Authorized Company vs Global Business Licence in Mauritius: Which One Do You Actually Need?
Every week someone contacts me with the same question. They’ve done their research, they’ve read the FSC website, and they’re more confused than when they started. Authorized Company or Global Business Licence — which one?
Here’s my honest take: most websites explain what each structure is. Very few tell you which one fits your situation. Let me fix that.
What Is a Mauritius Authorized Company?
An Authorized Company (AC) is incorporated in Mauritius but managed and controlled from outside the country. That one sentence tells you almost everything.
Because the control sits abroad, Mauritius treats it as a non-resident entity. No Mauritius tax on foreign-sourced income. No audit requirement. No resident directors. No local expenditure threshold. It’s genuinely light-touch — and that’s the whole appeal.
But here’s what most websites won’t tell you clearly: an AC gets no access to Mauritius’s double taxation treaty network. Mauritius has signed over 40 treaties — with India, South Africa, the UK, Kenya, Rwanda… The AC is excluded from all of them.
If withholding tax relief is the reason you’re considering Mauritius, an AC won’t help you.
What Is a Global Business Company (GBC)?
A Global Business Company (GBC) — still called a “Global Business Licence” by plenty of people — is the opposite profile entirely. It’s incorporated and managed in Mauritius, which makes it a tax resident here.
The headline corporate tax rate is 15%. But most qualifying income — dividends, interest, royalties — gets an 80% partial exemption. That brings the effective rate down to roughly 3%. And a GBC can use the full treaty network. For structures involving India or East Africa, the difference in withholding tax alone can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
The trade-off is substance. To hold GBC status, you have to show genuine economic presence here in Mauritius:
- At least 2 resident directors based on the island
- A real registered office — the FSC has zero tolerance for letterboxes
- Minimum local expenditure — roughly MUR 1.5 million (~USD 33,000) per year
- Board meetings held and decisions made in Mauritius — not over email from Sandton
- Audited accounts, FSC filings, and higher management fees
Mauritius came off the EU grey list in 2021 partly by enforcing these rules properly. The FSC takes them seriously now. So should you.
Side by Side: AC vs GBC
| Authorized Company (AC) | Global Business Company (GBC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax residency | Non-resident | Tax resident in Mauritius |
| Tax on foreign income | None | 15% headline; ~3% effective with 80% partial exemption |
| Treaty access | No | Yes — 40+ treaties |
| Substance required | Minimal | Yes — 2 resident directors, local office, local spend, Mauritius board control |
| Accounts | No audit | Audited accounts mandatory |
| Annual running cost | USD 1,500 – 3,000 | USD 8,000 – 20,000+ |
| Best for | Holding foreign assets, invoicing non-Mauritius clients, IP holding | Investing into treaty jurisdictions, Africa/India gateway structures, fund vehicles |
Who Should Choose an Authorized Company?
I had a client from Durban last month — a freelance consultant invoicing clients in Germany and the Netherlands. She wanted a clean offshore structure, low admin, and no Mauritius tax on her foreign earnings. An AC was the obvious answer. Her clients aren’t in treaty-sensitive jurisdictions. She doesn’t need DTT access. And the whole structure costs her around USD 2,000 a year with no audit headache.
ACs also suit IP holding, owning foreign shares, or running a simple invoicing vehicle where all the real activity happens outside Mauritius. If you’re based in Cape Town, running a digital business with European clients… honestly? An AC is probably all you need.
Who Should Choose a Global Business Licence?
And then there’s the other scenario. A London-based fund manager deploying capital into Kenyan infrastructure and South African private equity. Without withholding tax protection at source, she could face 15–20% tax on dividends before she sees a cent of returns. A GBC — and the Mauritius treaty network — can bring that down to 5–10% depending on the structure.
Same story for a Johannesburg firm channelling private equity deals into India. The Mauritius-India treaty has been renegotiated, yes, but it still offers meaningful relief on certain income streams. Without a GBC, Indian tax authorities won’t accept the treaty claim. Full stop.
Yes, the GBC costs more — USD 8,000 to 20,000+ per year once you factor in resident directors, management fees, and the annual audit. But if treaty access saves you tens of thousands in withholding tax, that cost disappears quickly. The maths usually works out within the first deal.
The Verdict
Here’s my bold take: most people asking “can I use an AC for my India holding structure?” already need a GBC. They just don’t want to hear it.
Choose an Authorized Company when you want simplicity and low cost — and your income is foreign-sourced with no treaty dependency. Mauritius is the address, not the mechanism.
Choose a Global Business Licence when treaty access is the entire point. When being a Mauritius tax resident and cutting withholding taxes at source is the commercial rationale for the whole structure.
Getting this wrong early is expensive. Not just the advisor fees to unwind it — but the tax you shouldn’t have paid in the meantime…
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between an Authorized Company and a GBC in Mauritius?
An Authorized Company is a non-resident entity managed from outside Mauritius — minimal substance required, no audit, and no access to Mauritius tax treaties. A Global Business Company is tax-resident in Mauritius, can access the 40+ double taxation treaty network, but must meet economic substance requirements including at least two resident directors and local expenditure.
Can an Authorized Company use Mauritius double taxation treaties?
No. Only Global Business Companies qualify as Mauritius tax residents and can claim benefits under the DTT network. Authorized Companies are treated as non-resident entities and are explicitly excluded from treaty access.
What is the effective tax rate for a Global Business Company in Mauritius?
The headline rate is 15%, but qualifying income — dividends, interest, royalties — benefits from an 80% partial exemption, bringing the effective rate to approximately 3% on that income. That makes the GBC one of the most tax-efficient structures available in the Africa and Indian Ocean region.
How much does it cost to run a GBC in Mauritius each year?
Annual running costs typically range from USD 8,000 to USD 20,000 or more, covering resident directors, the local registered office, management company fees, and mandatory audited accounts. Setup usually adds another USD 2,000–5,000. An Authorized Company, by contrast, runs at USD 1,500–3,000 per year with no audit requirement.
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