Mauritius: Tax Exempt Special Purpose Fund

Mauritius ranks amongst the most flexible and advantageous offshore fund domiciles due in no small part to the wide gamut of funds such as the tax exempt Special Purpose Fund that may be established under the legal and regulatory system of Mauritius.

The Special Purpose Fund regime was introduced in Mauritius with the promulgation of the Financial Services (Special Purpose Fund) Rules 2013 made by the Financial Services Commission ("FSC") under section 93 of the Financial Services Act 2007 and sections 9, 10, 12 and 39 of the Private Pension Schemes Act 2012  

The FSC may, on application, approve a scheme as a special purpose fund if -

• the purpose of the scheme is to conduct investment solely in countries which do not have a tax arrangement with Mauritius;
• the purpose of the scheme is to invest mainly in securities whose returns will be exempted from taxation; or
• all the investors of the schemes are pension schemes or other persons entitled to tax exemption.

“scheme” means a collective investment scheme or a closed-end fund authorised by the FSC under Section 97 of the Securities Act;

“tax arrangement” means an arrangement between countries for relief from double taxation in pursuance of section 76 of the Income Tax Act;

The FSC shall not approve a scheme holding a Global Business Licence as a special purpose fund.

An approval under the Financial Services (Special Purpose Fund) Rules 2013 may be subject to such conditions as the FSC may deem necessary.