Venture Corporate Services (Mauritius) Limited, is licensed by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius to act as qualified trustee for trusts established under the proper law of Mauritius.
Our affiliation with Venture law, www.venturelawltd.com an award-winning independent law firm, further inspires client confidence as we go to great lengths to work with clients and their professional advisors to produce a bespoke trust deed that takes into account their specific circumstances, intentions, wishes and individual needs.
What is a trust?
Trusts are an effective asset protection, estate and succession-planning vehicle for the conservation and transition of wealth from one generation to the next. In Mauritius, the laws governing Mauritius trusts are The Trust Act 2001, the Code Civil Mauricien and the common law.
Main uses of Trusts
Trusts can be efficiently used for the protection and preservation of assets, forced heirship and for proper tax planning.
Parties to a Trust
Settlor
The Settlor is the person who transfers or disposes of property to a trustee to hold on trust for the benefit of beneficiaries or for a purpose. A settlor cannot be the sole beneficiary to the trust of which he is the Settlor.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries are the persons or class of persons that are entitled to the benefit of a trust arrangement. Though a beneficiary will normally be a natural person, it is also possible to have a company as beneficiary of a trust, which is often the case in certain sophisticated commercial transaction structures.
Apart from purpose or charitable trusts, all trusts are required to have ascertainable beneficiaries.
The Trustee
The Trustee must be a qualified Trustee (a management company licenced by the Financial Services Commission like Venture Corporate Services (Mauritius) Limited). The Trustee administers the assets of the trust for/on behalf of the settlor, beneficiaries or a defined purpose.
The Protector
The trust may provide for the Office of Protector of a trust whose responsibility is to advise the Trustee of the trust. Subject to the terms of the trust, the Protector may exercise the following specific powers:
- Remove a Trustee and appoint a new additional Trustee
- Determine the law of which jurisdiction shall be proper law of the trust
- Change the forum of administration of the trust
- Withhold consent of specific actions of the Trustees either conditionally or unconditionally
The Protector may also be a Settlor, Trustee, or Beneficiary as well of the trust.
- A majority of the beneficiaries or the class of beneficiaries appointed under the terms of the trust are resident in Mauritius
A trust which throughout an income year is centrally managed and controlled outside of Mauritius will not be liable to tax in Mauritius on its foreign source income.
Trusts of a charitable nature are exempt from tax in Mauritius.
Taxation of trusts
Trusts are considered non-resident for tax purposes if they are centrally managed and controlled outside of Mauritius and shall be liable to tax only on its chargeable income attributed to its Mauritian source income at the rate of 15 %. The Mauritius Revenue Authority issued a statement of practice (SP/24/21) on 24 August 2021 that provides that a trust would have its central management and control in Mauritius when the following three conditions are met:
The trust is administered in Mauritius and a majority of the trustees are resident in Mauritius
The settlor of the trust was resident in Mauritius at the time the instrument of trust creating the trust was executed or at such time as the settlor adds new property to the trust
Please contact us on office@venturecorporateltd.com for information about Trusts.