Customs to publish names of non-payers with over MVR 10,000 in dues

Maldives Customs Service has decided to publish the names of individuals who have unpaid dues with the authority and in this trajectory, has published a regulation for the purpose.

According to the regulation published on Thursday, the names will be published if they meet a certain criterion: if they have over MVR 10,000 pending in unpaid dues.

Moreover, the names will be published after taking several steps to recover the dues. In this regard, Customs will first send the individual a document. The said document will be delivered to the registered address with the authority or sent to the individual via the Customs portal, the email registered with the authority or to the phone number registered with the authority.

Information which will be published by Customs under the regulation include:

• Full name of the individual who has unpaid dues with the authority
• The Customs registration number of the individual and if an person, their name and permanent address, if a business, their business registration number and if a legal entity, their registry number
• The total amount owed to Customs and the type of payment
• The total amount unpaid at that point

The information will be published on Customs’ website, the government gazette and Customs’ official social media platforms.

As per the regulation, the names of individuals who have unpaid dues has to be published at least once every two months. At least 15 days must be spent on the process to disclose names under the regulation.

The regulation states it will not apply to government offices repaying dues to Customs under agreements, companies with majority government ownership, and entities involved in government projects.