Cash Declaration Limit Changed

The Maldives Monetary Authority, on 17 January 2019, published the first amendment to the Regulation on Cross Border Currency Declaration Amount. The changes introduced now require passengers travelling with USD 20,000 or more, and are travelling…

Judicial Impeachment: Some Reflections and the Maldivian Context

by Nazahath Ahmed, Associate The Independence of the Judiciary is integral to the separation of powers and rule of law. The concept is set out in the International Bar Association’s Minimum Standards of Judicial Independence (1982) and in the Basic…

BPT Treatment of Director's Remuneration

by Madeeh Ahmed, Senior Tax Advisor The MIRA recently issued a tax ruling (TR-2019/B69 issued on 21 March 2019) which has changed its position on how director's remuneration is treated under the BPT Act in the hands of the recipient, and what constitutes…

Disputing a Tax Assessment

by Ali Naeem, Counsel The main concern of any business these days is whether it has fully complied with the tax laws.  Consequences of non-compliance can cost a lot in terms of money and other productive resources of the business. This is why it's…

Basic Tax and Legal Considerations When Buying a Business

by Ali Naeem, Counsel Buying or selling a business is a complex transaction with many tax and legal variables to consider before you start negotiations and close the deal. Although the purchase terms are not solely driven by tax considerations, it…

Filing Tax Appeals and Objections: Important Considerations

by Ali Naeem, Counsel The Tax Administration Act (TAA) lays out specific procedures to go about when you disagree with a decision made by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority. The decisions that affect your business or tax liability are twofold -…

Implications of Tax Ruling B65 on Lawyers

by Ali Naeem, Partner   It is an often debated issue whether freelance lawyers, advisors or consultants who work for law firms should be considered as carrying out a “business” as defined in the Business Profit Tax Act. The answer to this…

The Maze of Withholding Tax

by Husam Shareef, Tax Advisor As you may notice from the heading, the rules on payment of Withholding Tax (WHT) have become rather complex - creating a maze that you need to carefully navigate. Finding out about compliance issues during a tax audit…

Calculating GST & WHT on OTA commissions

by Madeeh Ahmed, Tax Advisor Note: Rules on the imposition of WHT on OTA commission have been changed via the amendments brought to the BPT Regulation after this blog post was published. We advise you not to rely simply on the information provided…

Surcharges Not in Purview of Tax Rules Supreme Court

by Fathuhulla Ismail, Counsel   Supreme Court of the Maldives on 20 March 2017 has decided ADK Trade and Shipping Pvt Ltd v State (Maldives Customs Services), its case number 2015/SC-A/10. The case decided the effect and application of…