E-Commerce Through an Offshore Company

An ecommerce offshore company in Mauritius is, in practice, an Authorised Company: a Mauritius-incorporated company that is owned by non-citizens, trades mainly outside the country and is managed and controlled from abroad. It is a legal vehicle, not a shortcut. Whether it makes sense for an online store depends on where the owner lives, where customers are, and who actually takes the decisions.

This page looks at the fit for an online seller, the structural limits, and the way the company runs from one month to the next. For the general definition, see what an Authorised Company is.

Why online sellers look at an Authorised Company

An online store sells to customers in many countries, often through marketplaces or a hosted shop, with suppliers elsewhere again. Nothing about that activity needs a physical presence in any one country, which is why owners ask whether the selling entity could sit in Mauritius.

The legal profile of the Authorised Company matches that pattern in three ways:

• it is designed for a business carried on mainly outside Mauritius;
• its central management and control sit outside Mauritius, which suits an owner who runs the shop from a laptop abroad;
• it is administered through a licensed local provider, so formal filings and records are handled in Mauritius even when the owner is elsewhere.

These features describe the structure. They do not say anything about how your home country will treat the profits, which is a separate question covered in how the owner is taxed at home.

The legal conditions in plain terms

Under section 71A of the Financial Services Act, a company incorporated under the Companies Act must apply to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for authorisation as an Authorised Company where:

1. a majority of its shares or voting rights is held or controlled by a person who is not a Mauritian citizen;
2. it carries on its business mainly outside Mauritius; and
3. its central management and control are outside Mauritius.

The application goes through a FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence), which also acts as the company's registered agent in Mauritius for as long as the company exists. The authorisation is issued by the Chief Executive on behalf of the FSC. Since 1 October 2024, the FSC must grant a complete application within 10 working days of the date it is considered complete, with the exception of applications filed before that date.

For the step-by-step route, see how to open an offshore company in Mauritius.

What an online store can run through it

The Authorised Company can hold the shop, the supplier relationships and the revenue of an ordinary online trading business. Typical models include:

If your model is mainly resale without holding stock, read dropshipping through an offshore company for the specific points. For a wider view of online business structures, the online business hub puts the options side by side.

What it cannot do

The statute is explicit about the activities that an Authorised Company may not carry on, unless the FSC Rules provide an exception. These are the activities listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Financial Services Act:

• banking;
• managing or administering a collective investment fund or scheme as a professional;
• financial services;
• corporate services such as registered office, nominee, director or secretarial services for companies;
• professional trusteeship.

An ordinary shop selling goods does not fall into any of these categories. A business that drifts into payment services, lending to customers or holding client funds might, which is why the nature of the activity should be settled before incorporation rather than after.

A company that operates as an Authorised Company without authorisation commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to MUR 1,000,000 (sections 71(5) and 71A(12) of the Financial Services Act, consolidated text as at 1 September 2026).

The point that decides most cases: where decisions are taken

The word that matters in the legal test is control. The company must be managed and controlled from outside Mauritius. Section 73A of the Income Tax Act treats a Mauritius-incorporated company as non-resident when it is centrally managed and controlled outside Mauritius, but it must still file an income tax return under section 116.

For an online seller, this has practical consequences:

• the owner, as director, takes the key decisions (pricing, suppliers, marketing spend) from the place where they live;
• that place can itself have rules on when a foreign company is treated as operating locally, which is the subject of permanent establishment risk;
• the more the real operation sits in one country, the harder it is to argue that the company is anything other than a local business with a foreign registration.

An owner who moves to Mauritius, or who wants the company to be run from there, is in a different position, and the answer may not be an Authorised Company at all. Read managing an Authorised Company from abroad before deciding.

The operating model month by month

Once the company exists, an online business runs it as it would any trading company, with a few Mauritius-specific layers.

Who does what

The owner or directors run the business. The registered agent, a FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence), files the returns and documents required under the Financial Services Act, the Income Tax Act or the Companies Act, passes on communications from the FSC, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) and the Registrar of Companies, carries out anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures, and keeps the minutes, resolutions and transaction records.

Records and filings

The company must file a financial summary with the FSC every year, no later than six months after the end of its financial year, in the form of the Ninth Schedule to the Companies Act or other documents specified by the FSC Rules. A shop generates a lot of transactions, so a clean bookkeeping routine from the first sale matters more than the choice of software. See bookkeeping for an offshore company and the annual obligations for the full cycle.

Beneficial ownership

Every Mauritius company must identify its beneficial owner at all times and record it, with any nominee, in a separate register: full name and residential address, national identity or passport number, nationality, and the holding structure that leads to the ultimate beneficial owner. The Registrar of Companies keeps a Beneficial Ownership Register available to competent authorities and other prescribed public authorities; the Companies Act does not describe it as a public register.

Banking and payments

An online store needs somewhere to receive money. Account opening is a distinct process from incorporation, and it is the step where many online sellers meet delays. Read banking options for an offshore company first, then taking online payments with an offshore company when you reach the stage of choosing a processor.

Costs: what the statute and the fee rules set

The Financial Services (Consolidated Licensing and Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2026 (Government Notice No. 119 of 2026) have applied since 1 July 2026. For an Authorised Company:

The annual FSC fee excludes the Registrar's registration fee, which can be set at another amount by the Registrar. The first annual fee is pro-rated by the quarter in which the authorisation is granted, and a late payment increases the amount. Service providers also charge their own fees for incorporation and administration, and those vary by provider, so ask for a written quote. The annual fees guide explains how the pieces fit together.

Common mistakes in online businesses

• Treating the company as a tax answer. The choice of company does not decide how your home country treats you. Residence, citizenship and the place where you work all count.
• Running the shop from a country where the company then has a taxable presence. Check this before the first sale, not after.
• Using the company's name on platform accounts before the structure is complete. Marketplaces and processors ask for documents that only exist once the company is fully set up.
• Mixing personal and company money. It undermines the separate legal personality you are paying for and complicates the records.
• Choosing a provider without checking the licence. Use the checklist to verify a provider's FSC licence.