Tourist vessel agency only to Maldivians; new $5 per passenger fee
In the event shareholders are a company, partnership or sole proprietorship, the representative company shall be owned by Maldivians only.
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Maldives' tourism ministry has amended regulations to make agency of foreign tourist vessels available only to domestic companies and require vessels to pay $5 (MVR 77) per passenger as passenger license fee.
This was done under the first amendment brought by the ministry on Wednesday to the 'Regulation on the Operation and Berthing of Foreign Tourist Vessels in the Territory of Maldives.' The amendment has now been published in the government gazette.
According to the regulation, a foreign tourist vessel can only arrive in Maldives after appointing an agent in Maldives to take care of the vessel. The agency is done by persons who have been granted permission by the customs to act as agents for foreign vessels arriving in Maldives under the prescribed rules.
In Wednesday's amendment, an article added to that section of the regulation reads:
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Only companies with Maldivian citizens as shareholders can take over the agency of a tourist vessel
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In the event shareholders are a company, partnership or sole proprietorship, the representative company shall be owned by Maldivians only
The next change to the regulation was to change the name of the license, which was previously known as a 'charter licence', to a 'passenger licence' and to charge an additional fee. They include:
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A passenger license is a license required to sail a vessel with passengers other than the crew
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The license is issued after submission of the required documents and payment of the daily fee payable by each tourist depending on the size of the vessel; This amendment does not change the fees
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Additional fees are payable prior to vessel departure at the rate of $5 per passenger aboard; This is a fee that the vessel has to pay
