A Foreign Exchange Regulation has been enacted and gazetted today, requiring all foreign currency entering the Maldives from goods and services sold or provided by the tourism industry to be deposited in a Maldivian bank.
As per the regulation issued by the Central Bank, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) all tourism transactions are to be conducted in Rufiyaa. However, 11 exceptions have been made.
Exceptions To The Rule
- Payment and acceptance of money permitted to be paid to the Government or the State in foreign currency
- Services offered by banks and financing companies and transactions between these agencies and customers
- Transactions with remittance service providers
- Transactions relating to insurance policies sold to tourism entities
- International transactions
- Price of goods and services sold to tourists
- Transactions related to exported goods and services
- For goods and services purchased by a business that earns foreign currency income
- Transactions between shareholders in the payment of dividends, if required by a business with foreign currency income
- Buying and selling shares in a business that generates foreign currency income
- Salary and allowances, if required by a business that earns foreign currency income
Therefore, resorts are not prohibited from accepting payments for goods and services sold to tourists in foreign currency.
The regulation gazetted on Tuesday provides a 30 day period for businesses in the tourism sector including ones registered with Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) to reregister and 30 day period for new businesses registering with MIRA, to register with Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The regulation mandates tourism goods and service providers to submit the details of the goods and services provided by the party to MMA by October 28th.
It further said details of foreign currency earned through tourism deposited to banks must be shared with other authorities as instructed by the bank.
In addition, tourism service providers are required to deposit foreign exchange earned during a month along with realised sales proceeds into a foreign exchange account opened in a bank before the 28th day of the third month following the month.
The deposit must be made in dollars or other foreign currency permitted by the MMA.
A business who fails to exchange foreign currency as per the rules will be fined between MVR 5,000 and MVR 1 million.
