🇲🇺 Legislation8 Aug 2025
Mauritius tightens beneficial ownership duties for companies, with a June 2026 deadline
Mauritius's Finance Act 2025, assented to on 8 August 2025, amends section 91 of the Companies Act 2001. Companies must keep a record of the steps taken to identify their beneficial owners, obtain a signed declaration from each beneficial owner, and be told of any change in status. Companies incorporated before the changes had until 30 June 2026 to comply.
The Finance Act 2025 (Act No. 18 of 2025) received assent on 8 August 2025. Its amendments generally apply from 9 August 2025.
What changed
- Record of identification: under a new section 91(3A) of the Companies Act 2001, every company must keep a record, in a form set by the Registrar of Companies, of all actions taken to identify its beneficial owners and ultimate beneficial owners.
- Written declaration: identification must include a written declaration signed by the beneficial owner confirming their status.
- Changes: a beneficial owner must tell the company of any change in status.
- Existing companies: companies incorporated on or before 7 August 2025 had until 30 June 2026 to comply. The same deadline was applied to limited partnerships and LLPs.
- Other company law changes: the Registrar can include any information it considers appropriate in a certificate of current standing, and public interest entities other than Global Business Companies and Authorised Companies lose the exemption from preparing an annual report. Global Business Licence holders must tell the Financial Services Commission of director changes within seven days of filing them with the Registrar.
Who is affected
Mauritian companies, including Global Business Companies, their management companies and company secretaries.
What to do
Check that each Mauritian company holds signed declarations from its beneficial owners and a record of how they were identified.