The business of a GBC1 Company must be conducted in foreign currency other than for day-to-day transactions; and GBC1 companies must not do business in Mauritius, other than to take professional advice, employ local labour, and to rent property. As per the Second Schedule of the FSD Act, a GBL1 can engage in the following Qualified Global Business Activities:

It is the recommended structure for individuals, body corporate, trust or partnership including limited liability partnership or a societe for investment and other high profile business. A GBC1 may be locally incorporated or may be registered as a branch of a foreign company. Public companies, those engaged in banking, insurance and fund management, and companies wishing to benefit from the provisions of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs), can only be incorporated as GBC 1 companies. A GBC 1 who wishes to access Mauritius' network of double tax treaties must have a Tax Residence Certificate (TRC). In order to prove to be a tax resident the company must demonstrate that effective management and control is in Mauritius. To satisfy this test applicant must:

GBC 1 is mostly used by people investing in India because of the favorable tax-treaties that exists between the two countries (Mauritius and India).

Resident: The treaty applies to any person who is resident in one or both states. Resident of a state means a person who is liable to tax under the laws of that state by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature. A person includes an individual, a company, and any non-corporate which is treated as a taxable unit under the taxation laws of the respective.

Permanent Establishment : A person resident in a state and carrying on business in the other state will be taxed in the other state only if he has a permanent establishment there. Permanent establishment essentially means substantial presence, e.g. a place of management, a branch, an office, etc. It also includes a building site or construction or assembly project lasting more than 9 months.

Dividends: Dividends may be taxed in the source country at rates not exceeding: 5% if shareholding is at least 10%; 15% otherwise. However, Mauritius does not levy tax on dividends paid by resident companies.

Interest: Interest may be taxed in the source country at the rate applicable under its domestic law but is tax free under certain conditions, eg if paid to the government of the other state or its agencies or to a bank resident in the other state or if the debt-claim is approved. Under Mauritius tax law, interest paid by a company holding a Global Business Licence Category 1 or a bank holding a Category 2 banking licence to a non-resident not carrying on any business in Mauritius is tax exempt.

Royalties : Royalties may be taxed in the source country at the rate not exceeding 15%. However, under Mauritius tax law royalties paid by a company holding a Global Business Licence category 1 to a non-resident are exempt from tax.

Capital Gains : Gains from the sale of shares are taxable only in the country where the shareholder is resident. While Mauritius does not levy capital gains tax, any gain or profit from the sale of securities or units is specifically exempt from Income tax.

Relief from Double Taxation: Double taxation is avoided by means of a tax credit allowed for tax paid in the other state. The treaty as well as Mauritius tax law provide for credit in respect of underlying tax relating to dividends and tax sparing relief for tax exemption or reduction granted by a state.

Mauritius GBC2: A Company holding a Category 2 global business licence (Global Business Company 2) must be incorporated under the Companies Act 2001 as a private company, it must not conduct business with any Mauritian resident (a Mauritian resident cannot have any beneficial interest in the company) and must not conduct business in Mauritian Rupees. GBC2 companies are relatively cost-effective, very flexible and completely tax-exempt offshore vehicles. Information relating to a GBC2 is confidential and not available for public examination. A GBC 2 company can carry out the following business: Non-financial consultancy, IT services, logistics, marketing, shipping, ship management, non-financial trading, passive investment holding. A GBC2 Company is prohibited from:

• Undertaking business transactions with Mauritius residents or in the Mauritius Rupee
• Owning any interest in real estate situated in Mauritius.
• Having as beneficial owner an individual or resident in Mauritius.
• Holding shares or debentures or any interests in a Mauritius domestic company.

The GBC2 Company shall be a private company and have a registered agent, and a registered office in Mauritius. We provide these services when we incorporate your company and we are available for the transfer of existing companies to our registered agent service in Mauritius as well. The application for a Category 2 Global Business Licence has to be processed by a registered agent to the Financial Services commission, 'FSC'. The application should ideally identify the beneficial owner(s), otherwise the FSC will accept the names of the members, however the registered agent must have full details of the beneficial owner maintained at their registered office and this information must be made available to the FSC on request.

Belize IBC: is an independent country near Mexico with no capital gains tax or inheritance tax. The tax advantage is for non-residents where their Belize company is not subject to any taxes as long as the income has been generated outside Belize. Formation of a Belize IBC (international business companies) means no tax would be paid on any income generated by the Belize company from overseas activity. Belize also has a special tax rule for individuals who are resident but not domiciled there: you only pay tax on income derived in Belize. Income is therefore exempt from tax for most immigrants who usually keep their money invested offshore. With Fides Partners Ltd you can form an offshore Belize company and set up Belize offshore bank accounts. Belize offshore companies provide you with the anonymity that you would normally require when setting up offshore companies. Belize business through Belize offshore companies are quite useful since you only pay tax on trade in Belize but not that done outside the country. We can also help you open a bank account in Belize and take advantage of Belize banking rules and regulation which are less than many other countries. Belize Offshore formation or Belize offshore incorporation is quite simple and the process normally takes 3 - 4 days. Any changes made about the Official (Directors, Shareholders and Secretaries) of the Belize IBC are also very quick and easy.

BVI offshore company - The British Virgin Islands are one of the most famous tax heavens in the world. BVI IBC companies are wholly exempt from paying BVI tax. In BVI there is no Capital Gains tax, Income tax, Corporations tax, Inheritance tax nor sales tax. BVI uses the same rules as the UK to decide if a company is resident in the BVI or not. Any company that is incorporated there or is managed and controlled from there is treated as BVI resident. BVI offshore company (IBC) incorporation services allow you to form BVI companies and set up BVI offshore bank account.

Seychelles IBC: The IBC has proven to be the most popular product being offered by the Seychelles. The IBC is incorporated under the Seychelles International Business Companies Act of 1994 and regulated by SIBA. The IBC usually takes the form of a private company limited by shares and is subject to certain stipulation:

• The IBC must refrain from business activities with residents of the Seychelles;
• The IBC must not hold any interest in Seychelles real property but property may be leased for office use only;
• Insurance, re-insurance, Banking or Trust business is permitted only if an appropriate licence is issued;
• An IBC is strictly prohibited from undertaking the business of company management or providing registered facilities for Seychelles-incorporated companies.

The benefits from choosing a Seychelles IBC are as follows:

1. Confidentiality : There are no requirements for details of the Director, Secretary, Shareholder and Beneficial Owners to be filed with the Registry of International Business Company of Seychelles. All details of Directors, Secretary, Shareholder and Beneficial Owner are filed with the Registered Agent only. The details of the Company Officers, Shareholders and Beneficial Owners are not accessible to the public even if a search for the company is conducted at the Registry.
2. Taxation: An IBC is a non tax resident in Seychelles and is exempted from foreign sourced income, withholding tax, inheritance tax and stamp duty.
3. Registered or Bearer shares permitted: While bearer shares are being outlawed in some jurisdictions they are still permitted in the Seychelles Unlike the BVI there is no statutory requirement for a custodian guardian to be appointed in relation to bearer shares. An IBC may hold an Offshore Corporate Bank account in Seychelles
4. Fast incorporations and name approvals : Same day incorporation and preparation of documents (if instructions are received within reasonable time)
5. Less expensive than in other jurisdictions: Low annual Government licence fee of US$100 (included in our fees), irrespective of the amount of the authorised share capital of the company. There is no requirement to file financial accounts or annual company return in Seychelles, hence no maintenance cost.

Bank Account Opening: Fides Partners can help you open UK bank accounts, accompany you for the meeting with the bank manager and fill-in all the bank account applications for you. Most UK banks will require you to come at the meeting personally while offshore banks (banks based outside UK) do not necessarily need you to meet the manager in person. Each bank has different bank account charges; some banks provide free banking for the first 12 months. Once your company bank account is open you will get your sort code, bank account number, swift and IBAN number for you to start operating your business. You can also open a savings account and accounts in different currencies. You will get the online facilities, debit card, fax pay facilities, cheque books and paying in books. We can help you open UK bank accounts with banks such as HSBC, Barclays, Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland. We can help you open offshore banks accounts or overseas bank accounts in HSBC (Isle of Man or Jersey), Bank of Cyprus and FBME (Cyprus), Barclays (Mauritius), State bank of Mauritius (Mauritius), Standard Bank (Jersey).

Virtual Office Services:

Registered office - This is the address to which all official documents can be sent and should be an address where mail can be received and efficiently sorted, this does not have to be the companies place of business. Fides Partners can offer Registered Office Services (central London address) if you do not have a suitable address. (All companies registered in England and Wales must have an address based in England or Wales).

Mail Forwarding - A business address will help you to present a professional image and help your business to be perceived as being bigger than it actually is which helps open doors to dealing with larger companies, it can also help you establish yourself in other areas or countries. Overheads are dramatically reduced and there are no hidden fees. Upon signing up, you are then eligible to apply the address to all your company stationery, website and other material such as advertising and marketing. We can also receive general business mails and small parcels which will be forwarded to you via mail (postage fee will be charged), email or fax.

Telephone and Fax services - Your calls will be answered by one of highly trained receptionists to give you a very professional appearance. We can screen calls if requested to limit potential wasted time and nuisance calls, and divert your callers to whatever number you require. We can also keep the name, message and contact numbers of the caller and send you an email on the spot. We will also handle all your faxes to ensure you can focus on daily business activities.

We can also provide you with a Full Virtual Office packages, please use our simple virtual office navigation.

Nominee services - UK company director services | UK limited company director services | UK company secretaries | UK nominee shareholders. Once formed, a UK company would need to have the following officers, a company secretary, a company director, a company shareholder. Fides Partners Ltd can provide you with all of the above three officers (Nominee Secretary, Nominee Directors, Nominee Shareholder) through its associate companies Fides Nominee Secretarial Ltd and Fides Nominee Directors Ltd. The details of these appointed officers are available for public inspection via the companies house website. For reasons of privacy you may wish to consider applying for these services to avoid divulgence of your personal details to the public.

Company Secretarial Services: Complying with statutory obligations to keep company records up-to-date is a significant and time consuming responsibility. Automatic fines are levied for late filing of accounts, and directors and secretaries in default of the many filing requirements of the Companies Act 1985 render themselves liable to prosecution, and in serious cases, disqualification. Through our secretarial services company, GAC secretary Limited, our dedicated and expert team provides the full range of specialist company secretarial services. For a flat annual fee, Fides Partners Limited can take care of your company's compliance saving you time and money. This service includes the following:

Company Renewal: Every company should fulfil their annual statutory requirements. A company must deliver an annual return to Companies House within 28 days of its made-up date. This is the date at which all the information in an annual return must be correct. The made-up date is usually the anniversary of: The incorporation of the company; or The made-up date of the previous annual return registered at Companies House. Fides Partners Limited ca assist you in filing your annual return

Change Of name: Fides Partners Limited can help you draft your special resolution for the change of name of your company and amend the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Company dissolution and restoration: Company Dissolution is the simplest and cheapest method for a closing down a private limited company which is not trading is to apply for it to be struck off the register of companies. This is quite a common situation that usually arises when directors of the company want to retire or when the owner/sole director wishes to return to PAYE or self employed status. If you have a limited company that is undergoing insolvency proceedings, or that is likely to do so, cannot apply. A company can be restored to the companies House Register. The company or any member or creditor may apply to the court for restoration if the company was struck off at the instigation of the Registrar of Companies. If the company was struck off on the application for voluntary striking off by the Directors, any of the parties who must be notified of the application for voluntary striking off, e.g. the members, existing and prospective creditors, employees, managers or trustees of any employee pension fund and any Directors who have not signed the application form for striking off, may apply to the court for restoration.

Apostile and Legalisation: Fides Partners Limited can provide a complete apostille, notarisation and certification service for all UK incorporated companies who require incorporation evidence for an overseas body or who wish to register a foreign branch.

Certificate of Goodstanding: A Certificate of Good Standing is usually issued by the Registrar of Companies stating that your company is professional and organised with a good standing certificate which have filed all the necessary documents and forms in order to meet statutory disclosure requirements. Whilst most companies generally do not require a certificate of good standing, those whose directors are largely based overseas and who wish to carry out business activities in those countries are frequently requested to produce one. If a company is late in filing its annual return, or has failed to update information about the company's constitution, ownership, or control it will not qualify for a good standing certificate until these issues are rectified.

Fides partners can relieve you and your team of a major burden by looking after all your book-keeping and accounting tasks, including compiling and filing of your annual accounts. Our dedicated staff will work closely with you to fully understand your business needs. We will then tailor a package of services to meet your specific requirements. Our goal is to provide your company with up-to-date, accurate financial data. Our services are particularly geared towards small and medium sized business and start-up companies, and we are ideally placed as a service provider for:

Bookkeeping: If you are new to business, keeping books and accounting can be a daunting prospect. Both time consuming to do yourself (even if you have the skills) and expensive to employ a specialist. Equally, if you are an established company, outsourcing your Book Keeping and Accounting requirements will almost always make sound economic sense.

Statutory accounts: Every UK limited liability business is required to file accounts in Statutory Format with Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs. These accounts are then used to calculate the amount of tax payable, based on profits and other forms of income. These accounts are important from an individual's perspective as well. Not only do they provide you with information about the profitability and stability of your business, they can also help when requesting finance, both personally and for the business. We are specialists in the production of statutory accounts for all types of businesses, the accounts for a Limited Company, a PLC, a LLP or consolidated accounts for a group of companies. Fides Partners Ltd can prepare accounts for dormant companies, non trading companies and trading companies. Once your company is incorporated you have a statutory requirement to file your accounts with Companies House and Inland Revenue. The full set of Accounts are due to be filed with HM Revenue and Customs 12 months after the accounting period ends and tax returns must be filed and paid 9 months and 1 day after the annual accounting period ends. The abbreviated set of Accounts is due to be filed with Companies House 9 months after the accounting period ends. Your UK Company may qualify as a "small company" in respect to the preparation of its financial statement/accounts based on the following exemption rules: your company turnover is less than £ 5.6million and your net assets are less than £ 2.8million or you have less than 50 employees. If any 2 of the 3 conditions is exceeded then your company accounts will need auditing. Fides Partners Ltd can provide accountancy services to fulfil your statutory requirements after incorporation of your UK Company.

Value Added Tax (VAT): Fides Partners Limited can help you in getting VAT registered with the HM Revenue and Customs and file your VAT return quarterly. If your UK company turnover exceeds £ 67,000 it is your statutory requirement to apply for a VAT number. Although you may always apply voluntarily for this even if your company does not reach this limit. After the VAT application has been submitted to HM Revenue and Customs, the process takes between 6-12 weeks to get a definite answer from the VAT office. Once your application is successful your company will be issued with a VAT certificate. In most cases VAT returns are submitted to HM Revenue and Customs on a quarterly basis 1 month after the quarter.

Payroll (PAYE): Before your company has any employees you will have to register with HM Revenue and Customs as an employer and obtain your PAYE reference number. PAYE liability is paid 20 days after the month end. An annual return must be submitted to HM Revenues and Customs every year. Fides Partners Ltd can provide your company with complete payroll services.

Personal tax return: Fides Partners Limited can help you with your Tax return so that you meet your deadline with the HM Revenue and Customs.