Foreign travel agents and tour operators who sell Maldives tourism abroad have started signing an online petition calling for GST not to be levied on their commissions and margins.

The petition, addressed to the President’s Office, MIRA, the People’s Majlis and the Ministry of Finance, states that the Maldives has grown into one of the world’s most successful tourism destinations thanks to the work of thousands of foreign travel agents and tour operators. It notes that these parties have invested money and time over many years to promote the Maldives and bring in tourists.

The petition says signatories are not opposed to taxing tourism services in the Maldives, but that taxing the commissions, margins and service income earned from business conducted outside the Maldives is a concern. Although the tourist spends their holiday in the Maldives, the value generated by business conducted overseas cannot be regarded as a tourism service provided within the Maldives, it says.

The petition notes that imposing a 17% tax on foreign distributors will directly affect B2B networks and businesses operating in partnership with Maldivian companies. It also points out that small boutique travel agencies and large online booking platforms cannot be treated on equal footing.

The petition’s main requests are that tax not be levied on travel trade commissions and margins, that a reasonable timeframe be given for tax registration, and that tax not be levied on bookings already made. It further calls for no measures harmful to tourism to be implemented without consulting industry stakeholders.

The amendment to the law allowing GST to be levied on goods and services supplied to the Maldives by foreign businesses operating in the tourism sector was passed by the Majlis on the 23rd of this month. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) had previously also expressed concern about these changes, which take effect from October.