Maldives GST registration for foreign tour operators, travel agents and OTAs

Direct answer

Overseas businesses selling Maldives holidays register for Maldives GST by completing form MIRA 120 (GST Registration – Overseas Suppliers) through MIRA's dedicated online portal. There is no turnover threshold: a single qualifying supply triggers the obligation. Registration is in the tourism GST sector. MIRA issues a GST Registration Certificate with a TIN and creates a MIRAconnect account for filing and payment.

Who has to register

You must register if you supply an inbound tourism product (accommodation, meals, transport or any other tourist activity in the Maldives) or agency or booking services relating to one, and you do not have a fixed place of business in the Maldives through which you carry on that activity (Act s.15(a)(6)).

MIRA's circular of 11 September 2026 lists the business types 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
• booking platforms

Suppliers of agency or booking services relating to inbound tourism products

• online travel agents
• booking platforms
• persons facilitating the supply of inbound tourism products

The list is expressly not exhaustive: MIRA says persons required to register "may include, but are not limited to" these.

There is no registration threshold

This surprises most overseas operators, because almost every VAT and GST system they deal with has one.

Maldives GST has a MVR 1,000,000 threshold, but it applies to businesses carrying on a taxable activity through a fixed place of business in the Maldives (Act s.51(k)(1) and (k)(2)). Suppliers of tourism goods and services register under a different limb, Act s.51(k)(3), which has no threshold at all.

MIRA's guide puts it plainly: because these supplies fall within the tourism GST sector, "such suppliers are required to register in the tourism GST sector, and no registration threshold applied" (Guide §3).

So one qualifying booking is enough.

When you have to register

An important caveat. MIRA's circular and guide both state the registration obligation but neither names a deadline date. The 30 September 2026 date is what follows from reading Act s.51(k) together with the Eighth Amendment's commencement on its gazette date. We think that is the better view, but it is our reading of the statute rather than a date MIRA has announced. If your registration is late or borderline, confirm the position with MIRA at [email protected] before assuming a penalty position.

Note also that the registration deadline and the tax start date are different. GST applies to supplies whose time of supply falls on or after 1 October 2026 (Act s.15(b-1)), but the registration obligation is driven by s.51.

How to register: step by step

1. Confirm you are in scope. Check you supply an inbound tourism product or related agency or booking service, and that you have no fixed place of business in the Maldives through which you carry it on. The second test is less obvious than it looks: see fixed place of business.

2. Gather your documents. MIRA 120 cannot be submitted until every required field is complete and every required supporting document is uploaded (MIRA 120 instructions).

3. Go to the dedicated portal. https://www.mira.gov.mv/MIRAconnect/OverseasSupplierRegistration/MIRA120 MIRA publishes an instructional guide to completing the form on its website.

4. Complete MIRA 120 (GST Registration – Overseas Suppliers) with all the information and documents the form specifies. The Regulation makes this the required form for persons with no fixed place of business in the Maldives (2026/R-82, new reg. art. 3(a-1)).

5. Submit through the portal, not by email. MIRA's instructions state that submissions sent by email will not be accepted.

6. Receive your certificate and MIRAconnect access. MIRA issues a GST Registration Certificate containing your GST TIN, and creates a MIRAconnect account through which you will file returns and pay GST. Login details are sent to you (Circular).

What you do not have to do

The Regulation relaxes two obligations for overseas suppliers that apply to Maldivian businesses:

• You are not required to display a GST Registration Certificate at business premises, or to display your TIN and a MIRA logo on your online platform (2026/R-82, new reg. art. 10(d)).
• You are not required to display GST-inclusive prices (2026/R-82, new reg. art. 109(f)).

Registering separate activities separately

If you run genuinely distinct operations, you may apply to register them separately. The Regulation allows this where the accounts of the activity are kept separately from your other activities, or the activity is carried on in a geographically different place, or the manner of carrying it on is different (2026/R-82, new reg. art. 7(e)).

Note the test is disjunctive: any one of the three is enough. For Maldivian businesses the equivalent test is stricter.

After registration

Once registered you are in the Maldives GST system properly:

• You charge GST at 17% on qualifying supplies (Act s.15(b)(6), s.15(b-1)).
• You file and pay in US dollars, through MIRAconnect, from 1 October 2026 (Act s.62(a); Guide §9; 2026/R-82, new reg. art. 78-2(h)).
• Your first return is due by the 28th of the month following your first taxable period (Act s.28(a)(1)).
• You keep records that let MIRA verify the time of supply, the value of each supply and the GST accounted for (Guide §8).

→ How to calculate the GST → Filing a return from overseas

A note for Maldivian businesses

MIRA can require a registered person to provide information it needs to check that suppliers of inbound tourism products who must register are in fact registered (Act s.59-1). If you are a Maldivian resort or DMC, expect to be asked about your offshore partners.

We can handle the registration for you. CST Advisory completes and submits MIRA 120 registrations for overseas travel businesses, and deals with MIRA's follow-up questions.

Talk to us about registration →