Running a Consulting Business Through an Offshore Company

An offshore consulting company in Mauritius is, in most cases, an Authorised Company: a Mauritius-incorporated company that serves clients outside Mauritius and is managed from outside Mauritius. For a consultant who works remotely for foreign clients, it can look like a tidy vehicle. Contracts, invoices and fees all sit in one legal entity rather than in the consultant's own name.

The model has real conditions, though. This page walks through how a consultancy offshore company is set up and used day to day, then looks at the situations in which it stops working. It is general information, not advice: whether the structure suits you depends on where you live, where you work and who your clients are.

What a consulting firm Authorised Company actually is

The Authorised Company is created under section 71A of the Financial Services Act 2007. A company incorporated under the Companies Act must apply to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for authorisation when three things are true:

• a non-citizen of Mauritius holds or controls the majority of the shares or voting rights;
• it conducts its business principally outside Mauritius;
• its central management and control sit outside Mauritius.

For a consultant, the practical reading is simple. You are the owner and the person delivering the work. You serve clients abroad and you run the company from wherever you live, not from Mauritius. If you want the full definition first, see what the term Authorised Company covers and the page on the Authorised Company in Mauritius.

The application is not filed by you directly. It goes through an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence), which then acts as the company's registered agent in Mauritius. That role continues for the life of the company.

How consultants contract and invoice

The company, not the individual, signs the engagement. That shapes the whole paper trail.

The contract

The client signs a services agreement with the Authorised Company. The consultant either holds a role in the company (usually director) and performs the work on its behalf, or is engaged by the company under a separate arrangement. Three drafting points matter:

• The contracting party. The agreement names the company, its registered office and its company number, and states clearly that the company supplies the services.
• Who performs the work. Many clients want to know which individual will deliver. Naming the consultant as the key person is common and does not undermine the structure, but the agreement should still make the company the supplier.
• Intellectual property and liability. Ownership of deliverables and the limit of liability should sit with the company. If a client insists on personal warranties, the corporate protection is weakened.

The invoice

Invoices are issued in the company's name, with its details and bank account. Your invoicing routine is covered in more depth in invoicing clients from an offshore company. Some practical points for consultants:

• Invoices should describe the service actually performed and the period it covers.
• Payment goes to a company account, never to a personal account. Mixing the two is one of the quickest ways to undo the separation the structure is meant to provide.
• The company needs a bank willing to open an account for a consulting business. That is often harder than the incorporation itself; see banking options for an offshore company and why banks refuse offshore company accounts.

Paying yourself

The company's profit belongs to the company. Getting money to the owner is a separate step, usually through director's remuneration or dividends, and each route has its own consequences in your home country. This is covered in paying yourself from an offshore company.

A quick view of the model

The statutory conditions in plain terms

Several rules from the Financial Services Act shape what a consultant can and cannot do.

Registered agent. The company must at all times have a registered agent in Mauritius, and that agent must be an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence). The agent handles required filings under the Financial Services Act, the Income Tax Act and the Companies Act, passes on communications with the FSC, the Mauritius Revenue Authority and the Registrar of Companies, carries out the anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing measures, and keeps records such as minutes, resolutions and transaction documents. Changing agent later requires a fee set by the FSC Rules. See the provider behind your Authorised Company and questions to ask a provider.

Annual financial summary. The company must file a financial summary with the FSC each year, no later than six months after the end of its financial year, in the form set out in the Ninth Schedule of the Companies Act (or other documents specified by the FSC Rules). Day-to-day records are covered in accounting records for an Authorised Company.

Fees. Since 1 July 2026 the FSC fee schedule has been replaced by the Financial Services (Consolidated Licensing and Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2026 (Government Notice No. 119 of 2026). For an Authorised Company, the processing fee is USD 600 and the annual fee is USD 1,400, a figure that excludes the annual registration fee of USD 65 (or another amount set by the Registrar of Companies) payable to the Registrar. Late payment increases the fee in stages. The FSC has stated that the changes implement a measure of the 2025/26 budget. Always check the current schedule with your provider before budgeting.

Beneficial ownership. Every Mauritius company must permanently identify its beneficial owner, and any nominee, in a separate register. You will be asked for identity and address documents as the owner of the consultancy. The Registrar of Companies keeps a Beneficial Ownership Register that is open to competent authorities; the Companies Act does not describe it as public. For the practical side, read whether the owner of an offshore company is private.

Where the model breaks

This is the part that matters most for consultants. The structure has limits that are easy to miss when the sales pitch focuses on the incorporation.

1. The activity itself may be prohibited

An Authorised Company cannot, unless the FSC Rules provide an exception, carry on the activities listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Financial Services Act. These cover banking; professional management or administration of a collective investment scheme; financial services; company headquarters, nominee, director or secretarial services for companies; and professional trusteeship.

That matters because consulting is a broad word. A business adviser, a software consultant or a marketing strategist is unlikely to be affected. A consultant who arranges financial products, advises on investments for a fee, or provides directors or company secretarial services to other companies may well be. If your consulting work touches regulated financial activity, get a written opinion before incorporating. The page on what business an Authorised Company can run goes through the boundary in more detail.

2. Central management must stay outside Mauritius

The company must be centrally managed and controlled outside Mauritius. Under the Income Tax Act, a company is tax resident in Mauritius if it is incorporated there or if its central management and control are there. A Mauritius-incorporated company managed from abroad is treated as non-resident under section 73A, but it must still file an income tax return under section 116.

For a consultant, the danger is a mismatch between the paperwork and the reality. If the owner moves to Mauritius, or if board decisions are really taken there, the position changes. The case study on living in Mauritius while owning an Authorised Company shows how that plays out, and managing an Authorised Company from abroad covers the basics.

3. Doing business in Mauritius is not the model

The company is meant to conduct its business principally outside Mauritius. A consultant who wants Mauritian clients, a local office or local employees is using the wrong tool. See whether an Authorised Company can do business in Mauritius and hiring staff or contractors.

4. Your home country may still tax the profits

A Mauritius company does not erase your tax position at home. Depending on where you live, the income of a company you own and manage may be taxed in your country, whether through controlled foreign company rules, rules on company residence, or tax on distributions. A consultant who sits in one place, works for a client in another and owns a company in Mauritius can create exposure in each. The local-tax picture is covered in how the owner is taxed at home and controlled foreign company rules. The risk of being treated as having a taxable presence where you work has its own guide: permanent establishment risk.

5. No treaty network to rely on

Clients in some countries withhold tax on payments to foreign suppliers, and treaty relief is how that is normally reduced. Because of the limits of the Authorised Company, do not assume you will be able to claim that relief. Discuss withholding with the client before signing; see withholding tax on payments received and the limits of an Authorised Company.

6. Clients may not accept the supplier

Some corporate clients, particularly large organisations or public bodies, have vendor rules that restrict or discourage offshore suppliers. How the company is perceived is a commercial question as much as a legal one; see how clients and suppliers perceive an offshore company.

A short decision guide

Before you commit: a short checklist

• Confirm that your consulting activity is not one of the prohibited categories
• Work out where you will physically live and work, and what your home country says about it
• Ask the client whether it will contract with and pay a Mauritius company
• Check that a bank is prepared to open a company account for your type of consulting
• Confirm the registered agent's FSC licence, fees and scope of service
• Plan who keeps the records and prepares the annual filings

The broader pre-incorporation steps are in the checklist before you start, and the freelancer vs company comparison is useful if you are still weighing the structure against simply trading in your own name.