The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has issued a crucial Tax Ruling as of 21 December 2023, outlining revised guidelines for claiming input tax within a 12-month period. This change emphasizes the necessity for businesses to adhere strictly to the input tax claiming deadlines to avoid forfeiture of tax credits, highlighting the importance of accurate and timely tax practices in compliance with the GST Act.

The First Amendment to the Tourism Boundary Regulation was gazetted on 16 November 2023 permitting lagoon boundary extensions for lagoons leased for tourism purposes and providing exemptions for the establishment of the no development zone which was previously mandated under the Tourism Boundary Regulation.

The Companies Bill, passed during the 32nd Sitting of the 3rd Session of the People’s Majlis on December 5, 2023, introduces significant changes to the existing Companies Act of 1996.

In the recent judgment of the High Court in Re Aishath Zaeema, the High Court established a pivotal precedent that is set to have huge implications on the rights of children and other protected persons who lack the capacity to represent themselves at court proceedings.

On 24 September 2023, the High Court handed down the judgement in a case which provided clarity on two issues: 1) the deductibility of interest on a loan transaction between related parties, 2) requirement to perform a comparability analysis in determining whether a transaction is at arm’s length.

The Regulation on Employment of Expatriate Workers gazetted on 24 May 2023, introduced some major changes to the work permit application process in the Maldives and repealed the old Regulation on Employment of Expatriate Workers.

The Policy on Recovery of Tax from Third Parties outlines the procedures through which MIRA can recover unpaid taxes, fines or other outstanding payments from third-parties as specified in Section 47 of the Tax Administration Act.

The guide briefly looks at tax and import duty exemptions currently in place in the Maldives. It outlines the regulatory requirements for such exemptions, including application processes, prerequisites, compliance requirements, and circumstances for exemption termination.

This Advisory guides you through the key changes introduced through the 30th amendment to the GST Regulation.