Mauritius
Firearms Act
Act 2 of 2006
- Commenced on 1 September 2007
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Firearms Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"acquire" includes hire, accept as a gift or borrow;"air gun, air rifle or air pistol" means any device manufactured to discharge a bullet or any projectile of a calibre of less than 5.6 millimetres (.22 calibre) by means of a compressed gas or spring and not by means of burning propellant;"ammunition"—(a)means ammunition for any firearm, except ammunition for an air gun, air rifle, or air pistol; and(b)includes the ammunition referred to in section 24;"antique firearm" means any muzzle loading firearm manufactured before 1 January 1900 or any replica of such a firearm;"CFI" means the Central Firearm Index referred to in section 23;"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Police;"Competency Certificate" means a certificate issued by the Commissioner under section 6;"dangerous drug" has the same meaning as in the Dangerous Drugs Act;"dealer in firearms" means any person who manufactures, sells, transfers, repairs, tests or proves firearms or ammunition for the purpose of trade or business;"employee permit" means a permit authorising an employee of a person to be in possession of the person’s firearms;"firearm"—(a)means any barrelled weapon of any description which is lethal and from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged; and(b)includes—(i)any component part of any such lethal weapon, and any accessory to any such lethal weapon designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon;(ii)any air gun, air rifle or air pistol, and every part of such air gun, air rifle or air pistol;(iii)a laser gun; but(c)does not include—(i)any toy gun or toy pistol from which any shot, bullet or missile is discharged by the force of a spring alone; or(ii)any antique firearm kept solely as a curiosity, ornament or trophy, which is not used or carried and for which no ammunition is purchased or acquired;"firearm licence" means a licence issued under section 8;"firearm licensee" means the holder of a firearm licence;"guidelines" means guidelines issued by the Commissioner—(a)setting out the requirements, the applicable law and the procedure for an application for a permit under section 20 or 21 or for an authorisation for a transit of firearms and ammunition in Mauritius under section 21A;[Came into operation on 21 December 2013, except in respect of the authorisation for a transit of firearms and ammunitions.](b)available for consultation at the Mauritius Police Force; and[Not in operation.](c)posted on the website of the Mauritius Police Force;[Not in operation.]"gunsmith" means a person who repairs, tests or proves firearms;"laser gun" means a hand-held battery operated gun which produces intense burst of light capable of burning holes in most materials;"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of home affairs is assigned;"next of kin", in relation to a person, means his spouse, child, father, mother, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or any person under whose responsibility or control a person is placed;"private security service" means the business of providing, for remuneration or reward, a security service, the services of a security guard, and the secure transportation and delivery of property, as regulated under the Private Security Service Act;"prohibited firearm" means any firearm specified in the First Schedule;"security guard" has the same meaning as in the Private Security Service Act;"shotgun" means a smooth bore gun, either single or double barrelled, not less than 60 centimetres in length (24 inches);"transfer" includes let on hire, give, lend, and part with possession;"transit", in relation to firearms and ammunition, means transit in Mauritius under section 21A.[S. 2 amended by s. 7A (a) of Act 2 of 2008 w.e.f. 1 July 2008; s. 20 (a) of Act 27 of 2013 partly w.e.f. 21 December 2013 and partly not in operation.]3. Prohibited firearms
No person shall import, have in his possession, transport or otherwise deal in any prohibited firearm.4. Licence for firearm or ammunition
5. Identification of firearm
6. Competency Certificate
7. Application for licence
8. Grant of licence or employee permit
9. Refusal of licence or employee permit
The Commissioner shall refuse a firearm licence or employee permit to any person who—10. Production of firearm and ammunition
11. Form and conditions of licence
12. Duration and renewal of licence
13. Variation of conditions of licence
14. Cancellation or refusal to renew licence
15. Private security service provider
15A. Prohibited possession and use of firearms
Notwithstanding section 15 or any other enactment, no security guard on duty at the premises of—16. Game licence
17. Hunting and game shooting organisations
The Minister may make regulations in respect of hunting associations or game shooting organisations providing for—18. Temporary licence for non-citizens
19. Replacement of licences
Where a firearm licence or game licence has been destroyed, defaced or lost, the person to whom it was granted may report the fact to the Commissioner, and where the Commissioner is satisfied that the licence has been destroyed, defaced or lost, he shall grant to the person a duplicate in the prescribed form against payment of the fee specified in the Second Schedule.20. Import licence
21. Export licence
21A. Transit of firearms and ammunition
22. Safekeeping of firearms and ammunition
23. Central Firearms Index
24. Weapons which discharge noxious materials
25. Dealers and gunsmiths to register
26. Registration of dealers and gunsmiths
27. Cessation of business
Where a body corporate referred to in section 7 (2) or a person referred to in section 15 holds a firearm licence ceases to carry on business for any reason, the firearms and ammunition in possession of that person must be surrendered to the Commissioner together with the firearm licence and firearm licence book within 24 hours.28. Dealers and gunsmiths to keep registers
29. Appeal to Minister
30. Transfers and repairs
31. Control during serious disturbances
Where the President of the Republic of Mauritius has issued a Proclamation declaring that a state of public emergency exists, any person, who, while the Proclamation remains in force—32. Prohibition of brokering activities
33. Pawn of firearm or ammunition prohibited
No pawnbroker shall take any firearm or ammunition in pawn.34. Prohibition on person convicted of crime
35. Possession of firearm with intent
Any person who has in his possession any firearm, imitation firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property or to commit an offence or to enable any other person to endanger life or cause serious injury to property or to commit an offence, shall whether any injury to person or property has been caused or not, commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to penal servitude.36. Trespassers in possession of firearm
Any person who enters or is found in any building as a trespasser and has in his possession a firearm or imitation firearm, without reasonable excuse or justification, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 100,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years.37. Use of firearms to intimidate
38. Persons under the influence of alcohol or drugs
39. Use of firearms to prevent arrest
Any person who makes or attempts to make any use of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension of his body, or detention, or of any other person, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to penal servitude.40. Loss or theft of firearms
41. Powers of officers
42. Duty to give information
43. Power to require production of firearm
44. Surrender of firearm
45. Search and seizure
46. Other offences and penalties
47. Powers of Courts
48. Regulations
49. ***
50. ***
51. Savings and transitional provisions
52. ***
History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
01 September 2007
Commenced