Propelling Mauritius into the New Normal

• Financial Services
  • Suite of new financial products including Central Bank digital currency, Variable Capital Companies,  debut Sukuk issuance and Green and Blue Bond issuance by Bank of Mauritius;
  • Introducing new frameworks for digital banking, private banking and wealth management;
  • Setting up of Venture Capital Market for start ups and SMES in Mauritius Stock Exchange;
  • Implementation of the five remaining recommendations under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan by September 2020, including risk-based supervisions and timely access to beneficial ownership information;
  • New AML/CFT provisions to complement existing AML/CFT laws;
  • Setting up of a specialised Financial Offences Court.
• Fairer Tax Treatment
  • Income starting from Rs 3 million subject to 25% solidarity levy;
  • Companies/Group of companies generating gross income in excess of Rs 500 million subject to levy of:
   > 0.3% for insurance companies, financial institutions, service providers and property holding   companies;
   > 0.1% for other companies;
  • not applicable to companies operating in tourism sector or to global business companies.
• Best in Class for Business
  • Digital platform from company formation, licensing, property registration, Bank centralized KYC to customs clearance services amongst others.
• Gateway for Foreigners
  • Right to work permit (Occupation Permit – “OP”) and right to reside permit (Residence Permit – “RP”) merged into one single permit;
  • Eligible retirees now entitled to work and/or reside in Mauritius for 10 years, renewable;
  • Minimum investment amount for obtaining right to work in Mauritius is now reduced to USD 50,000;
  • Spouse of an OP holder can now invest or work in Mauritius without a permit and parents of OP holders may now live in Mauritius without a permit;
  • Acquisition of real estate by foreign buyers through digital Power of Attorney;
  • Professionals with an OP and foreign retirees with a RP will be able to invest in other ventures without any shareholding restriction;
  • Non-citizens who have a RP under the various real estate schemes will no longer require an OP to invest and work in Mauritius.
• Tourism
  • Striking a commercial partnership with Liverpool Football Club for the promotion of the Mauritius destination;
  • Aparthotels Scheme enabling hotels to convert part of their accommodation units into sellable serviced apartments;
  • Invest Hotel Scheme enabling owners to occupy their units for 90 days annually;
  • Special arrangements at the airport for high net worth tourists arriving in private jets;
  • Licensees of Tourism Authority and Beach Authority exempt from payment of licence fees for two years.
• Blue Economy
  • 8-year tax holiday, duty and VAT exemption applicable to inland aquaculture scheme;
  • Single licence for chartered yacht encompassing multiple berthing options, rights for helicopter flights and gaming.
• Digital Transformation
  • Setting up data technology park specialising inter alia, on deep artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing;
  • Mauritius Digital Transformation Agency set up to champion digital transformation across public sector;
  • New sandbox framework for innovative technology.
• Pension
  • Replacing the National Pension Fund contributions by the Contribution Sociale Généralisé, employees :
   employees earning Rs 50,000 or less monthly:
             > contribution by employees 1.5%, and employers 3%
   employees earning more than Rs 50,000 monthly: 
            > contribution by employees 3% and employers 6%
• Education
  • 8-year tax holiday and other tax incentives to attract top 500 global institutions to set up branch campuses in Mauritius.
• Construction
  • 12,000 social housing units to be built across the whole island;
  • Fast tracking 34 investment projects worth around Rs 62 billion rupees;
  • Various fiscal incentives for construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing factories, food processing plants and warehouses;
  • Waiver of application fees for Building and Land Use Permit.
• Agriculture
  • Ensuring food security through Farm to Fork concept;
  • Matching demand and supply for land to be used for food production through a centralised digital Land Bank accessible to the public;
  • Possibility for small planters to convert 10% agricultural land for residential or commercial purpose.
• Manufacturing
  • Promoting and protecting the “Made in Mauritius” brand through quotas and shelf-spaces in supermarkets;
  • 15% investment tax credit over 3 years to all manufacturing companies;
  • Double deduction on the cost of acquisition of patents and franchises;
  • Financial support to enterprises producing hygienic goods;
  • 2-year Government support to “Made in Mauritius” warehouses in Tanzania and Mozambique.
• Export
  • Port dues and terminal handling charges for exports waived from July to December 2020 and halved during the first semester of 2021;
  • Freight Rebate Scheme for exports extended to Africa;
  • Trade Promotion and Marketing Scheme extended for exports to Japan, Australia, Canada and the Middle East.
• Health Services
  • Fiscal incentives to companies operating in life sciences and medical R&D.
• Africa
  • Mauritius investment into African projects including Special Economic Zones.