'The
setting up of the appropriate legal framework,'
says the Government, 'is essential for
Mauritius to position itself to exploit
the new opportunities of Electronic Commerce
and enable our enterprises to participate
more actively in the emerging global economy.
E-commerce experience in other countries
has demonstrated how important the legal
infrastructure is as a foundation and
catalyst to the development and acceptance
of e-commerce. The Electronic Transactions
Act (ETA) removes legal obstacles and
establishes a more secure legal framework
for business and governments to function
in an environment of trust.'
The
provisions made to enable government to
adapt its own administrative procedures
and processes to enable the e-government
also demonstrate the commitment of the
Mauritian government to the creation of
an environment of trust where companies
can feel safe and secure in conducting
their online business.
Electronic
Transactions Act - ETA 2000 (Amended 2009)
The
work group responsible for the drafting
of the Mauritian legislation examined
the UNCITRAL Model Law and considered
e-commerce legislation introduced in countries
such as Singapore, UK and Australia.
The
following guiding principles were adopted:
The
need to conform to international standards
and international models in order to be
integrated with the global e-commerce
framework;
The need to avoid over regulation;
The need to be flexible and technologically
neutral to adapt quickly to a fluid global
environment; and
The need for transparency and predictability.
The
objects of the Act were to provide:
- an
appropriate legal framework to serve
as the foundation to facilitate electronic
transactions and communications and
give a new orientation to the traditional
way of doing business by fostering
the conduct of transactions by electronic
means;
-
the legal recognition and regulation
of electronic records and electronic
signatures for authentication purposes
during the conduct of electronic transactions
and the security of such records and
signatures;
-
the regulation of the formation of
contracts by electronic means;
-
the appointment of a Controller of
Certification Authorities who shall
be responsible for the licensing and
monitoring of the activities of the
certification authorities;
-
the electronic filing of documents
in the public sector in order to enable
the business sector and the public
in general to resort to electronic
media in their dealings with Government;
and
-
uniform rules and regulations aimed
at establishing standards to combat
fraud, forgery or any unlawful practice
in order to build and ensure confidence
in electronic records and dealings
to promote electronic communications
and transactions.
The Government said that Certification
Authorities would play a vital role in
facilitating secure electronic transactions
as they provide the infrastructure for
transacting parties in an electronic environment
to authenticate each other's identities
and ensure non-repudiation of electronic
transactions through the use of digital
signatures.
The
ETA provides the legal framework for the
establishment of a public key infrastructure
(PKI) - also called trusted CA services
- to faciliate the use of digital signatures
in Mauritius. The ETA also makes provision
for the setting up of a Controller of
CAs to ensure that the integrity and standards
expected from CAs are respected.
The
Electronic Transactions Act also made
provision for a voluntary licensing scheme
for Certification Authorities (CAs) by
the Controller of Certification Authorities
(CCA).
An
amendmend to the ETA in April 2009 was
implemented in order to enable the Information
and Communication Technologies Authority
to discharge the functions and exercise
the powers of the Controller of Certification
Authorities.
The
original act provided for the appointment
of a Controller of CAs. The Controller
would, amongst other duties, license,
certify, monitor and oversee the activities
of CAs. Only licensed and approved CAs
will enjoy the benefits of the legislation
for signatures generated from the certificates
issued. The exception to this is where
parties agree to be bound by signatures
created by a commercially reasonable procedure.
Once set up, the Controller of CAs layed
down the administrative framework for
licensing of CAs, the criteria for a CA
to be licensed, and the continuing operational
requirements after obtaining a licence.
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Mauritius Facilities
Telecommunications
Providers
Until
comparatively recently the monopoly telecommunications
provider was Mauritius Telecom Ltd. In
2000 Telecom Plus, a subsidiary of Mauritius
Telecom, was the sole ISP in Mauritius,
offering access to the web, email and
other Internet services facilities via
its server Servihoo. However, in early
2001 Information Technology and Telecommunications
Minister at the time, Pradeep Jeeha announced
the liberalisation of Internet provider
services in Mauritius.
By
the end of 2010, the number of ISPs had
grown to nine, and the number of internet
subscribers had reached 284,000, compared
to 35,000 in 2000.
The
Information and Communication Technologies
Authority (ICTA) was set up by Act of
Parliament in late 2001. The ICTA is the
successor institution to the Mauritius
Telecommunication Authority (MTA) which
was created in 2000 to regulate telecommunications
in Mauritius.
The main objectives of the ICTA were defined,
inter alia, as follows:
- Democratise
access to information through the
use of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT);
- Create
a level playing field for all operators
in the defence of consumers
- Licence
and regulate information and communication
services
- Encourage
optimum use of ICT in education, business
and services
- Promote
the competitive edge of Mauritius
as an international player
- Facilitate
Research and Development (R&D)
in ICT and advise on new
technologies.
In
2001 UTStarcom, a provider of telecommunications
access equipment, announced the completion
of a deal to provide Mauritius Telecom
with access network equipment for a next
generation xDSL leased line nationwide
data network.
Also
in 2001, Mauritius Telecom started the
installation of underwater fibre-optic
cables in Bay Jacotet, in the South of
the country, 40 km from Port Louis to
house the SAFE fibre-optic network (South
Africa-Far East) which would go from Cape
Town. SAFE
will in turn be linked in Cape Town to
SAT-3/WASC (South Atlantic Telephone-West
African Submarine Cable), which is 15,000-km
long and links Europe to South Africa
and Western Africa. SAFE would continue
this connection over 13,800 km from Cape
Town to Malaysia, linking Mauritius, Reunion
and India on the way. The SAT-3/WASC-SAFE
network goes from Sesimbra, Portugal,
to Penang, Malaysia, connecting along
the way India, Mauritius, Reunion, South
Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire,
Senegal and the Canaries. The network
became operational in October 2001.
In
January 2006, ICTA
approved a considerable decrease in the
tariffs of International Private Leased
Circuits (IPLC), fixed line services,
international calls and local calls in
line with a government policy to make
Mauritius more competitive internationally
in the field of information and communication
technology.
As
a result of the changes, there was a reduction
in International Private Leased Circuits
(IPLC) rates applicable, with immediate
effect, by Mauritius Telecom Ltd on the
SAFE undersea cable ranging from 17% to
31%, with an overall average of around
22% on the existing rates.
Mauritius
Telecom also, with immediate effect, cut
tariffs in respect of International Direct
Dialling (IDD) services by an average
of 19.8%, while Emtel, Mahanagar Telephone
(Mauritius) Ltd, City Call Ltd and Data
Communications Ltd will cut their IDD
services by margins of between 5% and
15%.
Meanwhile,
City Call Ltd and Data Communications
Ltd cut charges for Internet Telephony
services by between 5% and 50%, also with
immediate effect.
The
ICT Authority also approved tariffs for
new services, namely 3G for Emtel, and
wireless Internet Services for Network
Plus (Africa Digital Bridges Network Ltd.).
Go to Offshore-e-com.com
for an extensive analysis of the commercial
possibilities and the legal background
for offshore e-commerce.
The
natural bonding of the Internet and Offshore
stems from the fact that both, of their
nature, manage to avoid tax. Businesses
which can operate on the Internet without,
so to speak, touching ground in a high-tax
jurisdiction will naturally migrate to
offshore jurisdictions; while businesses
that already have offshore existence will
find it highly convenient to be able to
use the Internet to trade with their high-tax
customers without having to make a landing
in their countries.
As
a major offshore jurisdiction with many
tens of thousands of offshore enterprises
already installed, including many trading
companies, it is only a matter of time
before Mauritius becomes a centre of e-commerce
activity. The island's geographical location
between continents, its good telecommunications
links, sophisticated business infrastructure
and the low-cost, English-speaking, highly-educated
work-force are all factors which will
attract the sales, marketing and administrative
departments of retail operations, particularly
those trading into India and African countries.
By
locating websites in Mauritius to carry
out functions previously based in high-tax
jurisdictions such as sales and marketing,
treasury management, supply of financial
services, and most of all, the supply
of digital goods such as music, video,
training, software etc, businesses can
take advantage of low rates of taxation
for increasingly substantial parts of
their operation.
In
many countries, the distribution of goods
from a warehousing facility does not constitute
the carrying on of a trade or business
in that jurisdiction, so that even for
physical goods, in many case it will be
possible to avoid a permanent establishment
(taxable presence) altogether in many
high-tax jurisdictions where trading activities
currently take place.
A
company operating an e-commerce facility
in Mauritius will very probably choose
International Business Company status,
and may establish itself in the Export
Services Zone or in the Cyber City, (see
Offshore Legal
and Tax Regimes) and will therefore
have minimal local taxes to pay.
For information about the impact of e-commerce
on a number of the main offshore activities
which take place on the island, click
on a link below to go to our specialist
E-commerce site Offshore-e-com.com
Sales and Distribution of Physical Products
Sales
and Distribution of Digital Products
Banking
and Financial Services (including Investment
Funds)
Corporate
Support Functions
To
see an analysis of the current state of
legal and tax issues surrounding offshore
e-commerce, click
here.
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Mauritius
Case Studies
This section will contain case studies
of e-commerce solutions applied to offshore
business activities carried out from Mauritius.
The case studies will be developed in
association with 
partners. Contact
us to learn more.
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