CHAPTER 08 / 55 · Paid
FS-1.8 Global Headquarters Administration.
Follow HQ Co from three Part III services to twelve related companies, then the asks that would turn headquarters into a GBL or shared services.
Approx. 20 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-1.8 · Licence
1. HQ Co’s shop
HQ Co will employ strategy, HR and procurement staff in Ebene for twelve African operating companies in the same group. The public does not walk in off the street. Related corporations do.
That shop is FS-1.8 Global Headquarters Administration. Part III of the Second Schedule is the test: at least three listed services to at least three related corporations.
The three facts that have to stay true:
1. Headquarters administration is not a Global Business Licence. 2. It is not Global Shared Services under section 77C. 3. Two full-time officers in Mauritius and a Mauritius principal bank account are criteria facts, not slogans.
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.
Financial Services Act 2007, Section 14 · Second Schedule Part III. See the register note · Open the published text ↗.
2. A week with the twelve African operating companies
Monday. The group chart lands: twelve operating companies, one Mauritius HQ. The plan names strategy, HR and procurement — three Part III services.
Tuesday. The criteria PDF is read against the plan: promoters, services, related corporations, group structure.
Wednesday. Someone asks whether a GBL “comes with” the HQ letter. It does not. Section 72 is a different paper.
Thursday. Two officers are named as full-time in Mauritius. The principal bank account is a Mauritius account.
Friday. The weekly pack to the group CEO is strategy, people and procurement — not a banking book.
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-1.8 is used for. The Act matters when HQ Co 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
Run strategy, HR and procurement for twelve related companies
HQ Co will employ those staff in Ebene for African operating companies in the same group.
Why it fits. FS-1.8 and Part III: at least three listed services to at least three related corporations.
Different paper
Treat the HQ letter as a Global Business Licence
The slide says “HQ / GBL package.”
Why it does not. A GBL is section 72. Headquarters administration is still a section 14 activity.
Different paper
Fold in Global Shared Services
The same officers already process group invoices, so FS-7.1 is said to be included.
Why it does not. Global Shared Services is section 77C and the Sixth Schedule. It is not this letter.
| The promoter asks HQ Co to… | This licence? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Run strategy, HR and procurement for twelve related companies | Yes | FS-1.8 and Part III: at least three listed services to at least three related corporations. |
| Treat the HQ letter as a Global Business Licence | No | A GBL is section 72. Headquarters administration is still a section 14 activity. |
| Fold in Global Shared Services | No | Global Shared Services is section 77C and the Sixth Schedule. It is not this letter. |
4. Papers that sit beside this one
Not a Global Business Licence, not Global Shared Services (FS-7.1), and not Global Treasury Activities (FS-1.9). Part III is a related-corporation test, not a public-offer test.
- a Global Business Licence
- Global Shared Services (FS-7.1)
- Global Treasury Activities (FS-1.9)
Neighbouring codes have their own chapters. Do not import their books into this letter.
5. The letter and the file
The published FS-1.8 criteria PDF points the business plan at Part III. The applicant shall ensure that it has at all times two officers based full time in Mauritius and who are conversant with its operations, and shall maintain its principal bank account in Mauritius. The PDF states that the list is not exhaustive.
Permitted activities — the sections
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.
Section 2: “global headquarters administration” means the activities specified in Part III of the Second Schedule. Part III: “Provision of at least 3 of the following services to at least 3 related corporations — Administration and general management; Administration of e-commerce; Business planning and development and coordination; Economic or investment research and analysis; Services related to international corporate headquarters in Mauritius; Such other global headquarters administration services as may be specified in FSC Rules.”
The published FS-1.8 criteria PDF expressly points the business plan at Part III: promoters, services, related corporations and group structure. Headquarters administration is still a section 14 activity. It is not a Global Business Licence (section 72) and not Global Shared Services (section 77C).
Licensing conditions — the sections
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.
FS-1.8 criteria PDF: formal application under section 14; fees; business plan against Part III; manuals and AML/CFT measures. The applicant “shall ensure that it has at all times two officers based full time in Mauritius and who are conversant with its operations.” It shall maintain at all times its principal bank account in Mauritius and adequate financial resources. The PDF states that the list is not exhaustive.
Open the published criteria PDF ↗
Who may hold it. A section 14 applicant serving related corporations, not the public at large as a bank or CIS manager. Part III is a related-corporation test, not a public-offer test.
Published criteria. Dedicated criteria PDF for FS-1.8. Published licensing criteria on the FSC codified list (consolidation as at 1 July 2026) are guidance. They neither derogate from nor restrict the Commission’s statutory powers, and they must be read with the relevant Act, rules, codes and circulars. The PDF lists a formal application, fees, business plan (promoters, services, related corporations, group structure), manuals and AML/CFT measures, two full-time officers in Mauritius, a Mauritius principal bank account, and states that the list is not exhaustive.
Rules, codes and circulars. CL20260107 for fees. Headquarters substance is a licensing-criteria question; tax relief is a separate Income Tax Act item taught in Mauritius Tax.
6. How to cite FS-1.8
| Coordinate | As at 20 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Directory code | FS-1.8 Global Headquarters Administration |
| Legal nature | Licence |
| Enabling law | Financial Services Act 2007 · Section 14 · Second Schedule Part III |
| Fees as at 1 July 2026 | Processing fee Rs 30,000 (USD 1,000). Fixed annual fee Rs 75,000 (USD 2,500). 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 | Published directory category as at 1 July 2026. Criteria PDF checked for this course. |
The structured library card keeps the same coordinates for search. Open FS-1.8 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 noteLicensing criteria — Global Headquarters Administration (FS-1.8) ↗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
- Licensing criteria — Global Headquarters Administration (FS-1.8) ↗ Application under Financial Services Act section 14; business-plan and substance items; disclaimer that the list is not exhaustive · Register note
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