Company keeps a registered agent. For a GBC or AC, the FSC must approve the new owners before the shares are transferred.

Does the FSC have to approve the purchase of a Mauritian GBC?

Yes, in almost every sale. Section 23 of the Financial Services Act forbids the transfer of shares or beneficial interest in a licensee without the FSC’s approval. A transfer below 5 per cent, or to an existing shareholder, that does not change control only has to be notified within 14 days. A shelf sale moves control by definition, so the management company applies for approval with the buyer’s particulars first.

Does a shelf company in Mauritius come with a bank account?

A GBC that has kept to its licence should have one, because its principal bank account must be in Mauritius at all times. A domestic company or Authorised Company may have none. Where there is an account it stays with the company, but the bank reviews the new owners and signatories and decides whether to keep it, ask for more or close it. Shelf companies sold with an account are not readily available in Mauritius.

Is a ready-made Mauritius company taxed at 3%?

Not as a whole. A company resident in Mauritius pays 15%. Listed income, such as foreign dividends, most interest and the profit of a foreign permanent establishment, is 80% exempt, which leaves 3% on that income, but only if the company carries out its core income generating activities in Mauritius with adequate staff and expenditure. An Authorised Company is treated as non-resident and taxed only on Mauritian income.

Can I change the name of a shelf company in Mauritius?

Yes. The shareholders pass a special resolution, unless the constitution provides otherwise, and the company files it with the Registrar on form F2, with the name reservation notice if one was obtained. The change takes effect from the date of the certificate the Registrar issues, which the CBRD says it does within 3 days. The company then publishes the change in two daily newspapers and the Government Gazette.

How do I check a Mauritius company register entry before buying?

For a domestic company, anyone can search the CBRD online and request an extract of the file or a certificate of current standing. For a GBC or Authorised Company those documents go only to the management company or registered agent, a director, a shareholder or a representative, so ask the seller’s management company for them, together with the licence, the audited accounts filed with the FSC and the tax returns.

More on Mauritius: the Mauritius overview, company formation in Mauritius, bank accounts for Mauritius companies and our guide to aged shelf companies.