Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) (Amendment) Act 2021

The Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) (Amendment) Act 2021 (the “Amendment Act"), legislated on 29 th April 2021, brings in several changes to the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act (the “Act"). One of the main changes is that the scope of application of the Act has been widened to include Foundations established under the Foundations Act 2012 and having founders, beneficial/ ultimate beneficial owners and beneficiaries who are non-citizens.

Stay tuned for our upcoming newsletter which covers the salient features of the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) (Amendment) Act 2021.

Financial Services (Special Purpose Fund) (Amendment) Rules 2021

The existing framework for Special Purpose Funds (SPF), which was first introduced in 2013, has undergone several changes following the legislation of the Financial Services (Special Purpose Fund) Rules 2021 (“the Rules") on 6 March 2021. The Financial Services (Special Purpose Fund) (Amendment) Rules 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the “Amendment Rules") was gazetted on 17 April 2021 and brings in the following changes to the Rules:

• The scope has been widened to include any collective investment scheme or a closed-end fund authorised by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) under Section 97 of the Securities Act, meaning that a scheme licensed before the commencement of the Rules can apply for an authorisation to operate as SPF
• It has been clarified that any scheme authorised to operate as a SPF shall pay to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) FSC such annual fees as may be specified in the FSC Rules and these amount to MUR. 200,000 (USD 5,000).

We have updated the newsletter that we issued previously on the SPF. You can access it here