Maldives GST on inbound tourism products: what changes on 1 October 2026

Direct answer

From 1 October 2026, a business that sells Maldives accommodation, meals, transport or tourist activities without having a fixed place of business in the Maldives must register for Maldives GST and charge it at the tourism rate of 17%. There is no turnover threshold. The rules reach foreign tour operators, travel agents, online travel agencies, bed banks, accommodation wholesalers, destination management companies, charter operators and booking platforms.

What actually changed

Until now, a service was generally taxed in the Maldives only if the supplier was in the Maldives when it was performed. An overseas operator could resell a Maldives holiday without any Maldives GST presence.

The Eighth Amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act, gazetted on 31 August 2026, changed that. It added a new category of tourism goods and services: an inbound tourism product, and agency or booking services relating to one, supplied by a person who does not have a fixed place of business in the Maldives (Act s.15(a)(6)). Those supplies became taxable from 1 October 2026 (Act s.15(b-1)).

MIRA describes the policy basis as the destination principle: the country where something is consumed has the right to tax that consumption, regardless of where the supplier sits (MIRA GST Guide, §2).

On 11 September 2026 MIRA published a circular and a detailed guide. On 21 September 2026 the 32nd amendment to the GST Regulation (2026/R-82) was gazetted, filling in the registration, valuation, record-keeping and filing machinery.

What is an "inbound tourism product"?

The Act defines it as accommodation, meals, transport, or any other tourist activity in the Maldives (Act s.68).

MIRA's guide says tourist activities include, but are not limited to, excursions, sightseeing tours, diving, snorkelling, water sports, fishing trips, spa and wellness activities and cultural tours (Guide §2).

Note what is not in it: international airfare to the Maldives, and a transit hotel in a third country, are outside the definition. MIRA's own worked example excludes both, and excludes the profit margin attributable to them (Guide Example 2).

Does this apply to you?

It applies if both are true:

1. You supply an inbound tourism product, or agency or booking services relating to one; and
2. You do not have a fixed place of business in the Maldives through which you carry on that activity.

MIRA's circular names the businesses it expects to be caught: resellers of inbound tourism products with no fixed place of business in the Maldives (foreign tour operators, foreign travel agents, online travel agencies, bed banks, accommodation wholesalers, destination management companies, charter operators and booking platforms) and suppliers of agency or booking services relating to such products, including booking platforms and persons facilitating the supply.

"Fixed place of business" now has a definition, added on 21 September 2026. It is narrower than simply having an office. See what counts as a fixed place of business.

The five things to get right

1. Register: there is no threshold

Because these are tourism-sector supplies, registration is required regardless of turnover (Act s.51(k)(3); MIRA's guide states plainly that "no registration threshold applied", §3). Registration is through form MIRA 120 (GST Registration – Overseas Suppliers) on MIRA's dedicated portal. Email submissions are not accepted.

→ Registering for Maldives GST as a foreign tour operator or OTA

2. Use the right formula: there are two

This is where most published commentary goes wrong.

A is what you received. B is consideration payable to a Maldives-registered person in relation to that product. t is 17%.

If you charge a booking fee rather than reselling a package, there is no margin deduction at all. On MIRA's own example, a USD 117 booking fee produces USD 17 of GST (Guide Example 3).

→ How to calculate Maldives GST on inbound tourism products

3. Watch the 1 October boundary: it turns on time of supply

A booking made before 1 October 2026 is not automatically outside the regime. What matters is the time of supply: the earliest of the date a tax invoice, receipt, credit note or debit note is issued; the date full or partial payment is received; or the third day after the service is completed (Guide §6; Act s.17(a), (e), (f)).

MIRA's examples cut both ways. An invoice issued on 30 April 2026 for an October stay is outside the regime. A stay running 27 September to 3 October 2026, invoiced on 3 October, is inside it (Guide Examples 4 and 5).

4. You cannot recover Maldives input tax

A person supplying an inbound tourism product without a fixed place of business in the Maldives cannot set off any input tax against output tax (Act s.37(f)). The margin mechanism in the ITP formula is the relief; there is no separate credit.

5. File and pay in US dollars, through MIRAconnect

Returns and payments are in USD (Act s.62(a); Guide §9). Your taxable period is monthly if your monthly supplies reach MVR 1,000,000 (expressed by MIRA as USD 64,850.84) and quarterly otherwise (Act s.24(a); Guide §7). Returns and payment are due by the 28th of the following month (Act s.28(a)(1)).

→ Filing a Maldives GST return from overseas

If you are a Maldivian resort, hotel or DMC

Two rules in the 21 September regulation sit in the overseas-supplier chapters but land on you:

• You cannot deduct agency or booking commission when computing the consideration you received. You account for GST on the gross booking value, not net of the platform's commission (2026/R-82, new reg. art. 105-4).
• You cannot claim input tax on what you pay an overseas supplier for an inbound tourism product, or for related agency or booking services (new reg. art. 45(i)).

MIRA can also require you to hand over information needed to check whether your offshore partners are registered (Act s.59-1).

→ What the new rules mean for package pricing

What is still unresolved

We think it is more useful to name these than to guess at them:

• Business-to-business sales. The deeming rule in Act s.5-2(b) applies where the recipient is not a registered person. Some commentary concludes that sales to a Maldives-registered business fall outside the regime. MIRA's guide says the opposite: that products supplied "to end consumers or to other suppliers of ITPs" are covered (Guide §3). Treat this as unresolved and do not plan around the narrower reading.
• When B is measured. The Act says consideration "payable" to a registered person; MIRA's guide says "paid". Neither says whether it is matched to the same taxable period as A.
• Margins where the supplier cost is not yet known when an advance payment is received.
• Cancellations and refunds, and whether the margin is computed per booking or per period.
• The MIRA 211 return form, which the Regulation requires but which had not been published as at 22 September 2026.

Key dates