Changing a Company's Financial Year End

If you want to change the financial year end in Mauritius, you are moving the date on which the company closes its books and prepares its balance sheet. Every later deadline is counted from that date: the audited accounts, the tax return, the advance payments and, for some licensed entities, the filing with the regulator. A change is therefore never just an accounting tweak. It is a decision that reshapes a whole year of obligations, and it is worth planning before the board signs anything.

This guide explains why companies move their year end, what the move changes for the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), the auditor and the advance payment system, and how to sequence the steps. It does not repeat the yearly list of deadlines, which sits in the compliance calendar. The aim here is to show what shifts when the closing date shifts.

What the balance sheet date actually drives

The balance sheet date, also called the accounting year end or reporting date, is the last day of the period covered by the annual financial statements. Four things hang from it.

• The financial statements. They describe the position of the company at that date and the results of the period ending on it. See preparing annual financial statements.
• The audit or review. The auditor's work, and any audit exemption test, is run on the period that closes on that date.
• The income tax return. The return is built from the accounts of the period, so the taxable period follows the accounting one in most cases.
• Advance payments. Companies in the advance payment system pay tax in instalments calculated around their own year, so a different closing date moves the instalment dates too.

Because all four move together, the question is rarely "can we change?" and more often "what is the least disruptive moment to change?"

Why companies change their year end

There is no single good reason, but a few come up again and again.

Aligning with a group or a parent

A Mauritian subsidiary or holding company often has to close its books on the same date as its parent, so that consolidation is straightforward. If the group changes its own year end, the local company follows.

Moving away from a busy season

A trading or hospitality business may prefer a closing date that falls in a quiet period, when stock counts, payroll cut-offs and management time are easier to handle. Staff and the finance team are not asked to close the year in the middle of the peak.

Smoothing the workload with advisers

Auditors and accountants usually have a crowded calendar around the most common year-end dates. A different closing date can make an auditor more available and the work less rushed, although that is a practical gain, not a legal one.

A first period that was set by default

A company may have inherited its first year end from the date of incorporation or from a provider's habit. Once the activity is clear, a more suitable date can be chosen. A newly incorporated private company is a small private company for its first financial year, which is worth bearing in mind when the first period is planned (Companies Act s. 2(5)-(7)).

A change in ownership or control

A new owner may want the company on its own reporting cycle. In that case, check how the change interacts with any tax loss history, since the carry-forward of losses is restricted when more than half of the shareholding changes hands.

What changes, filing by filing

The table below sets the main obligations against what a shift of year end does to them. It is a map of questions to ask, not a calculation, because the outcome depends on the length of the transitional period and on the company's category.

The 28-day periods come from the Companies Act (s. 215 and s. 223), and the six-month period for an Authorised Company from article 71A(10) of the Financial Services Act. For any other deadline, rely on the statute and on the MRA's current published guidance.

Effects on the audit

An audit is built on a period, so a changed year end changes the period the auditor must cover. Three practical points follow.

1. Tell the auditor early. The engagement letter, the fee and the fieldwork timetable are all tied to the old date. A mid-year notice leaves little room to re-plan. See choosing and appointing an auditor and the audit process step by step.
2. Check whether an audit is needed for the transitional period. The audit-exemption analysis depends on the company's category and its turnover. A small private company is one whose turnover for the previous financial year is below Rs 100 million, which does not hold a Global Business Licence and is not a First Schedule entity under the Financial Reporting Act. Where the transitional period is unusually short or long, ask the adviser whether that test is still applied in the same way.
3. Keep the comparatives readable. A shorter or longer period makes the comparison with the prior year less direct. The notes to the accounts should say so plainly.

Small private companies file a financial summary (Ninth Schedule) with their annual return or their financial statements, and below Rs 100 million of turnover they may prepare it on a cash basis, with a profit and loss account only (Companies Act s. 215, 211). A change of year end does not remove this option, but the period the summary covers will be the changed one.

Effects on the MRA return and advance payments

On the tax side, the question is how the MRA treats the period between the old year end and the new one. The tax return follows the income period, and the company remains responsible for filing correctly through the MRA's online channel. A practical walkthrough of the portal is in filing with the MRA online, and the return itself is described in corporate income tax return filing.

Three consequences deserve attention.

• Advance payment dates move. Companies within the advance payment system pay quarterly. Since the Finance Act 2026, with effect from 13 August 2026, a company in that system pays the CCR Levy in three instalments of 25% with the advance payment returns and the balance with the annual return, while other companies pay it with the annual return. A new year end therefore moves the dates on which those instalments fall.
• Tax losses. Losses of a company can be carried forward over the five following income years, with a restriction where more than 50% of the shareholding changes. A transitional period does not by itself cancel a loss, but the year-by-year count should be confirmed so that no year is lost by miscounting. See carrying forward a tax loss.
• Global business entities. A Global Business Licence holder and an Authorised Company are both treated as global business entities under the Income Tax Act. For these entities, the Finance Act 2026 amended several Sub-part AF definitions, including "fiscal year", with retroactive effect to the income year starting on 1 July 2025. A change of year end should be checked against those definitions before it is decided.

The steps, in a sensible order

The sequence below is a working order, not a statutory procedure. The exact formalities and the filing consequences depend on the company's constitution, its category and the MRA's current requirements.

The board decision should be recorded properly. A short board resolution and clear board minutes show who decided what and when, which is useful if the MRA or an auditor later asks.

Good timing and bad timing

Some moments are easier than others.

• After a closed and filed year, before the next one is under way. The prior period is complete, so the change starts cleanly.
• Not in the middle of an audit. Changing the date while the auditor is working on the last period creates avoidable confusion.
• Not just before a deadline. A change decided in a rush can leave a filing date unclear.
• With advisers available. A change that needs a tax opinion should not be decided on a Friday evening.

A company with a very short life, such as a dormant one, has less to gain from a change. See keeping a dormant company compliant for what continues to apply even when there is no activity.

After the change: updating your records

Once the new date is set, update the internal compliance plan, the bookkeeping system's period settings and the provider's reminders. Notify the bank or other counterparties whose covenants or reporting depend on the old date. Keep the resolution with the statutory registers and the other company records, so that the history of the change can be shown.

If the company relies on a corporate service provider for filings, tell it in writing. A registered agent of an Authorised Company is responsible, among other things, for filing the documents required under the Financial Services Act, the Income Tax Act or the Companies Act and for keeping the records (article 71A(8) of the Financial Services Act), so it needs the new date to do that correctly. For help choosing one, see how to choose a corporate services provider.

If your situation is unusual, a short group-structure or a transitional period that straddles a change of rules, send a request through the site's form and a licensed provider will review it.