Starting in October, the Maldives will change the rules for foreign companies selling local services to holidaymakers. Foreign tour operators, travel agencies, and online booking services will be required to register with the country's tax authority and pay a tourism tax, according to infohub.kz.
The Maldivian parliament has already passed the relevant bill. It applies to foreign and offshore booking platforms that sell hotels, tours, and other services in the Maldives to tourists, even if the companies themselves are physically located outside the country.
From October, such companies will have to register with the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and pay TGST (Tourism Goods and Services Tax) on sales of local services. In simple terms, if a foreign service helps a tourist book a hotel or another service in the Maldives, the authorities will now collect tax on that transaction.
To this end, the Maldives is introducing the 'destination principle'. This means that the place where the company is registered or where the buyer is located will no longer be the main factor: if the service is provided in the Maldives, tax must be paid on it regardless of where the seller is located.
However, companies may pass some of these costs on to customers, so certain tours, hotels, or bookings through foreign platforms could potentially become more expensive after October, though by how much is not yet known.
According to government estimates, the new system could bring in about 1.6 billion Maldivian rufiyaa per year, or approximately $103.5 million.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that guide services in Kazakhstan could become more expensive due to new rules.