On 05 November 2024, the President ratified three amendments to laws that affect taxes and fees for tourists and international travelers. These amendments are:

• Seventh Amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act (Law number 10/2011)
• Fourteenth Amendment to the Maldives Tourism Act (Law number 2/99)
• 2nd Amendment to the Airport Taxes and Fees Act (Law number 29/2016)

Due to the above Amendments, businesses are mandated to collect more taxes and fees from tourists and international travelers. Noteworthy changes due to the above Amendments are outlined below.

Goods and Services Tax

Tourism sector GST rate will increase by 1% starting from 01 July 2025. After this change, the new GST rates will be as follows:

Sector	Currently applicable rate	Applicable rate after 1 July 2025
TGST	16%	17%
GGST	8%	8%

As per the amendment, Cafes operating in tourist establishments solely established to serve the employees working in the tourist establishment will not fall under the tourism sector. This change will be effective from the date of the ratification of the amendment.

Green Tax

Green Tax rates will be changed from 01 January 2025 onwards as follows:

Entity	Current Rate	New Rate from 1 January 2025
Guest houses and hotels located on an inhabited island and have 50 or fewer registered rooms	USD 3 Per Tourist Per Day	USD 6 Per Tourist Per Day
All the other tourist establishments	USD 6 Per Tourist Per Day	USD 12 Per Tourist Per Day

Additionally, from 1 January 2025 onwards, GRT will not be applicable on children under the age of 2 (two) years.

Departure Taxes and Airport Development Fee

Departure Tax and Airport Development Fee collected will be increased from all the travelers except for Maldivians traveling in Economy Class from 01 December 2024. Changes to Departure Tax and ADF are as below.

Departure Tax

Travel Class	Per Maldivian		Per Expatriate
	Until 30 Nov 2024 (USD)	From 1 Dec 2024 (USD)	Until 30 Nov 2024 (USD)	From 1 Dec 2024 (USD)
Economy Class	12	12	30	50
Business Class	60	120	60	120
First Class	90	240	90	240
Private Jet	120	480	120	480

Airport Development Fee

Travel Class	Per Maldivian		Per Expatriate
	Until 30 Nov 2024 (USD)	From 1 Dec 2024 (USD)	Until 30 Nov 2024 (USD)	From 1 Dec 2024 (USD)
Economy Class	12	12	30	50
Business Class	60	120	60	120
First Class	90	240	90	240
Private Jet	120	480	120	480

The Amendment also allows businesses to claim refund from the MIRA for Airport Service Charge, Departure Tax and ADF incorrectly collected and paid to MIRA given that it is refunded to the travelers.

Tackling the change

With the above changes, it is advisable to take the above changes into consideration when entering into a fixed price contract. Also, it is important to negotiate with parties you have existing price contracts with. Additionally, special care must be given in determining the Time of Supply as per the GST Act appropriately with regard to the transactions that overlap the effective date of rate changes. Furthermore, changing the POS rates, and tax rates in your accounting software should be considered at the top of your to do list on time.