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This guide explains Mauritius’s consumer price control regulations, designed to protect consumers from unfair pricing on essential goods.

🧭 Part 1: Understanding the Basics – Key Terms & Scope

First, let’s understand what goods are covered and what the most important legal terms mean.

What is a “Consumer Good”?
This law only applies to specific essential goods listed in its First Schedule. The list includes items like:

• Staples: Rice, pasta, edible oil, canned fish and tomatoes.
• Baby & Medical: Diapers, infant food and milk powder, pharmaceutical products, blood glucose strips.
• Others: Pulses, corned beef, margarine, imported fresh fruits, face masks, and hand sanitizers.

Core Legal Definitions

• Cost Price: The base cost of the good, calculated according to the rules in the law’s Second Schedule. For imports, this is generally the CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) value landed in Mauritius.
• Maximum Mark-Up: A percentage (set by the Minister) that can be added to the “cost price.” It is the maximum profit margin allowed for the importer, manufacturer, and wholesaler combined. You can find this percentage for each good in the First Schedule.
• Special Allowance: An additional small percentage (also in the First Schedule) that can be added to cover local charges borne by the importer or manufacturer, like port fees or local transport to a warehouse.
• Maximum Retail Price (MRP): This is the final, legally enforced ceiling price. It is calculated as:
  Cost Price + (Cost Price x Maximum Mark-Up %) + (Cost Price x Special Allowance %)
  No retailer can sell the product above this calculated MRP.

📋 Part 2: Obligations for Businesses (Importers, Manufacturers, Wholesalers)

If you are a business dealing in these controlled goods, you have strict legal duties.

For Importers: The Declaration Process

Before selling any imported controlled goods, you must submit a detailed “return” (a declaration) to the Minister. This is typically done through the Price Fixing Information System (PFIS).

Deadline: Within 10 working days of the goods clearing customs (the date of the first “bill of entry inwards”).

What to Submit:

1. A completed Return Form (as per the Second Schedule), detailing the cost price calculation.
2. All supporting documents: Commercial invoices, bills of lading, bills of entry, letters of credit, freight and insurance vouchers.
3. A separate Third Schedule form for each type/variation of the good.
4. Any other information the Minister requests.

Key Rule: You cannot sell or supply the goods until this return has been submitted.

For Local Manufacturers

Before selling any controlled goods you manufacture, you must submit to the Minister:

• Certified copies of your audited final accounts from the previous financial year.
• If accounts aren’t audited yet, a cost of production return certified by an auditor.

For All Sellers (Importer/Manufacturer/Wholesaler): The Sales Transaction

When you sell controlled goods to a retailer, you must:

1. Record a bill of sale in your sales book.
2. Sign it.
3. Issue the original bill of sale to the retailer.
   Retailers are prohibited from taking delivery of goods without receiving this bill of sale.

🏷️ Part 3: Price Display & Labeling Rules

The law has strict rules to ensure price transparency for consumers.

• For Medicines: Importers must affix a label on every pack/container showing the importer’s name and the Maximum Retail Price (MRP). It is illegal for anyone to remove or tamper with this label.
• For Imported Fresh Fruits: Retailers must affix a conspicuous label showing the country of origin and the MRP per half kilogram.

⚖️ Part 4: Consequences of Non-Compliance

Violating these regulations is a serious criminal offence.

Offences include:

• Selling above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
• Failing to submit the required cost returns.
• Providing false or misleading information in your declarations.
• Tampering with price labels on medicines.

Penalty: On conviction, an offender is liable to a fine not exceeding 100,000 Mauritian Rupees and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.

🔍 Part 5: Practical Examples & Reference Table

Let’s look at how the MRP is calculated and see specific examples for common goods.

How to Calculate the Maximum Retail Price (MRP):
If the Cost Price (CIF) for a bag of long grain rice is 100 Rupees:

• Maximum Mark-Up: 20% (from the Schedule) = 20 Rupees
• Special Allowance: 6% (from the Schedule) = 6 Rupees
• Maximum Retail Price (MRP): 100 + 20 + 6 = 126 Rupees
  The retailer cannot charge more than 126 Rupees.

Below is a reference table for some key products from the First Schedule:

Product Category	HS Code (Example)	Max Mark-Up	Special Allowance	Notes
Baby Diapers	9619.00.11	23%	2%	–
Basmati / Long Grain Rice	1006.10.10	20%	6%	–
Canned Fish (e.g., sardines)	1604.13.00	20%	2%	–
Edible Oil (Imported)	1507.90.00	22%	2%	–
Imported Fresh Fruits	Various (e.g., 0803.10.00)	45%	5%	Requires country-of-origin labeling.
Infant Milk Powder	1901.10.00	17%	0%	–
Pharmaceutical Products	3004.90.00	35%	2%	Includes wholesale margin. Strict label rules apply.
Milk Powder	0402.29.00	24%	2%	–

💎 Final Summary & Key Takeaways

• Purpose: This is a consumer protection law that sets maximum prices for a defined list of essential goods.
• Key Mechanism: Prices are controlled via a cost-plus system using a declared “Cost Price,” a fixed “Maximum Mark-Up,” and a “Special Allowance.”
• For Businesses: Compliance is mandatory and procedural. Failure to follow the rules for cost declaration, documentation, and labeling results in severe penalties.
• For Consumers: You have the right to pay no more than the calculated Maximum Retail Price for these goods. Look for the required labels on medicines and fresh fruit.

Disclaimer: This guide provides a general explanation of the regulations. For official advice or to view the complete and updated Schedules, please refer to the official publication on the Laws of Mauritius portal or consult a legal professional.