Committee endorses bill to reduce cigarette duty in original form

The Committee of the Whole House on Monday approved the government's bill to reduce cigarette import duties without making any amendments.

The bill, submitted on behalf of the government by ruling People's National Congress (PNC) MP for Komandoo Mohamed Ibrahim, proposes reducing the specific import duty on cigarettes from MVR 8 to MVR 4 per stick through an amendment to the Export-Import Act.

The People's Majlis accepted the bill at its first reading last Wednesday and referred it to the Committee of the Whole House for consideration.

The committee held its first meeting on the bill on Monday and completed its review in about 30 minutes.

During the meeting, some opposition members proposed changes to the bill. However, those proposals were not adopted.

PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah moved that the bill be approved in the form submitted by the government.

The motion was passed with the support of 69 members, including several MPs from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). No member voted against the bill.

Three MDP MPs who were present abstained from the vote:

The bill will now return to the floor of the People's Majlis for its final reading and vote, which is expected to take place during Tuesday's sitting.

Legislative timeline: