Lex Africa Guide 2012 Full - Afrer.org

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the financial year (applicable to companies other thansmall proprietary companies and GBC 2 companies);for GBCs, filing of the annual report and financialstatements with the FSC;notify the FSC whenever a person becomes the holder of20% or more of the company’s shares or its votingpowers for GBCs.Exchange ControlsExchange controls have been suspended.TaxationTaxation in Mauritius is regulated by the Income Tax Act and itsregulations. The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) is theregulator. Mauritius offers both a low tax jurisdiction andcompetitively priced business costs. The Mauritius tax regime isone of the lowest in the world.Legal SystemThe hybrid legal system in Mauritius combines both the civil andcommon law practices. The legal system is governed by both theFrench Code Napoléon and the British law. The Supreme Courthas a Chief Justice and seventeen (17) Puisne Judges who alsoserve on the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Court of Civil Appeal.The Magistrates serve on the Intermediate Court, the IndustrialCourt and ten (10) District Courts. The right of appeal to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in London is applicable(the Privy Council also sits in Mauritius from time to time). ThePresident of the Republic, in consultation with the PrimeMinister, nominates the Chief Justice, and then with the adviceof the Chief Justice also appoints the other Judges. The Presidentnominates other Judges on the advice of the Judicial and LegalService Commissions. Defendants have the right to counsel,including court-appointed counsel in case of indigency.Intellectual PropertyProtection is provided by statute, the Patents, Industrial Designsand Trademarks Act.Financial Services/InsuranceThe Financial Services Commission (FSC) was established as theregulator for the non-bank financial services sector under theFinancial Services Development Act. The FSC is the integratedregulator for the industry and its remit encompasses those ofthe former regulatory bodies for securities (Stock ExchangeCommission), insurance (Insurance Division of the Ministry ofEconomic Development, Financial Services and CorporateAffairs) and global business (Mauritius Offshore BusinessActivities Authority). The Commission thus licenses, regulatesand supervises non-bank financial institutions in Mauritius.Investment Climate and IncentivesThe Government has ensured that doing business in and fromMauritius is easy and efficient and complies with best practicesin terms of transparency, good governance and ethics. Mauritiushas enacted anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financinglegislation while the business framework itself has been madesimpler. Mauritius has never been blacklisted and is not on theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD’s) list of suspect tax havens.Under the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Promotion) Act,which came into operation on 1 October 2006, all applications inrespect of foreign investment are channelled through the Boardof Investment (BOI). Red tape has been minimised andregulatory processes re-engineered towards controls based onclearly defined guidelines. An attractive package of incentives isprovided to investors in the hotel, leisure and real estate sectors.In addition, the government has, in the Finance Act, introducedvarious schemes to promote foreign investment with minimumintervention by the Mauritian authorities. The MauritianGovernment has again reiterated its will to promote foreigndirect investment in its last 2012 budget with incentives forforeign investors in the freeport sector, ICT/BPO sector, financialservices sector, tertiary education sector and emerging marketssuch as renewal energy.Government incentives for investment include a low corporatetax rate of 15%, exemption from customs and excise duties onimports of equipment and raw materials, a low rate of 5%registration duty for notarial deeds, free repatriation of profits,dividends and capital, reduced tariffs for electricity and waterand the possibility for foreign investors to acquire immovableproperty and obtain permanent residency under the IntegratedResort Scheme (IRS) and Real Estate Scheme (RES).Under the IRS, a foreign company or a non-resident is allowed tobuy property for a minimum of US$500 000 (about EUR364 870)in immovable property and is eligible to be granted residency. Inaddition, a corporation holding a category 1 Global BusinessLicence (GBC1) may acquire immovable property whereauthorised by the terms of its licence.The following tax incentives are available to domestic andforeign investors:Income tax: Under the Income Tax Act, as amended,domestic companies and companies holding a GBC1benefit from an income tax rate of 15%. In the case of aGBC1, the income tax rate may be reduced to 3% afterapplication of deemed foreign tax credits. Corporationswhich hold a category 2 Global Business licence (GBC2) areexempt from tax but not considered as residents for taxpurposes.no capital gains tax;royalties, interest and services fees payable to foreignaffiliates are allowed as expenses provided they arereasonable and correspond to actual expenses incurred;interest paid on deposits in a bank holding category 2banking licences are tax exempt;dividends are tax exempt;no withholding tax on interest and royalties paid by a GBC 1or GBC 2 to non-residents ;no estate duty or inheritance tax is payable on theinheritance of shares in an entity holding a Global BusinessLicence (GBL).Double Taxation Avoidance TreatiesMauritius has concluded 36 double tax treaties and severaltreaties are under negotiation. The treaties currently in forceinclude Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Croatia, Cyprus,Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, France, Germany,India, Italy, Kuwait, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Madagascar,Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,Oman, Pakistan, People’s Republic ofBangladesh, People’s Republic of China,Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore,South Africa, State of Qatar, Swaziland,Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United51
52Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.Three treaties with Russia, Congo and Zambia await ratificationand treaties await signature with Egypt, Malawi, Kenya, Nigeriaand Ghana.Treaties are being negotiated with Algeria, Burkina Faso,Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Monaco, Portugal, Republic ofIran, Saudi Arabia, St Kitts & Nevis, Vietnam and Yemen.The 2012 budget has again proven the strong desire of theMauritian Government to position Mauritius as an idealfinancial platform for investments in Africa with the negotiationof additional DTAs with African countries and facilitating tradebetween Mauritius and those African countries. According tothe 2012 budget, the Government is planning to start withAlgeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and South Sudan.Investment Promotion and Protection AgreementsInvestment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPA) havebeen signed and are in force with the following countries:Barbados, Belgium/Luxemburg Economic Union, Burundi,China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India,Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal,Republic of Korea, Romania, Sénégal, Singapore, South Africa,Sweden, Switzerland and UK and Northern Ireland.Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements with thefollowing countries are awaiting ratification:Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Comoros, Ghana, Guinea Republic,Mauritania, Nepal, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Swaziland,Tchad, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.Bilateral Treaties - Preferential Trade AgreementThere is a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) betweenMauritius and Pakistan and an Interim Economic PartnershipAgreement (EPA) between the Eastern and Southern Africanregion and the European Union.Membership of International and Regional OrganisationsMauritius has secured preferential access to markets with theEuropean Union through the Cotonou agreement; with the USunder the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and with Easternand Southern Africa through the Common Market for Easternand Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern AfricanDevelopment Community (SADC).Agriculture and AquacultureSugarcane constitutes 53% of Mauritian agriculture while foodcropsaccount for 17%, livestock 12% and flowers, fruits andforestry account for 4%. The government is supporting theagricultural sector through food security strategies that arealready bearing fruit. An innovative step is the local cultivation ofrice with the aim of supplying the local market and for export.Furthermore, development of the agribusiness sector is veryhigh on the agenda of the Mauritian Board of Investment. Itplans to attract further foreign investment in areas such as largescalehydroponic farming, animal feed production, cattlebreeding and high value added foodprocessing for export.The government has implemented a plan todevelop Mauritius as a world-class seafoodhub. This sector has enormous businesspotential due to the wide exclusive economic zone of 1.9 millionkm², port facilities and an attractive business environment. Thefurther development of the Mauritian seafood industry focuseson: (i) maximizing value from the landings of catches in theregion, namely through the development of further processingactivities for high-graded products such as Sashimi tuna; and (ii)developing sustainable eco-friendly aquaculture following newlegislation authorizing fish farming in the sea. Aquaculture inMauritius has significant potential and a study has identifiedsites suitable for fish farming.PropertyThe property development sector or real estate is a market thatattracts a range of international investors, lenders, occupiersand developers seeking cross-border opportunities. The subsectorsinclude the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS), the RealEstate Scheme (RES), the Invest Hotel Scheme (HIS), businessand industrial parks, shopping malls, office buildings and marinadevelopment.Information Technology (IT) / Business Process Outsourcing(BPO)The Government intends to make the Information andCommunications Technology (ICT) sector a pillar of the economyand transform Mauritius into a regional ICT hub to positionMauritius as a major destination in the region for investments inthis sector. Through a well developed and reliable infrastructure,excellent telecommunication facilities and access to a scalableand stable power grid, Mauritius is emerging as a regional hubfor the provision of outsourcing and telecoms services. TheGovernment of Mauritius has set the building blocks to positionMauritius as a global centre for data hosting, disaster recovery,shared services and other high value added services.Mauritius is building on existing infrastructure (such as theEbene Cyber City and the Informatics parks) and also investing inthe creation of state of the art IT/BPO poles namely, the RoseBelle Business Park and the forthcoming Eco Park which willenable data centre infrastructure projects. Additionally thecreation of an ICT academy will cater for training needs of theworkforce for international standard service delivery in theIT/BPO sector. The ICT sector will be characterized by thedelivery of complex services with higher value and highermargins. New segments such as online gaming and online mediawill also be explored.To boost this sector, the Finance Minister mentioned in his 2012budget that (i) a second undersea fibre optic cable, LION 2 will beoperational in Mauritius by mid-2012, thus ensuring continuityof service at all times; and (ii) the Mauritius Government willendeavour to provide work and residency permits (occupationpermits) to workers in the ICT/BPO earning a minimum salary.FreeportThe Mauritius Freeport is a sector that offers enormouspotential with a 2.5% growth rate and a connection to more than400 million consumers in the Common Market for Eastern andSouthern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern AfricanDevelopment Community (SADC). It contributes 9% of GDP. Forthe calendar year 2008/09 a further 25 freeport projects havebeen approved by the Mauritian Board of Investment with atotal investment value exceeding MUR 700 Million.In addition, the Minister of Finance mentioned the following inhis 2012 budget:
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