Parliamentary committee backs scrapping GST registration for overseas travel sellers
The 17 per cent tourism GST is unchanged, but foreign tour operators may no longer have to register and collect it themselves.
A parliamentary committee in the Maldives has supported repealing a rule that required overseas travel sellers to register for, and pay, tourism GST on Maldives bookings, Travel Weekly Asia reports.
Background
The requirement came into force on 1 October 2026. It applied to qualifying foreign tour operators, travel agencies and booking providers without a fixed place of business in the Maldives. Industry groups objected to the extra cost and administration, and operators that had already sold holidays at fixed prices faced absorbing the tax.
The tourism minister later announced a postponement to 1 April 2027. Because the law had already taken effect, UK travel association ABTA asked for formal clarification, leaving overseas sellers unsure where they stood.
What changes, and what doesn't
- The existing 17 per cent tourism GST stays in place. The proposal only removes the obligation on foreign businesses to collect and account for it.
- The committee also backed raising the general GST registration threshold from MVR 1 million to MVR 1.5 million in annual taxable sales from 1 January 2027. That is a separate measure and would not by itself exempt overseas tourism suppliers.
Not law yet
The bill still needs a final vote in parliament, ratification by the President and publication in the Government Gazette. Until then, overseas sellers should keep following official guidance from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority.
