Commissioner General of Customs Abbas Adil Riza has said that the planned changes to import duty, which will come into effect on 1 April 2015, will not result in price increases or have any significant effect on the public.

Abbas, who assumed his role as Commissioner General of Customs recently, said this during an interview to Sun Online today.

He said that import duty will be increased on tobacco, land transport vehicles, and luxury cosmetic items, and these changes will not affect prices of food or any other essential commodities.

He added that import duty will remain the same for 60 percent of all cosmetics, such as body lotion and body spray, which do not fall under the category of luxury cosmetics.

Maldives Customs Service will hold sessions to provide information to small and medium enterprises regarding the changes, said Abbas.

He further said that while import duty will be increased on land transport vehicles, it will be exempted for sea vessels imported for tourism purposes – which would greatly benefit the tourism sector.

Abbas informed that as part of Maldives Customs’ efforts to make things easier for businesses, it has been decided to allow businesses to stock commodities for which duty will be increased, before 1 April 2015.