Is an Offshore Company Legal?

So, is an offshore company legal?

Yes. An offshore company is a lawful vehicle when it is formed under the rules of its jurisdiction, authorised where authorisation is required, and used for real activity that its owner declares where the law of their home country asks for it. The word "offshore" describes where a company sits relative to its owner; it says nothing about whether the owner is acting properly.

What makes a structure illegal is not its location but its use: hiding income that should be declared, disguising who really owns assets, or moving money that comes from crime. The same company can be perfectly orderly in one owner's hands and unlawful in another's.

This page explains the position for Mauritius, and in particular for the Authorised Company, the structure designed for non-resident owners.

Is an offshore company in Mauritius legal?

Mauritius provides the structure in statute. The Authorised Company is created by section 71A of the Financial Services Act 2007 (Act 14 of 2007), alongside the Global Business Corporation, which is governed by section 71. It is not a loophole or a grey area: it is a licensed category supervised by the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The law sets out who falls within the category. A company incorporated under the Companies Act whose shares or voting rights are mostly held or controlled by a non-citizen of Mauritius, which conducts its business mainly outside Mauritius and whose central management and control are outside Mauritius, must apply to the FSC for authorisation as an Authorised Company (section 71A(1)).

Three features show how closely the regime is supervised:

• Application through a licensed intermediary. The request is filed through an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence), with the information, documents and fees set by the FSC Rules. The authorisation is issued by the Chief Executive on behalf of the Commission.
• A resident registered agent at all times. The company must permanently have a registered agent in Mauritius, and that agent must itself be an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence).
• Defined limits on activity. Unless the FSC Rules provide an exception, an Authorised Company may not carry on the activities listed in the Fourth Schedule: banking, professional management of collective investment schemes, financial services, corporate services such as registered office, nominee, directorship or secretarial services, and professional trusteeship.

For a closer look at the supervisor, see the FSC's role and oversight.

Legal use versus evasion

The distinction is easiest to see side by side.

None of the left-hand column is a guarantee of a tax result. Whether a structure is efficient, and whether it creates exposure at home, depends on the owner's situation. The checks that matter most are covered in how an owner is taxed at home and in the guide on controlled foreign company rules.

What transparency to expect as an owner

A legitimate owner should expect to be identified, not to disappear. The Mauritian framework builds this in at several levels.

Beneficial ownership

Under section 91 of the Companies Act 2001 (as updated to 15 May 2026), every Mauritian company must identify its beneficial owner at all times and, where relevant, any nominee. The details are kept in a separate register containing:

• the full name and residential address;
• the national identity card or passport number;
• the nationality; and
• the holding structure that leads to the ultimate beneficial owner.

This information is filed through CBRIS at incorporation, with the annual return, and whenever shares are transferred or issued. The share register must be kept for at least seven years after the transaction concerned, and directors of a company that ceases to operate keep the beneficial ownership information for at least seven years.

The Registrar of Companies maintains a Beneficial Ownership Register that is accessible to all competent authorities and to other prescribed public authorities. The Companies Act does not describe it as a public register. What this means in practice for personal privacy is explained in is the owner of an offshore company private?

The registered agent's role

The registered agent of an Authorised Company handles filings required by the Financial Services Act, the Income Tax Act or the Companies Act; passes on communications with the FSC, the Mauritius Revenue Authority and the Registrar; applies anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures; and keeps records such as minutes, resolutions and transaction documents (section 71A(8)). In effect, a licensed professional stands between the company and the authorities, which is the opposite of an anonymous shell.

Annual filing

Each year, and no later than six months after the end of its financial year, an Authorised Company must file a financial summary with the FSC in the form of the Ninth Schedule of the Companies Act, or other documents specified by the FSC Rules (section 71A(10)). The full routine is described in the annual obligations of an Authorised Company.

Anti-money laundering checks you will meet

Legitimate owners are usually surprised not by what is asked of them but by how much. This is by design.

Under the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act (FIAMLA), a company service provider is a regulated profession, with the Registrar of Companies as its regulatory body. The activities covered include acting as a formation agent for a legal person who helps a third party to incorporate or register it.

Each reporting person must identify, assess and understand its risks of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, looking at clients, geographical areas, products, services, transactions and delivery channels, and must adjust its mitigation measures to those risks (section 17, as amended by Act No. 3 of 2026).

Customer due diligence applies when an account or business relationship is opened. For an occasional client it applies from a transaction of Rs 500 000 or the equivalent in foreign currency, whether single or linked, or for any domestic or cross-border wire transfer (section 17C).

A reporting person or auditor must report a suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit as soon as they become aware of it, and no later than five working days after the suspicion arises. Failure to do so is an offence punishable, on conviction, by a fine of up to Rs 1 million and imprisonment of up to five years (section 14). Act No. 3 of 2026 amended Part IV of FIAMLA with effect from 18 April 2026, including the reporting duty and the risk assessment.

For you as an owner, this means your provider will ask for identity papers, proof of address, an explanation of the business and the origin of funds. A provider that asks for nothing should be a warning sign. See offshore company scams and red flags.

Where legal structures go wrong

Most problems do not come from the company itself but from how it is used. Common failure points include:

• Operating without authorisation. A company carrying on the relevant business without the required licence or authorisation commits an offence, with a fine of up to MUR 1 000 000 (sections 71(5) and 71A(12)).
• Ignoring the home country. An owner who treats the company as separate from their own tax position may breach local rules on foreign companies, regardless of what Mauritius requires.
• Running the company from the wrong place. An Authorised Company is expected to have its central management and control outside Mauritius, while an owner who is tax resident elsewhere may create taxable presence in that country. See permanent establishment risk.
• Choosing an unlicensed provider. The registered agent must be licensed. Checking this takes minutes, as shown in how to check a provider is licensed by the FSC.
• Doing a prohibited activity. Offering banking or professional fund management through an Authorised Company falls outside the permitted scope.

Reputation also matters. Mauritius's international standing is its own topic, covered in the EU blacklist question.

A quick self-test

Before you commit

• Describe in writing what the company will actually do
• Check the tax rules of the country where you live
• Confirm your provider's FSC licence
• Prepare identity and address documents for due diligence
• Plan who will keep accounting records and file annual documents

For the practical next stage, see the checklist before creating an offshore company. If you would like a licensed provider to look at your situation, you can write to us through the contact form.

This page gives general information, not advice. Whether a given structure is appropriate depends on facts that only an adviser who knows your situation can assess.