Do you know how to register a company in Mauritius as foreign entrepreneurs (LLC, JV, Branch)? Mauritius is an island nation that is located in the Indian Ocean.  It is one of those small countries with very little area and an even smaller population. The country is beautiful as is the case with all island nations and it has developed itself into a great tourist spot.

In recent times people have taken up an interest in setting up businesses in Mauritius. There has been a decent amount of foreign direct investments being injected into the economy of Mauritius. It can only be a good thing for such a small nation. With that being said, listed below are the procedures needed to register a company in Mauritius.

Register the name and company

In order to register at first, the company needs to complete the company registration form and file out all the necessary details. This can be done at the Registrar of Companies or can be done online. There is a registration fee that all private companies need to pay.

The amount is MUR 300 for the registration. An additional MUR 200 needs to be paid for the Certificate of Registration that will be issued in due time.  If the registration is done online then it shall take up to 2 days to receive the Business Registration Card. This card shall contain the unique identifier which is basically the business registration number of the company.

Once the registration is completed, the company shall receive a computer-generated certificate. An original certificate along with the seal of the Registrar of Companies and their signature will also be issued which needs to be received in person from the office. The best part about completing all these is that as soon as the certificate is issued, the company number will be automatically updated in the Mauritius Central Database System.

This essentially eliminates the task of registering the company for income tax and makes the whole process smoother. Without a legal identity, no one is allowed to do business so, known information about how to register a company in Mauritius?

License & Fees

Alongside registering the company and receiving the Certificate of Registration, the company needs to obtain a business license from the local authorities. There is a license fee that needs to be paid first in order to obtain the license. The license fee is usually published by the local authority.

This fee will be for the entire financial year and should be paid within the opening 15 days of the start of the business. The company is liable to a fine of 50% of the surcharge on any due amounts of the license fees.

Alongside the payment, the company is expected to provide certain documents when the payment is being made. This includes the list of following;

1. The declaration of trades form. This form can be found and downloaded from the municipality website. Copies of this form should be submitted.
2. Two copies of the business registration card.
3. Applicant’s ID card or Passport copy.
4. The Certificate of Incorporation. In other words, the Certificate of Registration.
5. The permit of building and land use.
6. Site and location plan.
7. And finally, the written consent of the landlord on which the company is conducting their business operations on. This can also be the Lease Agreement or the proof of ownership.
8. ID Card of the landlord (owner of premises)

Social Security Registration

Once the fee for the business license has been paid, the company has to move on to register with the social security office. The owner or the director of the company has to fill out the Social Security Registration application form.

This can be found on the Central Business registration Database. After filling out this form, the entrepreneur is expected to provide the following documents;

1. The registration of the Employer.
2. Two copies of the certificate of registration.
3. A single copy of the Business Registration Card.
4. A list containing all the names of the Directors of the Company.

Company Seal

All businesses require a company seal which should be present during the processing of the Certificate of Registration. While the authorities of Mauritius have not made it compulsory to have a company seal since the year 2011, it is better to have one. A company seal can be made via any third party who makes company seals.

Inspection by the local authority

One of the last steps of completing the registration process of a company is to have your company inspected by a wide variety of local authorities. These authority bodies include the Sanitary Authority, the Police Department, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, and even the Fire Services Department.

The sole purpose of these inspections is to make sure the company is abiding by all the state laws and they even provide certain guidelines on how to effectively follow the rules. Once they are cleared, the process of registering the company becomes one step closer.

Read also: 7 steps of starting business in Mauritius as foreigner