Mauritius Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in mauritius, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Standards for Trade
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Overview

Mauritius has a mixed system of voluntary and mandatory standards, with a focus on ensuring product safety, environmental protection, and consumer welfare. The country actively works to align its standards with international norms to facilitate trade and reduce technical barriers. The Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB) is the national standards body responsible for developing, promoting, and implementing standards in Mauritius. MSB is also responsible for providing conformity assessment services, including metrology, testing, and certification of management systems and products.  Operating under the Ministry of Industry, SME, and Cooperatives, MSB has evolved since its creation in 1975, adapting to the changing economic landscape through legislative updates, such as the Mauritius Standards Bureau Act of 2022. Its technical units and support divisions ensure comprehensive services, including calibration, quality assurance, and training, all aimed at fostering industrial development and economic growth. 

MSB is internationally recognized for its adherence to best practices, with its laboratory management systems accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and its management systems certification accredited to ISO/IEC 17021. It actively participates in global and regional standardization efforts, representing Mauritius in organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO). It is also an active participant in regional fora such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Cooperation in Standardization (SADCSTAN), SADC Cooperation in Measurement (SADCMET) and the Common Market for Eastern and South African-Standards, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing (COMESA-SQMT) structure. MSB’s partnerships and agreements with other African nations aim to reduce technical barriers to trade by promoting mutual recognition of test reports and certifications, thereby facilitating free trade in the region. 

Compliance to standards referred to in legislation is mandatory. A list of mandatory standards in available here. The MSB prepares a standard work plan which is sent to the ISO Gateway every six months. Parties that do not have a manufacturing presence in the market can participate in standards development when draft standards are published for public review.  

The Mauritius Accreditation Service (MAURITAS) is the sole agency for providing accreditation to conformity assessment bodies involved in calibration, testing, inspection, and certification. MAURITAS benchmarks its level of services with international guidelines and standards. Accreditation in Mauritius is a voluntary process. This link has list of accredited testing and calibration laboratories.

Standards

Mauritius is open to internationally recognized best practices and collaborates with regional bodies such as COMESA and SADC, international bodies such as the OECD and UN, and developed economies like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union to develop and adopt standard best practices. Some of the standards used include ISO, IEC, ASTM, and CODEX. U.S.-domiciled standards are recognized. A memorandum of understanding between U.S.-based ASTM International and the MSB was signed in 2005.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

The MSB is currently the sole product certification body in Mauritius. Product testing is aimed at items that pose health, safety, and environmental risks. Some products, such as fuel, rice, and flour, are controlled through technical requirements specified in bidding documents. MSB certification enables companies to use the MSB mark to demonstrate that their products and processes meet Mauritian standards.  The license for use of the mark for products and processes is valid for two years (renewable), during which the MSB conducts regular surveillance visits.  Mauritius has signed a Mutual Multilateral Recognition Agreement with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).  

Publication of Technical Regulations

Draft technical regulations are published in the Government Gazette and a 60-day period is allocated for public comments.  The minister in charge of industry may, by public notice, transform a standard into a technical regulation after consideration of any written objection filed with the MSB. Final regulations are published online. World Trade Organization (WTO) member states can comment on draft technical regulations through the e-Ping SPS&TBT platform. Mauritius does not maintain an annual regulatory agenda. The embassy is not aware of any new regulations that will impact U.S. products.

Contact Information  

Mauritius Standards Bureau, Villa Road, Moka, Mauritius. Email:msb@intnet.mu ; Tel:(230)4333648 

Ministry of Industry, SME, and Cooperatives ,16th Floor, Newton Tower, Sir William Newton Street, Port Louis, Mauritius. Tel: +230 405-3100.

The Embassy’s Economic/Commercial Section in Port Louis, Mauritius can be contacted via email at:  portlouis_polecon@state.gov; phone: +230 202 4400 
Standards Attaché -South Africa (Covering Mauritius) 
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa 
Attaché: Tatyana Aguirre 
Contact: Tatyana.Aguirre@trade.gov
 

Use ePing to Review Proposed Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995, to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and is a versatile tool that can be used to: 

  • Follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
  • Receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are distributed.
  • Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees. 
     

Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates an Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://www.nist.gov/notifyus/commenting for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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