Mauritius Bookkeeping & Accounting Obligations Explained

Accounting and Bookkeeping Obligations in Mauritius: An OverviewCopy link to section

Every company registered in Mauritius must keep accurate accounting records, prepare annual financial statements, and, in most cases, have those statements audited. This duty applies across the board: domestic firms, Global Business Companies (GBCs), and Authorised Companies (ACs) each carry record-keeping obligations, though the scope and filing destination differ by category. The framework sits within the Companies Act 2001 and the Financial Reporting Act 2004, with oversight shared among the Registrar of Companies, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Reporting Council.

This article explains what records you must maintain, where to keep them, which accounting standards apply, when statements must be filed and audited, and what happens when an entity falls short. It is written for the non-resident owner or adviser of a Mauritian company who must keep that entity compliant from abroad.

The Legal Framework: Companies Act 2001 and Financial Reporting Act 2004Copy link to section

Two statutes anchor accounting and bookkeeping for a Mauritian company. The Companies Act 2001 sets the duty to keep accounting records, prepare financial statements, and file them; the Financial Reporting Act 2004 governs reporting standards, auditing, and the regulator that polices both.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the independent body created under the 2004 Act. It sets accounting and auditing standards, licenses auditors, and monitors the financial reporting of public interest entities.

Three authorities receive filings depending on what your company is. The Registrar of Companies, operating through the Companies and Business Registration Division (CBRD), handles domestic entities; the Financial Services Commission (FSC) supervises GBCs and ACs; the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) collects tax returns.

The Financial Services Act 2007 and the Income Tax Act 1995 add further requirements for licensed and taxable entities, but the accounting backbone rests on the two statutes above.

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Accounting Records and Statutory Books Every Company Must KeepCopy link to section

Records must show and explain every transaction, disclose the company's financial position at any moment, and allow directors to prepare statements that give a true and fair view. This is the standard set by section 193 of the Companies Act 2001, and it governs how detailed your bookkeeping has to be.

Statutory books sit alongside the accounting records. A company is expected to maintain:

• Register of members (shareholders) and the share register
• Register of directors and secretaries
• Register of charges and the interests register
• Minutes of board and shareholder meetings
• Accounting records evidencing all financial transactions

Financial statements prepared from these records must, at a minimum, comprise a profit and loss account, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement, drawn up annually. Where the relevant IFRS standards require it, consolidated statements covering subsidiaries must also be prepared.

Behind the ledgers sit the documents that prove each entry: invoices, bank statements, receipts, contracts, and payroll records. These supporting materials are part of the record-keeping duty, not an optional extra.

Where and How Long Accounting Records Must Be RetainedCopy link to section

Accounting records must be kept in Mauritius, unless the directors agree to hold them elsewhere. The default location is the registered office or another place in the country that the directors determine; where they consent to off-island storage, the records must remain accessible.

Two licence categories carry firmer rules. An Authorised Company must keep its financial records and supporting documents at its registered agent's address. A GBC that wants the 80 percent partial exemption on certain income has to maintain its accounting records at its Mauritian registered office at all times and have its statements audited locally.

Records must be retained for a minimum of seven years from the end of the accounting period to which they relate. This aligns with both company law and tax practice, so the same seven-year horizon serves your statutory and revenue obligations.

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Applicable Accounting Standards: Full IFRS and IFRS for SMEsCopy link to section

Mauritius uses International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. There is no separate domestic GAAP; the FRC adopts IFRS and the IFRS for SMEs Standard without modification and folds in IASB updates as they are issued.

Which version applies depends on size and status. A company with annual revenue above MUR 50 million must use full IFRS, unless it is not a public interest entity, in which case the IFRS for SMEs Standard remains available.

The flexibility for a GBC to apply another internationally accepted standard is specific to that licence. Audits, separately, must follow the International Standards on Auditing issued by the IAASB.

Public Interest Entities and Reporting ThresholdsCopy link to section

A public interest entity faces the strictest reporting and is subject to direct FRC monitoring. The First Schedule of the Financial Reporting Act 2004 captures all companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and financial institutions regulated by the Bank of Mauritius or the FSC, other than cash dealers.

Size also brings a company into the PIE net. An entity is classed as a PIE where it exceeds an annual turnover of MUR 500 million or holds total assets above MUR 500 million in two consecutive preceding periods.

The wording of the threshold has been stated differently across official sources, with some references citing revenue above MUR 200 million combined with total assets above MUR 500 million and more than 50 employees. Because the precise test can turn on which version of the First Schedule applies, verify the current wording before concluding that your company sits below the line. The IFRS jurisdictional profile is a useful cross-check.

Listed companies carry an extra duty: a copy of the annual report must reach the Stock Exchange within 90 days, and no later than six months, from the balance sheet date.

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Preparing Annual Financial Statements: Contents, Currency, and SigningCopy link to section

All companies must prepare annual financial statements under IFRS, save for small private companies that are not PIEs. The statements must contain a profit and loss account, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement.

Statements are prepared in Mauritian Rupees unless the Registrar approves another currency. Two directors must sign them, or the sole director where the company has only one.

The fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June, but this window is not compulsory. A company may choose its own accounting year, provided it does not exceed twelve months.

Filing rules diverge by category and timing matters:

• A domestic company must register its financial statements and the auditor's report with the Registrar within 28 days after the statements are signed, and in any case within six months of the balance sheet date.
• A GBC files its audited statements with the FSC rather than the Registrar.
• Small private companies and certain GBCs are exempt from parts of the standard filing regime.

A GBC is not required to prepare an annual report on the affairs of the company, a relief that lightens the paperwork for that licence type.

Audit Requirements and Exemption ThresholdsCopy link to section

Most companies must have their accounts audited by a licensed auditor. The auditor must be a qualified member of the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants licensed by the FRC, and the audit must follow International Standards on Auditing.

The auditor's report has to state whether proper accounting records have been kept and whether the statements give a true and fair view. The board must give the auditor access to the accounting records and supporting documents at all times.

Audit timing differs by entity:

A GBC must appoint an FRC-registered auditor and submit the audit report with its financial statements to the FSC. Large domestic companies follow the same audit duty, filing audited accounts with the Registrar and tax returns with the MRA.

Reduced Obligations for Small Private Companies, Global Business Companies, and Authorised CompaniesCopy link to section

Not every entity carries the full weight of audit and disclosure. Three categories enjoy meaningful relief, each on different terms.

Small private companies. A small private company with turnover below MUR 100 million may file a financial summary instead of full statements, so long as there is no change in shareholding or board composition. Where it does not qualify as a PIE, no auditor need be appointed. Note the IFRS trigger still bites: once turnover passes MUR 50 million, full IFRS or IFRS for SMEs applies.

Global Business Companies. A GBC has no scope for simplified statements. It must keep full financial records, appoint an FRC-registered auditor, and file audited annual statements with the FSC. To hold the licence, a GBC keeps at least two resident directors, maintains a local bank account, holds board meetings in Mauritius, keeps a registered office on the island, and stores its accounting records there.

Authorised Companies. An AC is a private company managed and controlled outside Mauritius, treated as non-resident and outside the local income tax net. It keeps its records at the registered agent's address and files two items each year: a financial summary with the FSC and an income tax return with the MRA, the latter due within six months of year-end. An AC needs no audit and may file abridged statements.

Bookkeeping in Practice: Day-to-Day Record-Keeping and Internal ControlsCopy link to section

The statutory standard for records implies a working accounting system, not a year-end scramble. Records must be kept in a form that allows them to be conveniently and properly audited, which in practice means a double-entry or equivalent system capable of producing a trial balance and financial statements at any point.

No fixed internal-control framework is imposed by statute on a non-PIE. Public interest entities, by contrast, follow the Code of Corporate Governance issued by the National Committee on Corporate Governance.

For a GBC, the FSC conducts on-site inspections that look at customer due diligence, internal controls, corporate governance, and whether audited statements and other documents were filed within the prescribed deadlines. Where inspectors find discrepancies, the licensee must take remedial action and report back on its progress.

Two practical filing points affect cash flow and timing. Companies file quarterly returns under the Advance Payment System, though this falls away for firms with turnover below MUR 10 million a year. Keeping books current through the year is what makes these interim filings and the annual audit possible.

Penalties for Failing to Keep Records or Prepare Financial StatementsCopy link to section

Non-compliance carries consequences that range from monetary penalties to loss of licence and, in extreme cases, dissolution. The offences and penalties regime sits in Part XXVIII of the Companies Act 2001, covering failure to comply with the Act, failure to keep accounts, and falsification of records as a distinct offence.

Liability is not confined to the company. Section 330 extends responsibility to individual directors and to the authorised agents of a foreign company, so a non-resident owner cannot assume the entity alone bears the exposure.

For a GBC, the stakes are higher than a fine. The FSC can take enforcement action up to revoking the Global Business Licence where accounting and auditing requirements are breached, and offshore companies face administrative penalties for late filing of accounts.

The FRC runs a separate Enforcement Panel that investigates and sanctions licensed auditors and audit firms, tied to its quality assurance reviews. Persistent failure to file with the Registrar can also lead to strike-off and dissolution of the company.

ConclusionCopy link to section

Bookkeeping in this jurisdiction is not a light-touch formality. A company of any size must keep records that withstand audit, retain them for seven years, and report under IFRS, with the audit and filing burden falling hardest on Global Business Companies and lightest on Authorised Companies and small private firms.

The first thing to settle is which category your entity occupies, because that single fact decides whether you face a full audit filed with the FSC, a financial summary, or something in between. Get the classification right, then build a year-round bookkeeping routine around it rather than reconstructing the figures after the balance sheet date.

How Expanship Can Help Your Business in MauritiusCopy link to section

Expanship maintains the accounting records, prepares IFRS-compliant financial statements, and coordinates the statutory audit and filings for companies operating in Mauritius, matching the approach to whether you hold a domestic registration, a Global Business Licence, or an Authorised Company status. The same team supports the wider compliance calendar a foreign-owned entity needs to keep in good standing.

• Company formation and licence application across entity types
• Registered agent and registered office services
• Ongoing compliance tracking and statutory filing management
• Accounting, bookkeeping, and audit coordination
• Economic-substance and beneficial-ownership support
• Introductions to local banking partners

To discuss keeping your company's books and filings in order, contact Expanship Mauritius.

Frequently Asked QuestionsCopy link to section