On 1 December 2019, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) issued the Third Amendment to the Enforcement Policy, relaxing several enforcement procedures it follows in recovering overdue taxes and fees.

The Amendment introduced an amnesty period of 3 months, during which qualifying taxpayers in default will be granted instalment plans with significantly lower commitment payments and longer durations. The amnesty period runs from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Other salient points of the Amendment are listed below.

• Duration of the “First Notice”, which is issued when a payable amount becomes overdue, has been increased from 15 days to 30 days. Duration of the “Final Notice”, which is issued if the amount is not paid before the expiry of the First Notice, has also been increased from 15 days to 30 days.
• MIRA may suspend enforcement action against a taxpayer in default, if the taxpayer provides documentary evidence that the default was caused due to debts owed by the State or by a majority State-owned Enterprise, or due to an ongoing dispute in court.
• Taxpayers can now request for instalment plans for a specific tax type. Prior to the Amendment, a taxpayer requesting for an instalment plan was required to agree on an instalment plan for all dues pertaining to all tax types.
• A taxpayer can now request for another instalment plan immediately after the completion of one, unless the instalment agreement was terminated due to breach by the taxpayer. Prior to the Amendment, a taxpayer was not allowed to request for another plan before the expiry of 6 months from the completion of the previous one.
• Commitment payments and instalment amounts that would apply outside the amnesty period have been reduced from previous levels. A special schedule of commitment payments and instalment amounts has also been introduced for discontinued businesses.

The Amendment came into effect on 1 December 2019.