The Maldives government has decided to revise its amendment requiring tour operators to pay Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) just three days after implementation, citing significant industry concerns.
The government gazetted the controversial legal amendment on August 31 despite industry-wide concerns, both locally and internationally. The government began taxing according to this amendment on Thursday, last week.
Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Ameen announced President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s decision to amend the law to tax foreign tour operators during a ceremony held to mark the Tourism Day.
“Several industry stakeholders and travel agents have made formal requests to the President regarding this concerning matter, due to which the President has concluded for immediate revision of the TGST Act based on destination principle,” Ameen said.
Speaking at the ceremony, the minister highlighted industry-wide concerns shared with President Muizzu following the ratification of the tax requirement.
“We brought amendments to the law that included additional components in paying TGST under the destination principle. Following this, we received several concerns from the industry and travel agents,” Ameen added.
Before the amendment came to force, several stakeholders raised concerns about the decision, including Russia’s largest tour operator, which had sent a letter to the Maldivian government expressing its concerns. Besides this, several Indian tour operators also voiced their concerns regarding the matter.