Bill to repeal Maldives GST on overseas tour operators: what it does and what to do now

Where the bill stands

The Government submitted the bill to amend the Goods and Services Tax Act on 18 October 2026. It had its first reading on 20 October 2026. On 26 October 2026 the Majlis accepted it by vote and sent it to committee, where it now sits. All 43 members who voted were reported to be in favour.

If it is passed, it takes effect on the day it is ratified and published in the Government Gazette. It is not backdated, except for the refund described below.

Until then nothing has changed. The Eighth Amendment remains in force, and supplies of inbound tourism products by overseas suppliers remain taxable at 17% from 1 October 2026 (Act s.15(b-1)).

What the bill would remove

The bill repeals every provision that brought overseas suppliers into the regime:

• the rule treating these supplies as made in the Maldives (s.5-2(b)(3));
• the rule making them a taxable activity (s.13(c)(8));
• their inclusion in the tourism sector, and the 1 October 2026 start date (s.15(a)(6), (b-1));
• the margin valuation (s.19(e));
• the bar on input tax (s.37(f));
• the definition of "inbound tourism product" (s.68).

The refund of GST already collected

On our reading of the Dhivehi text, the bill provides that, once it takes effect, GST collected under the regime from any person from 1 October 2026 is to be refunded to that person. No further obligation under the Act arises for those supplies for the period from 1 October 2026 to the date it takes effect (bill cl.11).

The bill does not say who makes the refund: the supplier, MIRA, or both. Nor does it say how GST that was absorbed in a price is treated, or how a chain of resellers unwinds. It also says nothing about cancelling registrations already made. The regulations, which must be gazetted within 90 days of the bill taking effect, may settle these points.

The Government's own cost assessment puts the tourism GST given up at MVR 1,608.5 million.

Two changes that are not reversals

The bill also contains two changes that would apply to every GST-registered business, not only overseas suppliers:

• A general anti-avoidance rule (new s.63-1). Where a main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of a transaction is to obtain a GST tax benefit, the Commissioner General may disregard the transaction and adjust the GST payable, a refund or input tax.
• Valuation of arm's-length supplies (new s.19(d)(5)). Supplies to persons other than related parties would join the list of supplies whose value is set under the GST Regulation. The rules would come in a regulation that has not yet been made.

MIRA's power to require information also stays, and is widened. MIRA could require a registered person to provide information it holds that is needed to check whether any person required to register is registered, not only overseas tourism suppliers.

A companion bill to amend the Tax Administration Act would raise the share of disputed tax payable before an appeal to the Tax Appeal Tribunal from 25% to 50%. It would be 100% for assessments on related-party GST supplies and on supplies valued under the new s.19(d)(5). That bill is not law either.

What to do now

1. Keep complying. For a monthly filer, the October 2026 return and payment are due by 28 November 2026 (Act s.28(a)(1)). See filing a Maldives GST return from overseas.
2. Keep a per-booking record of GST collected. The refund turns on GST collected from your customers. Record what you charged, what you collected and what you paid to MIRA, booking by booking, from 1 October 2026.
3. Do not deregister on the strength of the bill. It does not deal with existing registrations.
4. Maldivian businesses: review related-party and group pricing against the proposed anti-avoidance and valuation rules. Those parts will outlast the debate over overseas suppliers.

For the regime as it stands today, see Maldives GST on inbound tourism products.

Unsure what the bill means for your bookings? CST Advisory tracks the bill through the Majlis and can review your position, your records of GST collected, and what a refund would mean for you.

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