Mauritius GBC2 conversion deadline looms

The Category 2 Global Business (GBC2) Licence was abolished under the Finance Act 2018 of Mauritius with effect from 1 January 2019 but existing GBC2 companies, where licences were issued on or before 16 October 2017, were permitted to be grandfathered until 30 June 2021. This deadline is now getting close.

Any existing GBC2s that wish to continue to operate will need to be converted to either a Global Business Corporation (GBC) or an Authorised Company (AC) before that date. The licences of GBC2s that have not been converted will lapse on 1 July and the entity will be terminated. No automatic conversion will occur.

The AC is the successor to the GBC2 but it differs in key areas. While a GBC2 could be managed from inside or outside Mauritius and have Mauritian or non-Mauritian resident directors, an AC must be held or controlled by a person who is not a citizen of Mauritius and have its place of effective management outside Mauritius.

As a result, the existing directorship and management structures of some GBC2s will not be compatible with the AC regime. We would suggest that holders of GBC2s should assess their structures to see whether conversion to an AC or GBC would be appropriate, or if another jurisdiction would suit their needs better.