Parliament has accepted a bill proposing amendments to the Foreign Currency Act to revise the criteria for converting foreign-currency income into Maldivian rufiyaa.
The bill was accepted with the votes of all 57 Members of Parliament who participated in the vote. Following its acceptance, the bill was referred to the Public Accounts Committee for further review.
The Government-sponsored bill was submitted to Parliament by Holhudhoo Member of Parliament Abdulsattar Mohamed.
The bill seeks to review the criteria used to determine which parties are required under the Foreign Currency Act to deposit foreign currency income into a bank account and which parties are required to convert foreign currency income. It also seeks to strengthen the rules governing foreign currency conversion by Category-A establishments.
The bill also includes provisions to ease the amount of foreign currency that businesses which are 100 per cent Maldivian-owned are required to convert into Maldivian rufiyaa, excluding businesses in the tourism sector and financial institutions.
Under the existing law, parties receiving USD 15 million in foreign currency income are required to deposit the income into a bank account. Under the proposed amendment, the requirement would apply to suppliers of goods and services in the tourism sector, as well as other parties that received the equivalent of at least USD 25 million in foreign currency during the previous calendar year from goods sold or services provided.
Under the existing law, Category-A tourism establishments are required to convert an amount calculated at a rate of USD 500 for each tourist who arrives at the establishment during a calendar month, based on the total number of tourist arrivals during the month, or 20 per cent of their total income.
Under the proposed amendment, Category-A tourism establishments would instead be required to convert 20 per cent of their total foreign currency income received during a calendar month into Maldivian rufiyaa.