President ratifies amendments to GST and Green Tax Acts

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the 7^th Amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act of the Maldives (Act No. 10/2011).

The amendment to the bill was passed in the 44^th sitting of the 20^th Parliament on October 31, 2024.

As per the new amendment, the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST), collected from tourism-related from January 01, 2023 will remain at 16 percent until June 30, 2025. Following this period, as stipulated under Section 15(b)(6) of the Act, the TGST rate will increase to 17 percent effective July 01, 2025.

Prior to this recent amendment, shops operating exclusively for employees in the tourism industry were exempted from being classified as tourist goods or services. The 7^th amendment to the GST Act broadened the scope of the exception to include employee-only cafés, making the legislation more comprehensive.

Following the ratification, any necessary amendments to the regulations under the Act must be completed and published in the Government Gazette within 30 days of the Act’s enactment.

Besides this, President Dr. Muizzu also ratified the latest amendment to the Act related to Green Tax. As such, the tax will increase twice the current rate. For properties with 50 rooms or less, Green Tax will increase from USD 3 per guest to USD 6, while for properties with 50 rooms or more, the rate will increase from USD 6 per guest to USD 12.