Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has announced it will be refunding unused revenue stamps until September 15.
MIRA made the announcement following the government's decision to abolish the use of revenue stamps on official documents. MIRA stated the request form to refund revenue stamps is available on its official website.
Revenue stamps had been in use since 1970 after the public was required to use revenue stamps on various government-related documents. In July, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the bill to repeal the Act regarding use of revenue stamps on official documents. The bill stated the cost of imposing the law on revenue stamps is not worth the income received by the government.
The bill also stated the income from revenue stamps could be obtained from other government services and fees, and that requiring businesses to obtain revenue stamps along with paying fees in order to request government services is an added challenge for them. Therefore, the bill stated the law requiring the use of revenue stamps should be repealed in order to provide more leeway for businesses.
The government has printed 13 types of revenue stamps ranging from stamps worth less than USD 1 US to stamps worth USD 650. As of November 2020, the government has 460,000 revenue stamps in stock.