Mauritius 2024 Budget: Key Measures for Business, Property, and Foreign Investments
This afternoon the 7th June 2024, Dr the Hon Renganaden Padayachy, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, has presented his 5th national budget speech during this Government
Here are the highlighted measures from the budget speech that pertain to ease of doing business, property – including a special mention about land estates (morcellements), and non-citizens.
Ease of Doing Business
1. National Land Transport Authority Digitalisation:
• The authority will be fully digitalised by June 2025, allowing online services, including ‘Gage sans déplacement’ for motor vehicles.
2. Corporate and Business Registration Department:
• Onsite e-filing facilities will be available during working hours.
3. Building and Land Use Permit (BLUP):
• The BLUP guide will be reviewed to standardise the determination process for applications.
• The validity period of a BLUP to start construction will be extended from 2 to 3 years.
4. Local Authorities Payments:
• Payments for services will be accepted electronically.
5. Code of Good Regulatory Practice:
• Adoption to facilitate legal and institutional framework reform for business and investment.
6. Fast-track Mechanism for Permits:
• Introduction for issuing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licenses and other permits related to barge purchases.
7. Financial Services Commission (FSC):
• New mechanism to reduce turnaround time for investor queries and license processing.
• Establishing a fast-track Sub-Committee for license issuance nearing established time frames.
8. Assessment Review Committee:
• Restrictions on postponing hearings and specified time frame for case determinations.
9. Geographic Information System (GIS):
• Introduction of a GIS viewer to support planning functions and decision-making processes.
10. Land Conversion Permits
• The process for the determination of land conversion permits will be streamlined.
Property
1. Home Ownership Scheme:
• Refunds will be made for properties acquired under ‘Vente en l’Etat Futur d’Achèvement’ (VEFA) agreements up to June 30, 2025.
• Properties with a reservation will qualify if the deed of transfer is signed and registered by June 30, 2025.
• Payments under ‘vente à terme’ will be made when the purchase price is paid, no later than June 30, 2025.
2. Lease of State Lands:
• Facilities for hotel reconstruction and renovation renewed for two years, backdated to cover 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
• The State Lands Act and the Pas Géometriques Act will be amended to clarify that a person may, by inheritance, hold more than one campement site lease.
3. Smart City Scheme:
• Contribution payable by a smart city company per residential property or plot of serviced land increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000.
• Removal of the Smart City Social Fund from the list of Special Funds under the Finance and Audit Act.
4. Registration duties on land brought as equity:
Registration duty will be levied on the difference between the value of shares of the property transferred and the value of shares held in that company when an immovable property is brought as equity participation in a company.
Foreigners and Non-Citizens
1. Employment of Foreign Workers:
• Victuallers allowed to hire foreign labour to address manpower shortages.
• Quotas on foreign labour will be removed in the manufacturing, jewellery, freeport and ICT/BPO sectors.
• Ratio of foreign to local workers in motor vehicle repair and maintenance revised to 3:1 to attract more foreign skills.
• Maximum period of stay for foreign workers in certain sectors extended from 4 to 8 years, with an optional break in between.
• Reduction of salary threshold for Occupation Permit for professionals from MUR 30,000 to MUR 22,500
• Temporary occupation permit of three months pending approval of OP for professionals with a minimum of 10 years’ experience
• Non-citizens holding a Retired Residence Permit will be allowed to work without an additional Work or Occupation Permit
2. Foreign Ownership of Immovable Property:
• Foreign entities allowed to hold immovable property through non-renewable lease agreements for industrial or commercial purposes for up to 30 years.
3. Economic Development Board Support:
• EDB will support conferences and workshops attracting over 12 countries with a minimum of 40 participants to increase visibility in Africa.
• The Investment Certificate of the EDB will now include pre-primary schools in addition to primary, secondary, and tertiary schools.
4. Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act:
• Clarification of criteria to determine if an application for work permit is complete
• Issuance of work permits in different forms, including cards, as required.
5. Veterinary Council Act:
• Temporary registration of non-citizen veterinary surgeons allowed if they work in a company or other body in the veterinary field.
Morcellement Projects (Land Estates) and PDS developments
1. Permit Restrictions:
• A new morcellement project will need to have a minimum setback of 30 meters from existing settlement boundaries
2. Strategic Environmental Assessment:
• Any morcellement or Property Development Scheme (PDS) project above 10 arpents and any smart city will require a Strategic Environmental Assessment.
3. Green Forest Requirement:
• Developers of morcellements and PDS developments must allocate at least 4% of the total land area for setting a green forest, predominantly featuring endemic trees, designed to provide a garden setting and landscape that complements the development.
• This measure applies to:
• Any new project of more than 5 arpents submitted to the Morcellement Board where no letter of intent has been issued yet.
• The Smart City Scheme and the Property Development Scheme prescribed under the Economic Development Board Act.
• Exclusions:
• Industrial projects that can be standalone.
• Agricultural morcellements.
• Land parcelling for charity or religion.
• Division in kind between co-heirs, ascendants, and descendants.
• Subdivision of large plots of land that do not entail development.
• The upkeep and maintenance of the Green Forest will be vested to the Association Foncière or to the Conservator of Forest in cases where the morcellement is not managed by an Association Foncière.
Click here for the EDB Budget Highlights
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