Discover the key points of this new budget in our article.
Economic barometers
Economic growth: 8.7 %
GDP : Rs 570 billion
Foreign Direct Investment: Rs 27.7 billion
Total investment: Rs 113 billion
Exports of goods and services: Rs 320 billion
Government debt was lower by 7.2 % points: 68.7 %
Improving the ease of doing business
- A company will be provided with a unique identification number, be it for company, business registration, VAT, tax or employee number.
- The 38 existing licences for registration of different activities in the tourism sector will be streamlined.
- To encourage the adoption of e-signatures, ICTA will now recognise Certifications including DocuSign and Adobe Sign.
Attracting of foreign expertise
- The occupation permit will be streamlined:
- The threshold for occupation permit for professionals will be reduced to Rs 30,000
- An applicant for an occupation permit will be allowed a business visa of 120 days without having to leave Mauritius
- Obtaining an occupation permit will no longer be conditional on having a local bank account
- The Young Professional Occupation Permit will be opened to all fields of study
- A silent is consent provision of 4 weeks will be introduced for registration of foreign professionals with professional bodies including the medical, dental and veterinary councils
- The composition and process of the Medical, Dental, Veterinary and Allied Professionals Councils will be reviewed
- Streamlining of the process for obtaining a work permit
- Work permit applications will be made solely on the National e-licensing platform
- Inntroduction of a silent is consent principle of 4 weeks for work permits applications
- A new tier system will be introduced allowing companies with a good track record to avail from a streamlined process to recruit foreign labour under a work permit
- The ratio of foreign to local employees is being removed for specific sectors
- Non-citizens on a tourist or business visa will be allowed to apply for a work permit
Financial Services
- Undertake a National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing risks with the assistance of the World Bank
- Introduce a new set of legislative amendments to reinforce the existing AML/CFT legal framework and a Whistleblowing Act to sustain the fight against corruption
- Commission an independent assessment of the effectiveness of our AML/CFT system ahead of the ESAAMLG mutual evaluation in 2025
- Extend the scope of the Variable Capital Companies to allow their use for family offices and wealth management
- Introduce a new framework to support the licensing and operation of Electronic Money Institutions (EMI)
- Introduce a Wealth Manager and Family Officer licence under Private Banking
- Increase the promotion and marketing budget of the Economic Development Board by Rs 100 million
- To further protect depositors, the Bank of Mauritius will operationalise the Mauritius Deposit Insurance Scheme and the Mauritius Deposit Insurance Company
- The Digital Rupee will be rolled out in November this year on a pilot basis
- To reinforce the position of Mauritius internationally, the Bank of Mauritius will set up its Centre for International Cooperation (CIC) to host international ad-hoc and permanent representations and projects
- The Bank of Mauritius will host the OECD – FinCoNet Annual General Meeting in November this year
Medical tourism and the silver economy
- Medical patients and retirees as well as up to two accompanying caretakers will be eligible for a premium visa
- A foreign patient or retiree will not need to open a bank account in Mauritius
- Foreign retirees above 60 years old will have access to medical insurance
Taxation and fiscal measures
- Companies manufacturing medical devices will be taxed at 3 percent
- As from this financial year, the personal income tax, will be completely progressive and the solidarity levy is being removed.
- The new tax rates will be as follows:
| MUR | Tax rate |
| 0 – 390,000 | 0 % |
| 390,001 – 430,000 | 2 % |
| 430,001 – 470,000 | 4 % |
| 470,001 -530,000 | 6 % |
| 530,001 – 590,000 | 8 % |
| 590,001 – 890,000 | 10 % |
| 890,001 – 1,190,000 | 12 % |
| 1,190,001 – 1,490,000 | 14 % |
| 1,490,001 – 1,890,000 | 16 % |
| 1,890,001 – 2,390,000 | 18 % |
| 2,390,001 onwards | 20 % |
Financial Services Act
The Financial Services Act will be amended to
- specifically empower the FSC to take enforcement actions in case of breach of AML/CFT legislation
- align sanctions for non-payment of administrative penalties with that of non-payment of license fees
- provide that licensees will be under an obligation to submit independent compliance reports to the FSC
- include breach of the AML/CFT legislation as a ground for referral to the Enforcement Committee
- enhance the role of Management Companies with respect to ensuring compliance of their clients with relevant laws
- clarify that the issuance of a certificate of good standing is also applicable to Authorised Companies
- provide that recovery of annual fees and late charges due to the FSC will not be time barred to enhance recovery capacity of the FSC
- empower the FSC to make Rules on obligations and responsibilities of holders of a Management licence
Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act
The Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act will be amended to
- allow a Virtual Asset Custodian to also hold custody of securities tokens
- remove the requirement for an applicant to be considered as issuer of initial token offerings to submit an approval letter, in respect to the initial token offerings, issued by the virtual asset exchange or its equivalent acceptable to the FSC
- empower the FSC to make Rules for the setting up of a Virtual Asset Register on virtual asset service providers
Fore more informations, please contact office@rosemont.mu