Airport Development Fee (ADF) and departure tax revenue have increased by 31 percent.
According to the Finance Ministry, the ADF and departure tax collection stood at MVR 342.7 million as of the 9th of this month. This includes MVR 174.1 million in ADF and MVR 168.6 million in departure tax. This is a 31 percent increase over the same period last year, during which ADF and departure tax stood at MVR 260.4 million.
The government is expected to receive MVR 870.6 million in ADF and MVR 870.6 million in departure tax this year.
The government began charging a departure tax on January 2022 after abolishing the airport service charge on December 31, 2021. This is a tax levied on passengers departing from an airport in the Maldives. Those with diplomatic immunity, transit passengers, and children under the age of two are exempt from this tax.
ADF is a fee charged from every passenger departing from Velana International Airport, including transit passengers. Only those with diplomatic immunity and transit passengers traveling on a "direct transit" flight are exempt from this fee.
The government amended the law and changed the rate of ADF charges from January 1, 2022, charging US$12 for domestic passengers and US$30 for foreigners. Business class passengers are charged US$60, first-class passengers US$90, and private jet passengers US$120. Departure tax is also charged at the same rate.
