What the new GST rules mean for Maldives package pricing and commission

Direct answer

Two rules introduced on 21 September 2026 land on Maldivian businesses, not offshore ones. A registered person cannot deduct agency or booking commission when computing the consideration it received, so a resort accounts for GST on the gross booking value, not net of the platform's commission. And a registered person cannot claim input tax on what it pays an overseas supplier for an inbound tourism product or related booking services.

Why this page is for Maldivian businesses

Most coverage of the Eighth Amendment is aimed at foreign tour operators. But the 32nd amendment to the GST Regulation (2026/R-82), gazetted on 21 September 2026, contains two provisions that sit inside the overseas-supplier chapters and are easy to miss, and both of them cost Maldivian resorts, hotels, guesthouses, safari vessels and DMCs money.

Rule 1: you cannot net commission off your consideration

In calculating the amount of consideration received by a registered person, the amount payable by that person for an agency service or booking service relating to an inbound tourism product shall not be deducted.

2026/R-82, new GST Regulation art. 105-4 (CST Advisory's translation of the Dhivehi text; the instrument was published in Dhivehi only)

In plain terms: if an online travel agency sells a room and remits you the price net of its commission, your taxable consideration is the gross amount the guest paid, not the net amount you received.

An illustration

Take a guest paying USD 1,000 for a room, where the platform retains USD 200 commission and remits USD 800.

Figures illustrative: they are ours, not MIRA's. The principle is from art. 105-4; the arithmetic depends on your contract and whether your rates are GST-inclusive.

Whether this is a change or a clarification for you depends on how you have been accounting. If your revenue recognition follows the net remittance from the platform, your GST base and your accounting base are now explicitly different, and the difference needs a process.

What to check

• Your contracts. Is the platform acting as your agent, or buying and reselling? The two models produce different flows, and art. 105-4 speaks to the amount you must pay for an agency or booking service.
• Your reconciliation. Can you see the gross amount the guest paid, or only the net remittance? If only the net, you need gross reporting from the platform.
• Your rate loading. If commission has been absorbed rather than priced, the GST on the gross amount changes the economics.

Rule 2: no input tax on overseas ITP and booking costs

The Regulation adds a new category to the list of expenditure on which input tax cannot be claimed:

Expenditure incurred in relation to an inbound tourism product supplied by a person whose fixed place of business is not in the Maldives, or in relation to an amount paid for agency or booking services supplied in relation to such a product.

2026/R-82, new GST Regulation art. 45(i) (CST Advisory's translation)

So where you buy from an overseas ITP supplier, or pay an overseas platform for booking or agency services, the Maldives GST on that cost is not recoverable by you.

Note this is a different rule from the one that denies the offshore supplier its own input tax (Act s.37(f)). They point in opposite directions and both need to be understood:

Rule 3: your record-keeping obligations have grown

The Regulation adds seven new record categories at art. 92(a)(7-1) to (7-7) (2026/R-82, cl. 24). Article 92 applies to every registered person, not only to overseas suppliers, so these reach you too. Two are particularly relevant to a resort or DMC:

• (7-3) documents showing the amount of consideration received and receivable from the person acquiring the good or service, which supports the gross-basis rule above
• (7-6) documents by which the tourism product supplied can be identified as accommodation, meals, transport, an excursion or any other tourism activity

Alongside these: agreements with ITP suppliers and with providers of booking or agency services; documents showing amounts paid or payable to them; booking confirmations, reservation records, travel itineraries and ticketing records; and documentation on refunds, cancellations, corrections and adjustments.

Rule 4: MIRA can ask you about your offshore partners

MIRA has the power to require a registered person to furnish information, to the extent it is in that person's possession, needed to ensure that suppliers of inbound tourism products who are required to register are registered (Act s.59-1).

In practice, expect to be asked which overseas operators and platforms you deal with. It is worth knowing now whether your counterparties have registered.

What about the tourism-sector rate, green tax and service charge?

This page is about GST on inbound tourism products. For completeness:

• The tourism-sector GST rate is 17%, in force since 1 July 2025 (Act s.15(b)(6)). The Eighth Amendment did not change it.
• Green tax and service charge are different charges under different rules and are not affected by the 32nd amendment to the GST Regulation. We have not covered them here and you should not read this page as guidance on them.

What to do before your next return

1. Read your OTA and wholesaler contracts against art. 105-4 and identify every arrangement where commission is netted off before remittance.
2. Confirm you can obtain gross booking values from each platform.
3. Stop claiming input tax on overseas ITP and booking or agency costs (art. 45(i)).
4. Extend your record-keeping to the new art. 92 categories.
5. Ask your offshore partners whether they have registered, both because of Act s.59-1 and because their registration status affects whether amounts you pay them can reduce their taxable value.

Have your contracts reviewed before 1 October 2026. We read OTA, wholesaler and DMC agreements against the new rules and tell you where the GST base differs from what you are being remitted.

Request a contract review →