Doing business in Mauritania

How quickly can I set up a business?

The registration of a company in Mauritania can take place within 8 days.

What is the minimum investment needed?

For a branch, it has no share capital.

For a limited liability company, there is no minimum capital. You can provide the amount that you want.

For an anonymous company, there is a minimum capital of 500,000 MRU.

How can I raise finance?

Through the mother company or the shareholders.

What are the legal requirements for setting up my business?

There are two (2) choices to be made:

Either a company under Mauritanian law which is a limited liability company, or a public limited company or a branch extended from the parent company.

There are three (3) actions to be undertaken for the registration of the type of structure desired in Mauritania:

– preparation and transmission of legal documents duly signed by the representatives of the shareholders of the entity to be incorporated;
– registration in the commercial register;
– registration with the administrations concerned.

The registration of the company in the Commercial Register will take place within eight (8) days after notification of the duly signed documents.

It must register with the representatives of the following administrations represented at the “Guichet Unique”: national social security fund (CNSS), national health insurance fund (CNAM), and tax authorities to obtain a tax identification number (so called in French “Numéro identification fiscal or NIF”).

What structure should I consider?

We advise you to create a branch office. It is more appropriate for a company that wishes to carry out a project of limited duration, in addition its mode of management is simpler.

What advice can you give me in regards to payroll and taxation requirements?

A tax on salaries and wages is established on income from salaries and related allowances (gross salary).

The employer is obliged to make withholding tax applicable to the taxable remuneration according to the progressive scale with an allowance of 6,000 MRU per salary:

– Gross salary less than or equal to MRU 9,000, 15%;
– Gross salary greater than MRU 9,000 and less than or equal to MRU 21,000, 25%, and
– Gross salary greater than MRU 21,000, 40%.

For social security contributions:

Contributions to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) are set at a rate of 16% divided between the employee (1%) and the employer (15%). The basis of calculation is the actual salary with a ceiling of 7,000 MRU.

For the CNAM, the calculation basis is 9% of the gross salary, i.e., 5% (employer’s share) and 4% (employee’s share).

Is there anything else that I should know?

The tax on wages and salaries must be paid by the 15th of each month.

Social security contributions must be paid by the 15th of the month following the quarter in which the salaries are paid.