Maldives expands tax reach to foreign tour operators and booking platforms
The Maldivian parliament has approved tax change which could have a direct impact on the international sales of this destination. Foreign tour operators, OTA platforms and travel agencies selling tourist services in the Maldives fall within the scope of the local GST (goods and services tax – local VAT), even when they do not have a business establishment in the country.
The Maldives want to retain a larger share of the value generated by the sale of their tourism product within their own tax system. On 18 August, with 64 votes, parliament backed amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act, and the new rules are scheduled to come into effect on 1 October 2026.
What is GST actually?
GST, or Goods and Services Tax, can be most simply described as the Maldivian equivalent of VAT. It is a tax charged on goods and services, with the Maldives having a special regime for tourism. Tourism GST, or TGST, is 17 percent as of July 2025.
Up to now, the problem has been that a large part of the tourism product is sold by companies outside the Maldives. A resort, for example, can sell accommodation to a foreign tour operator at a contracted price, while the final package is sold to the tourist at a higher price in another country. It is precisely this portion of value generated outside the country that the Maldives now wants to capture more clearly with its tax rules. The Ministry of Finance announced this direction back in the 2025 budget.
Tax follows the destination, not the seller's address
At the heart of the change is the so-called destination principle. Simply put, if a tourism service is consumed in the Maldives, the state wants to have the right to tax the relevant transaction regardless of whether the seller is located in Malé, London or Frankfurt.
That means that would foreign tour operators, booking platforms and agencies may have an obligation to register in the Maldivian GST system. MIRA should establish a simplified registration and tax payment procedure for companies without a physical presence.
For distributors, this is not just a tax issue
The government estimates that the change could bring in around 1.6 billion Maldivian rufiyaa annually, or just over 100 million dollars in additional revenue.
For the tourism industry, however, what follows at the operational level is more important. Tour operators and OTAs will need to check how the new rules affect contracts with resorts, price displays, margins, commissions, and tax reporting. Since implementation is scheduled for as early as 1 October, detailed MIRA rules will be crucial for understanding the actual cost and administrative obligations of foreign partners.
