Trusteeships
Mauritius

Mauritius Trust

Osiris Corporate Solutions (Mauritius) Ltd is licensed by the FSC to act as  trustee of a Mauritian Trust.  Although Mauritius has a strong French colonial and civil law heritage, it has had substantial English common law influence.  Mauritius also legislated a trust act in terms of the Trusts Act of 2001 which brought in a modern system of trust law.

Trusts established under Mauritius law are particularly useful with regards to the following:

  • Allowing for purpose trusts without a perpetuity period;
  • Allowing a trust to be migrated into and out of Mauritius;
  • Providing for a letter of wishes to seek guidance from the Settlor;
  • Providing for the appointment of a protector;
  • Resident trusts are able to benefit from the extensive double tax treaty network;
  • Non-resident beneficiaries are exempt from income tax on income in the trust;
  • Charitable trusts may be exempt from income tax in Mauritius.

Trusts established in Mauritius are subject to a perpetuity period of 99 years.  Mauritius also allows for the creation of Private Trust Companies, which are typically used by High Net Worth Families.  Such companies are typically GBC1 or 2 companies and can avail themselves of the double tax treaty network.

There is no mandatory requirement to register a trust although this can be done voluntarily with the Registrar General in order to receive a ”date certaine”.

Taxation:

Trusts in Mauritius would normally be subject to income tax in Mauritius.  However, where the settlor is a non-resident or holds a global business category 1 or 2 licence, and all the beneficiaries are non-resident or hold a category 1 global business licence, may then deposit an annual declaration of non-residence with the Director General, and is then exempt from income tax for that year.

Importantly any distribution from a trust, (including an offshore trust) is deemed to be a dividend for Mauritius tax purposes. This has important planning implications for people taking up residence in Mauritius.

Services:

  •  Drafting of trust deed to meet client’s specific requirements.
  •  Transfer-in of trusts from various jurisdictions.
  •  Provide a private trust company to act as trustee of the trust.
  •  Provide a corporate trustee for the trust.
  •  Offer holding companies to hold assets of the trust.
  •  Full administration services.
  •  Provision of statutory services.
  •  Accounting services.