Section 11A: Representative office of foreign bank

11A. Representative office of foreign bank (1) No foreign bank shall— (a) set up a representative office in Mauritius unless it obtains the prior written approval of the central bank; or (b) subject to subsection (2), carry on in Mauritius, through its representative office, any activity regulated under this Act. (2) A foreign bank may not, through its representative office, carry on any activity other than an activity specified by the central bank. (3) (a) An application to set up a representative office shall be made in writing to the central bank and accompanied by such document or information as the central bank may require and on payment of such nonrefundable processing fee as the central bank may prescribe with the approval of the Minister. (b) The central bank may approve the application, with or without conditions, or reject the application. (c) Where the central bank approves an application, it shall notify the foreign bank in writing and, on payment of such appropriate annual licence fee as the central bank may prescribe with the approval of the Minister, it shall issue the authorisation to open a representative office, in Mauritius, to the foreign bank. B3 – 15 [Issue 7] Banking Act (4) The central bank may, at any time and in writing, amend or revoke any condition under which an approval was granted under subsection (3) (b) or impose new conditions. (5) The central bank may revoke an approval granted under subsection (3) (b) where— (a) the representative office— (i) contravenes any of the banking laws; or (ii) fails to comply with any condition imposed pursuant to the approval; (b) the representative office contravenes any other enactment in or outside Mauritius; or (c) in its opinion, it is in the public interest to do so. (6) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) or fails to comply with any condition imposed under subsection (3) (b) or (4) shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 5 million rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years. (7) (a) The central bank may cause an inspection of the operations and affairs of a representative office to be made by its officers or such other duly qualified person as it may appoint, so as to assess whether the representative office is complying with the banking laws and any guidelines or instructions issued by the central bank. (b) Where the central bank appoints a duly qualified person to conduct an inspection under paragraph (a), the costs incurred in that connection may be recovered, in whole or in part, by the central bank by deduction from any balance of, or money owing to, the foreign bank, as if it were a civil debt. [S. 11A inserted by s. 3 (d) of Act 27 of 2013 w.e.f. 21 December 2013.]