MAURITIUS FINANCIAL SERVICES
Your CIS Manager Licence:
What Your Management Company
Forgot to Tell You
Mauritius has built one of Africa and the Indian Ocean’s most sophisticated frameworks for managing collective investment schemes. But there are two things most licensed CIS managers still don’t know about, and they cost real money to miss.
|
$1,000* UPFRONT GOVT FEE |
$2,500* ANNUAL FEE |
Rs 1 Million MIN. UNIMPAIRED CAPITAL |
*Fees as of May 2026
What is a CIS Manager, exactly?
A Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) Manager is a special licence issued by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius under section 98 of the Securities Act 2005. It authorises a company to perform a broad range of fund management and administrative functions.
Under the licence, the CIS Manager may provide all administrative services to the scheme; registrar and transfer facilities; distribution of the scheme’s securities; accounting records; investment advice; and direct portfolio management.
In short: it is one of the most comprehensive fund management licences Mauritius issues. A CIS Manager is typically issued to a Global Business Company (GBC).
|
To establish a CIS Manager you first need a GBC, and then apply simultaneously for the CIS Manager licence (category 4.2). Both the GBC requirements and the FSC’s additional CISManager’s conditions must be satisfied simultaneously. |
The substance requirements in plain English
Substance is no longer optional. The FSC and international treaty partners expect to see it, test for it, and will revoke licences where it is absent. Here is what is required:
|
01 Minimum capital Rs 1 million in unimpaired stated capital maintained at all times — approximately USD 22,000. |
02 Professional Indemnity Insurance PII cover is mandatory against employee fraud, misuse of confidential information, and third-party professional liability. |
|
03 Qualified personnel Investment Committee members, a Compliance Officer, an MLRO and a DMLRO — all with relevant experience. Two resident director’sminimum. |
04 Controls & procedures manual A documented policies-and-procedures manual demonstrating effective operational controls and risk mitigation. |
|
05 Quarterly management accounts Interim IFRS financial statements filed with the FSC within 45 days of each quarter-end. |
06 Audited annual accounts Full IFRS statements, audited to ISA standards, filed within 90 days of balance sheet date. |
On substance, the single most important thing to understand is this: decisions must demonstrably be made and documented in Mauritius. If a board in Mauritius is simply ratifying instructions from a parent company abroad, the FSC and tax authorities will see through it. The board must show genuine independence of mind and documented evidence of real deliberation. This is why choosing an experienced licensed management company matters far more than most applicants appreciate.
What Serious Players Know That Most Don’t
|
THE FUND MANAGER CERTIFICATE* An officer of a CIS Manager who manages at least USD 50 million in assets may apply to the FSC for a Fund Manager Certificate. Each CIS Manager may have up to two certified individuals. The benefit is significant: certified fund managers are exempt from personal income tax in Mauritius on income from their asset management activities. |
* As per the FSC Circular 2021
Put that in practical terms: a CIS Manager holding USD 100 million in AUM, with two qualified employees each managing USD 50 million, could have both individuals completely outside the personal income tax net in Mauritius. That is a material benefit to attract and maintain top talent to the jurisdiction.
The tax picture for the CIS Manager entity
At the corporate level, the news is also favourable. Income derived by a CIS Manager licensed by the FSC qualifies for an 80% partial exemption, meaning only 20% of qualifying income is subject to the standard 15% corporate rate, producing an effective rate of approximately 3%.
To qualify for the partial exemption the company must satisfy three conditions:
|
CORE |
Income-generating activities must be carried out in Mauritius. |
|
PEOPLE |
An adequate number of suitably qualified persons must be employed, directly or indirectly, in Mauritius. |
|
SPEND |
Minimum expenditure proportionate to the level of activities must be incurred. |
These three conditions are also, of course, the substance requirements, which is exactly why substance and tax planning are inseparable for a CIS Manager. Get substance right and the tax benefits follow. Cut corners on substance and you risk both the FSC licence and the partial exemption.
Who grants the licence — and on what basis?
Under section 98 of the Securities Act, the FSC will not grant a CIS Manager licence unless: the applicant is a body corporate; it can demonstrate the financial and other resources needed; and both the applicant and each of its officers are fit and proper persons satisfying the eligibility, duties, and ethics requirements set out in FSC Rules.
In practice, the licence is granted substantially on the strength of the CVs and track records of the individuals proposed as resident directors and Investment Committee members. The calibre of the people involved is the licence.
|
Is your CIS Manager structured to capture every advantage? If you hold a CIS Manager licence in Mauritius, or are considering one, the two issues above (the Fund Manager Certificate and robust substance) are worth reviewing today. Osiris is a licenced management company in Mauritius, with a presence in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Guernsey. We work with CIS Managers at every stage: initial structuring, substance review, and ongoing governance. Feel free to reach out to start the conversation. |