President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom Wednesday ratified a new law to introduce a new airport fee which would see every departing foreign passenger from the country's main airport pay an Airport Development Charge (ADC) of USD25.
The 'Bill on Taxation and Levying of Fees for Passengers Departing from International Airports in Maldives' was passed by the parliament late last month.
However, despite including locals for the ADC, the parliament compromised to slash the fee to USD12 from every departing local passenger.
The new fee would add to the current airport service charge -- USD25 from foreign passengers and USD12 from locals.
However, diplomatic passport holders and children below the age of two would be exempt from the new fee.
During the debate most opposition lawmakers had opposed the new fee insisting that the government must look to exempt all locals from the ADC.
Government lawmakers however, countered by saying that ADC was universal and was pivotal to the current airport expansion plans.
Government later said it would propose an amendment to the bill as international regulations mandate a uniform fee for all passengers without discrimination of locals from foreigners.
In his budget speech, Finance Minister Ahmed Munawar had said the ADC – an estimated MVR565.8 million next year – will be used to set up a “sovereign development fund” as a long-term fiscal reserve to repay debt.
