Mauritius is well known for extensive and continually expanding network of double taxation avoidance agreements (“DTAAs”) primarily focused on Africa, which has established its tax efficiency as an International Financial Centre.
While ensuring tax efficiency of investors, Mauritius has also established Investment Promotion and Protections agreements (“IPPAs”), also known as ‘Bilateral Investment Treaties’ with various countries with the objective of protecting and encouraging investments made by Mauritian Companies overseas. IPPAs are of great importance to investors seeking to invest in the developing Asian and African markets and they significantly increase investors’ confidence by ensuring a fair and equitable protection of investments.
IPPAs play a crucial role and are designed to promote investments by creating favorable conditions for greater flow of investments by investors of Mauritius into the territory of the other contracting party.
IPPAs typically offer the following guarantees to investors from the contracting states:
Subject to the laws and regulations of the contracting party, it guarantees investors to transfer investments and returns held in the other contracting party, including the following:
Profits, dividends, interests, capital gains and fees;
Amount from total or partial liquidation of investments;
Payments made pursuant to a loan agreement in connection with investments;
Payments in connection with projects or contracts, etc.
Guarantee against expropriation – investments shall not be nationalised, expropriated or subjected to measures (having effects equivalent to nationalisation or expropriation) except for public purposes, under due process of law, on a non‐ discriminatory basis and against prompt, adequate and effective compensation (which shall be made without delay, and be effectively realisable)
Most favoured nation rule with respect to the treatment of investment, compensation for losses in case of, amongst others, war, armed conflict, riot.
Arrangement for settlement of disputes between investors and the contracting states. If a settlement cannot be reached in a period of 6 months following the date a written notice is received, the investor has the right to submit the dispute for resolution by international arbitration.
The investors have the right of access to the court of the contracting party for exercising adjudicatory authority in any dispute.
The existence or absence of IPPA’s often plays an important role in deciding investment flows. For example the renunciation of these treaties by South Africa last year has led to considerable uneasiness in major investors into the country.
IPPAs/Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”) signed and in force as at 15 February 2011
Note:
** A new IPPA has been negotiated with France and signed on 8 March 2010.
However, the new IPPA has not yet been ratified
However, the new IPPA has not yet been ratified
IPPAs awaiting ratification:
Benin,
Cameroon
Comoros
Gabon
Ghana
Guinea Republic
Kenya
Mauritania
Nepal
Rwanda
Swaziland
Tchad
Turkey
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Should you require further information then please contact:
Peter Todd
peter@cs00195.wpengine.com/ocs | www.osiristrust.com
Telephone: +230 650 4030