On 8 June 2020, the government presented the Public Health Emergency Bill 2020 (the Bill) which proposes, among others, the following measures:

• Postpone the commencement of Employee Withholding Tax (EWT) and the payment of interim payments of income tax until the sunset date specified in the Bill. EWT shall commence, and interim payments shall become due, on a date to be declared by the President after the sunset date.
• The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) must postpone the deadline for filing EWT Returns and Interim Returns pursuant to the postponements specified above. MIRA must publish regulations detailing the procedures that will apply to the postponements, within 14 days from the effective date of the law.

The Bill will take effect upon its ratification and proposes a sunset date of 60 days after the end of the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency period or any other emergency that may be declared due to the pandemic.