MIRA Publishes Third Amendment to the Instalment Policy
On 22 October 2025, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (“MIRA”) has published the Third Amendment to the Instalment Policy 1 (the “Amendment”), introducing more flexibility in granting instalment arrangements to delinquent taxpayers. The Amendment particularly focuses on allowing instalment plans for taxpayers whose bank accounts have been frozen and easing the conditions for multiple or repeated instalment agreements.
The key changes introduced via the Amendment are summarised below.
Flexibility for delinquent taxpayers with frozen bank accounts
The Instalment Policy provides that when a taxpayer’s bank account is frozen for recovery of outstanding dues, they may only be granted an instalment plan after all available funds have been deducted from the frozen account in line with the Policy on Accessing Bank Account Information and Freezing of Bank Accounts 2.
Previously, a leniency on the above rule was only granted to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, allowing them to access instalment arrangements even if their bank accounts had been frozen, provided they made the required commitment payment either directly or through deductions from the frozen accounts.
Under the new Amendment, this relief is now extended to all delinquent taxpayers, regardless of business size. As a result, large businesses whose accounts have been frozen may also apply for instalment plans after settling the commitment payment.
Relaxed rules on repeated instalment plans
Under the previous policy, if an instalment agreement was terminated due to non-compliance and the taxpayer wishes to reapply for another instalment for the same tax account (including previously defaulted amount), the taxpayer was required to pay the standard commitment payment plus 50% of the defaulted amount. The additional payment required increased by the same rate for each subsequent reinstatement.
The Amendment significantly relaxes this condition. Now, taxpayers whose previous instalment agreements were terminated may reapply by paying the standard commitment payment applicable to their category, plus an additional 5% of the commitment payment amount. The additional payment required for each subsequent application will increase by the same 5% rate.
Example:
If a taxpayer’s initial commitment payment is 25% as per the schedule, a breach of the first agreement would require a new commitment payment of 30%. A second breach would increase it to 35%, and so forth.
The above revision reflects MIRA’s move toward a more facilitative approach to tax recovery, encouraging delinquent taxpayers to enter into structured payment schedules to settle outstanding dues.
Effective Date
The 3rd Amendment to the Instalment Policy came into effect on 22 October 2025.
