Mauritius legal and accounting and tax considerations in 2022

1. In order to promote Mauritius as a reputable jurisdiction, the island has improved their tax policy. On the 1 of July 2019, the Mauritius Government issued the Income Tax (Amendment No.2) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) which requires all Mauritius entities to comply with economic substance requirements including i) employing local staff, ii) leasing a physical office, iii) carrying out their core income in Mauritius;
2. As the result, on October 10, 2019 the EU Finance Ministers agreed to remove Mauritius from the EU grey list. However, the jurisdiction is still included in the FATF “grey list”;
3. Existing holders of GBC2 licenses issued prior to 16 October 2017 will continue to benefit from tax exemption up to 30 June 2021. Thereafter all international business companies will be subject to a reduced corporate tax rate of 3%;
4. All foreign and local companies in Mauritius are subject to corporate tax at a standard rate of 15%;
5. Although exempt from withholding tax on dividends, companies in Mauritius are still subject to withholding tax at a rate of i) 15% on interests ii) 15% on royalties iii) 10% on technical services fees;
6. The standard Value Added Tax rate in Mauritius is 15% and companies are obliged to file returns either monthly or quarterly;
7. All resident and non-resident companies in Mauritius are obliged to file annual tax returns with the Mauritius Tax Authority. Late filing of returns will warrant a penalty;
8. All companies in Mauritius, with the exception of the GBL, are subject to a corporate social responsibility contribution of 2% charged on their previous year’s chargeable income;
9. The government of Mauritius has signed 46 double tax treaties with different countries globally to help reduce the tax burden and promote international trade. Some of the countries that have signed agreements with Mauritius include Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sweden and Singapore among others;
10. Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC’s local agent will assist our Client with i) documenting and implementing accounting procedures; ii) implementing financial accounting software; iii) preparing financial accounting records; and iv) preparing forecasts, budgets and performing sensitivity analysis;
11. It is important our Clients are aware of their personal and corporate tax obligations in their country of residence and domicile; and they will fulfil those obligations annually; Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC can help to clarify your annual reporting obligations;
12. For a smooth business set up process, Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC will cooperate with our registered agents in Mauritius, licensed by the FSC to provide the services of a management company under Section 77(1) of the FSA.
13. Mauritius is fully compliant with the international standards on automatic exchange of information and information exchange on request under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), implemented by the OECD.
14. It is mandatory for each domestic company to register all it’s local employees with the Mauritius Revenue Authority for the National Pension Fund (NPF) and National Savings Fund (NSF) and file monthly PAYE/NPF/NSF accordingly. Refer to the MRA webpage for NPF and NSF contributions rates;
15. It is also mandatory for each Mauritius employer to pay a training levy to the National Training Fund at a rate of 1.5% of employee salaries. Refer to the Mauritius Human Resource Development Council for information on training incentive schemes, grants and refund of training costs to employers.

Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC does not recommend our Clients establish a business in Mauritius, due to the poor business environment provided by the Mauritius Government and Financial Services Commission to multi-national organisations. Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC instead recommends our Clients establish their businesses in these reputable zero tax jurisdictions.