CHAPTER 32 / 55 · Paid
FS-4.1 Category 1 Global Business Licence.
The directory still prints Category 1. Current language is Global Business Licence under section 72. It is not a company type.
Approx. 14 min with exercisesLaw cut-off: 20 September 2026Our approach
By the end of this chapter
- Describe the shop in one paragraph from the first file on the desk.
- Decide the promoter’s next asks: which stay on this letter, which need another paper.
- Keep neighbouring permissions off this desk.
- Cite the enabling section and treat the licence letter as the book.
FSC · FS-4.1 · Licence
1. HoldCo’s shop
HoldCo is the desk this chapter is for. A Global Business Licence, applied for through a management company under section 72.
The first file on the desk is this. HoldCo is incorporated in Mauritius and will hold foreign subsidiaries and also manage a CIS. FS-4.1 (GBL) plus SEC-4.2. The GBL does not replace the CIS-manager licence.
Three facts have to stay true of that book. First, the letter is the activity specified. This is a licence under Financial Services Act 2007, Section 72. A company name is not a permission.
Second, neighbouring papers stay off this desk. Not a company type under Companies Act section 21, not an Authorised Company (FS-4.3), and not a tax rate.
Third, the assumptions stay in the file. Fictional HoldCo. Tax in Mauritius Tax. Cut-off 20 September 2026.
Financial Services Act 2007, Section 72. See the register note · Open the published text ↗.
2. A week with A holding company that also wants a CIS manager
Monday. The promoter walks in with “A holding company that also wants a CIS manager.” Write the facts before anyone names a code: HoldCo is incorporated in Mauritius and will hold foreign subsidiaries and also manage a CIS.
Tuesday. The team writes the activity in the words of the licence letter, not the brass plate. A Global Business Licence, applied for through a management company under section 72.
Wednesday. They record what this permission is used for. FS-4.1 (GBL) plus SEC-4.2. The GBL does not replace the CIS-manager licence.
Thursday. They write what the letter does not cover. Not an Authorised Company. Not “3% tax” by licence name.
Friday. They lock the assumptions. Fictional HoldCo. Tax in Mauritius Tax. Cut-off 20 September 2026. The file is ready for the application, not for a slogan on a slide.
The other files on this desk should look like that first one: a named person, a specified activity, and a letter that matches the work. That is what FS-4.1 is used for. The Act matters when HoldCo applies, when the Commission writes conditions onto the letter, and when the same promoter telephones with a different idea.
3. What the same promoter asks next
The facts are fictional. The method is the course: keep the shop you have just watched, and ask which desk is now doing the work.
This licence
A holding company that also wants a CIS manager
HoldCo is incorporated in Mauritius and will hold foreign subsidiaries and also manage a CIS.
Why it fits. FS-4.1 (GBL) plus SEC-4.2. The GBL does not replace the CIS-manager licence.
Different paper
The same promoter asks for company type under Companies Act section 21
The slide says the FS-4.1 letter already covers it because the same company, the same officers or the same client are on the file.
Why it does not. Keep the neighbouring paper off this desk. Not an Authorised Company. Not “3% tax” by licence name.
Different paper
The same promoter asks for an Authorised Company (FS-4.3)
The slide says the FS-4.1 letter already covers it because the same company, the same officers or the same client are on the file.
Why it does not. Keep the neighbouring paper off this desk. Not an Authorised Company. Not “3% tax” by licence name.
| The promoter asks HoldCo to… | This licence? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A holding company that also wants a CIS manager | Yes | FS-4.1 (GBL) plus SEC-4.2. The GBL does not replace the CIS-manager licence. |
| The same promoter asks for company type under Companies Act section 21 | No | Keep the neighbouring paper off this desk. Not an Authorised Company. Not “3% tax” by licence name. |
| The same promoter asks for an Authorised Company (FS-4.3) | No | Keep the neighbouring paper off this desk. Not an Authorised Company. Not “3% tax” by licence name. |
4. Papers that sit beside this one
Not a company type under Companies Act section 21, not an Authorised Company (FS-4.3), and not a tax rate. Name the other desk when the work changes: a company type under Companies Act section 21; an Authorised Company (FS-4.3); a tax rate.
- a company type under Companies Act section 21
- an Authorised Company (FS-4.3)
- a tax rate
Neighbouring codes have their own chapters. Do not import their books into this letter.
5. The letter and the file
A corporation applying through an MC. Directory: refer to Forms B and C and the GBC checklists. Fees as at 1 July 2026: Processing fee USD 600. Status at cut-off: Directory retains Category 1 wording.
Who may hold it. A corporation applying through an MC. Annual registration fee to the Registrar of Companies is stated as excluded (USD 65 or such other fee as the Registrar determines).
Published criteria. Directory: refer to Forms B and C and the GBC checklists. Where the applicant will conduct a business needing another licence, use that code’s form as well. Criteria PDFs are the forms themselves on this row.
Rules, codes and circulars. CL20261009 (10 September 2026) on authorised bank signatories for GBCs, addressed via management companies. CL20260107 for fees.
6. How to cite FS-4.1
| Coordinate | As at 20 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Directory code | FS-4.1 Category 1 Global Business Licence |
| Legal nature | Licence |
| Enabling law | Financial Services Act 2007 · Section 72 |
| Fees as at 1 July 2026 | Processing fee USD 600. Fixed annual fee USD 2,600. First annual licence fee is quartered (USD 2,600 / 1,950 / 1,300 / 650) by the month of application. Excludes the Registrar’s annual registration fee. Unless the directory states a different conversion rule, USD figures apply only to an applicant for a Global Business Licence or a corporation holding a Global Business Licence. FSC Circular Letter CL20260107 (1 July 2026) records that the replacement fee schedule operates from 1 July 2026 and that annual fees are due by 30 September 2026. A circular does not rewrite the activity this code authorises. |
| Status at cut-off | Directory retains Category 1 wording. Teach the current Global Business Licence framework. Companies Act Part XXIX is the company-law overlay, not the FSC licence itself. |
The structured library card keeps the same coordinates for search. Open FS-4.1 in the reference library.
FSC codified list of licences, authorisations, approvals, recognitions and registrations ↗Register noteFinancial Services Act 2007 ↗Register noteFSC licensing and fees amendment rules 2026 ↗Register noteFSC Circular Letter CL20260107 — review of fees and renewal of licences ↗Register noteFSC rules and regulations directory ↗Register noteFinancial Services Act — Global Business and Authorised Company overlay ↗Register noteFSC Circular Letter CL20261009 — authorised bank signatory transitional period ↗Register note
PAUSE & REFLECT
Check your understanding.
Three questions to make the ideas stick. Your score is saved on this browser; this is a learning exercise, not a qualification.
Follow the sources.
Each title opens the published text. The register note records the edition used for this course.
- FSC codified list of licences, authorisations, approvals, recognitions and registrations ↗ All published category codes, fees, forms and licensing-criteria columns; consolidation as at 1 July 2026 · Register note
- Financial Services Act 2007 ↗ Sections 2, 14, 14A, 16–18, 25, 33, 71A, 72, 77, 77A, 77B, 77C, 78, 79A; Second Schedule Parts I–III; Fifth Schedule · Register note
- FSC licensing and fees amendment rules 2026 ↗ Rule 3 and replacement First Schedule; rule 4 commencement · Register note
- FSC Circular Letter CL20260107 — review of fees and renewal of licences ↗ 1 July 2026 fee review; annual-fee due date 30 September 2026; FSCOne alternative arrangements · Register note
- FSC rules and regulations directory ↗ Consolidated licensing and fees rules; sector-specific rules including Securities (Licensing) Rules and Family Office Rules · Register note
- Financial Services Act — Global Business and Authorised Company overlay ↗ Global Business Licence and Authorised Company categories; read with Companies Act Part XXIX · Register note
- FSC Circular Letter CL20261009 — authorised bank signatory transitional period ↗ Extension of the transitional period under Updated Guidelines for Management Companies paragraph 9.2 · Register note
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