Tourist businesses asked to register with central bank

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) on Tuesday opened the opportunity for tourism businesses to register with the central bank under the new rules formulated to address the foreign exchange crisis.

According to the new foreign exchange rules, businesses registered with the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) as sellers of goods and services in the tourism sector must register with the MMA before the end of this month.

MMA said such businesses can register with the MMA through the Maldives Monetary Authority FX Portal Registration Form.

Tourism businesses registered with MIRA should register with the MMA within 30 days of registration with MIRA.

MMA said such measures are essential to further expand Maldives' foreign exchange market and fully implement foreign exchange policies.

MMA on Tuesday also opened the opportunity for applications for foreign exchange trading licences under the new rules.

MMA on Tuesday introduced a new regulation requiring all foreign currency income generated by the tourism industry to be deposited in local banks.

As per the regulation, businesses active in the tourism industry and registered with the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) are required to re-register with MMA within 30 days. New registrants must also comply with this rule within the same timeframe.

Goods and service providers in the tourism sector are now required to submit details of their offerings to the MMA before the 28th of the following month.

The total foreign currency earnings must be deposited into a local bank’s foreign currency account, registered with MMA, within 87 days after the end of each month.

The regulation also specifies that transactions within the country must be conducted in Maldivian Rufiyaa, with certain exceptions. These include government-related transactions, remittances, foreign transactions, and sales to tourists, among others.

In a second regulatory change, MMA has amended the Foreign Currency Regulation, requiring tourism facilities to exchange a portion of their foreign currency earnings through local banks.

For resorts, hotels, and tourist vessels (Category A), $500 per guest must be exchanged.