Single and multiple family offices.

Financial Services Act section 2: “financial services” means any financial services or financial business activities governed by the relevant Acts, and includes the financial business activities specified in Part I of the Second Schedule.

Second Schedule Part I lists “Family Office (single)” as a financial business activity. The Schedule names the activity; it does not add a further statutory definition of the book of business. What is permitted is the business activity specified on the licence under section 18(1), read with any FSC Rules and the published criteria for this code.

Financial Services (Family Office) Rules 2026, rule 5(1): “A Single Family Office may provide services, specified in the Third Schedule and such services shall be provided, by way of business, exclusively to a single family.” Third Schedule note (b) repeats that exclusivity.

Third Schedule Part I — core Family Office services: (1) investment oversight, policy support and portfolio management; (2) asset and investment holding activities; (3) asset and estate management including real estate management; (4) management of finance, accounting, cash flows and reporting.

Third Schedule Part II — ancillary services include governance and strategy; risk and resilience; tax and compliance; succession and wealth planning; administrative support; cybersecurity; design and supervision of family entities; lifestyle, concierge and coordination (including philanthropy and payments under a legally valid written mandate); and any other activities the Commission determines.

Note (a) to the Third Schedule: where the Commission determines that an activity under the Schedule has the effect of constituting a regulated financial service carried out without the relevant licence, it may take any action it deems appropriate. A family-office licence is not a silent CIS manager, dealer or VASP permission.

Section 14(1): “No person shall carry out, or hold himself out as carrying out, in Mauritius any financial services without a licence issued by the Commission.” Section 14(2): contravention is an offence, a fine not exceeding one million rupees and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years.

Section 16(1): an application must be in such form and manner as FSC Rules specify and accompanied by “(a) a business plan or feasibility study outlining the proposed business activity of the applicant; (b) particulars and information relating to customer due diligence verification of promoters, beneficial owners, controllers and proposed directors …; (c) such fees as may be specified in FSC Rules; and (d) such other information as may be specified in FSC Rules or otherwise required by the Commission”.

Section 18(1): the Commission may issue a licence “authorising the applicant to carry out the business activity specified in the licence on such terms and conditions as may be specified in FSC Rules or as it deems appropriate in the circumstances.” Section 18(2) forbids a grant unless, among other things, the application complies with the law, the applicant has “adequate resources, infrastructure, staff with the appropriate competence, experience and proficiency”, adequate arrangements to supervise everything done under the licence, fit-and-proper controllers and beneficial owners, and “no prejudice would be caused or would ensue to the financial services industry”. Section 18(3): the holder “shall, at all times, continue to satisfy the requirements specified in subsection (2)”.

Section 25: the Commission may, by written notice, vary a licence. It must not restrict the authorised activity or include further conditions unless it has notified the licensee of the proposal and the reasons and given a reasonable opportunity to make representations.

Part V ongoing obligations of licensees still attach: record keeping (section 29) and audited financial statements (section 30), unless a specific exemption is granted. A circular or a criteria PDF does not rewrite those sections.

Rule 5(3)(a): “The net value of assets under management or administration of a Single Family Office shall, at all times, be at least USD 5 million.” Net asset value is determined on a fair-market-value basis or, where that cannot reasonably be determined, on a book-value basis.

Rule 4(7): an applicant must give the Commission a signed confirmation that source-of-funds and source-of-wealth verification has been conducted on the beneficial owner and that no funds of the Family Office are connected to the proceeds of crime, corruption or terrorist financing.

New applications follow the 2026 Rules from 1 June 2026 (GN 62). Existing 2020-rules licensees have a transitional path to 31 December 2026 (rule 16). The 2020 Rules are revoked from 1 June 2026 (GN 63). Tax item 30A is a different statute.

Financial Services Act section 2: “financial services” means any financial services or financial business activities governed by the relevant Acts, and includes the financial business activities specified in Part I of the Second Schedule.

Second Schedule Part I lists “Family Office (multiple)” as a financial business activity. The Schedule names the activity; it does not add a further statutory definition of the book of business. What is permitted is the business activity specified on the licence under section 18(1), read with any FSC Rules and the published criteria for this code.

Rule 5(2): “A Multiple Family Office may provide services specified in the Third Schedule and such services shall be provided to more than one family, by way of business, subject to the limitations set out in these Rules.” Third Schedule note (c) is the same point.

The core and ancillary lists in Third Schedule Parts I and II are the same lists as for a single family office. The difference is the number of families, not a second menu of products. Note (a) still applies: a regulated financial service done without its own licence is not cured by an MFO label.

Section 14(1): “No person shall carry out, or hold himself out as carrying out, in Mauritius any financial services without a licence issued by the Commission.” Section 14(2): contravention is an offence, a fine not exceeding one million rupees and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years.

Section 16(1): an application must be in such form and manner as FSC Rules specify and accompanied by “(a) a business plan or feasibility study outlining the proposed business activity of the applicant; (b) particulars and information relating to customer due diligence verification of promoters, beneficial owners, controllers and proposed directors …; (c) such fees as may be specified in FSC Rules; and (d) such other information as may be specified in FSC Rules or otherwise required by the Commission”.

Section 18(1): the Commission may issue a licence “authorising the applicant to carry out the business activity specified in the licence on such terms and conditions as may be specified in FSC Rules or as it deems appropriate in the circumstances.” Section 18(2) forbids a grant unless, among other things, the application complies with the law, the applicant has “adequate resources, infrastructure, staff with the appropriate competence, experience and proficiency”, adequate arrangements to supervise everything done under the licence, fit-and-proper controllers and beneficial owners, and “no prejudice would be caused or would ensue to the financial services industry”. Section 18(3): the holder “shall, at all times, continue to satisfy the requirements specified in subsection (2)”.

Section 25: the Commission may, by written notice, vary a licence. It must not restrict the authorised activity or include further conditions unless it has notified the licensee of the proposal and the reasons and given a reasonable opportunity to make representations.

Part V ongoing obligations of licensees still attach: record keeping (section 29) and audited financial statements (section 30), unless a specific exemption is granted. A circular or a criteria PDF does not rewrite those sections.

Rule 5(3)(b): “The aggregate net value of assets under management or administration of a Multiple Family Office shall, at all times, be at least USD 25 million and the net value of assets under management or administration regarding each family in a Multiple Family Office shall, at all times, be at least USD 5 million.”

Rule 4(7) source-of-funds confirmation applies to the applicant. Transition for 2020-rules holders runs to 31 December 2026. Directory fees are higher than the single-family row; that is a fee fact, not a different Third Schedule.