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Innovation Box Regime

The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council has under S. 4(e) of the MRIC Act 2019, the object to "promote commercial utilisation of the results of research and development and innovation, in the national interest".

Further to the announcement of the budget measure regarding the "provision of an Innovation Box Regime for Intellectual Property assets developed in Mauritius to encourage innovation-driven activities by new companies" in the Budget Speech 2017 – 2018, a number of regulations were put in place to facilitate the process for a company to apply to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) for the grant of a tax holiday.

The provisions for tax exemption under Regulations 23E of the Income Tax Regulations GN78 of 1996 (Consolidated October 2020) are set up as follows:

  • Newly set-up companies that are engaged in innovation-driven activities will be granted an eight-year tax holiday on income derived from their intellectual property (IP) assets developed in Mauritius.

  • On or after 10 June 2019, existing companies will now benefit from the eight-year tax holiday on income derived from their IP assets developed in Mauritius.

It is also understood that for the purpose of item 34 of Sub-part C of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Act 1995 (Consolidated up to Finance Act 2020):

the exemption shall be available only to a company which carries out the research and development leading to the creation of the patent, copyrighted software or, only in relation to smaller companies, other intellectual property that is similar to an invention which could be patented”.

In this regulation: "other intellectual property" means intellectual property in the nature of assets that are certified by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council as being novel, non-obvious and useful.

In this line, the MRIC is collaborating with PLCJ Law Firm, assisted by Santarelli on all technical matters, to provide the expertise required for the evaluation and subsequent determination of IP assets in the context of Regulation 23E and item 34 as described above.

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Step 1: Applicant fills in the Innovation Box Regime Application Form

Applicant fills and submits an online form which goes directly to PLCJ (MRIC receives a notification of the application).

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Step 2: Invoice is sent to the Applicant by PLCJ

  • After receiving the online form, PLCJ will revert to the applicant with respect to:

    • payment of application fees (see Note 1);

    • payment modalities (bank details and accepted modes of payment); and

    • timeline to be respected.

  • PLCJ will start work upon receipt of payment

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Step 3: Applicant effects payment

  • Applicant will effect payment of required fees to PLCJ directly.

  • PLCJ will carry out the first stage evaluation.

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Step 4: Applicant receives a report

  • Applicant receives a report from PLCJ within 15 working days following receipt of fees.

  • A copy of the report is also sent to MRIC.

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Step 4.1: Company meets the requirements

  • The Report will advise the company to proceed to the second stage evaluation.

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Step 4.2: Company does not meet the requirements

  • The Report will indicate reasons for which the Company does not meet the requirements.

  • The MRIC Panel will examine the report and make recommendations to the MRIC Board for a decision.

  • The applicant will be informed of the decision.

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Step 5: Second Stage Invoice provided to the Applicant

PLCJ will:

  • indicate details of what it requires from the company and;

  • provide the applicant with an invoice to be paid within a specific timeframe (see Note 2).

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Step 6: Payment of fees effected by applicant

Upon receipt of payment for Stage 2 (See Note 3), PLCJ will start work on the indepth search and patentability study.

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Step 7: Detailed Evaluation Report

  • Within 20 working days, the applicant will receive a detailed report from PLCJ following the second stage evaluation.

  • A copy of the report will be provided to MRIC.

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Step 8: Panel

  • The Panel of Innovation Box Regime will examine the Report and make recommendations to the Board of the MRIC, regarding issue of a certificate.

Notes:

  1. Application fee for stage 1 amounts to EUR1000 excluding VAT.

  2. Decision to proceed with stage 2 will be taken by the company. Certification can only be provided upon completion of second stage evaluation by PLCJ.

  3. For stage 2, the fees will range between EUR2,200 and EUR3,800 excluding VAT depending on the technical complexity of the application.

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