The Commissioner General of Taxation, Hassan Zareer, has stated that the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) is in discussions to withhold services from individuals and businesses that fail to pay their taxes.
According to Zareer, significant tax payments have been delayed due to the suspension of MIRA's Action Policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the state has not received about MVR 5.7 billion in direct taxes.
The commissioner noted that compliance with policies was strong when the action policy was implemented pre-COVID-19. Discussions are underway with the Finance Ministry to re-implement the action policy, he confirmed.
Under this policy, MIRA can instruct service providers to temporarily cease services to individuals or entities that do not pay their taxes.
The Commissioner said a circular from the Finance Ministry would soon announce the reimplementation of the policy. Once it is in effect, services will be temporarily suspended for non-compliant taxpayers.
The commissioner added that these changes are not intended to enforce stricter rules but to encourage businesses to pay their dues to MIRA.
