MALDIVES LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Shaaheen Hameed, Hassan Maaz Shareef, Aminath Amathulla, Nazahath Ahmed, Isha Ali Raoof, Aifa Shareef, Noorul Hudha Ahmed and Mohamed Azmee, Premier Chambers LLP
Partial Exemptions Under the Export and Import Act, a duty exemp - tion of 50% is granted for items imported via regional sea and air ports outside the Malé area, except for: • tobacco products and substitutes (including e-cigarettes and components); • alcoholic beverages; and • pork and products containing pork. This partial exemption under the Export and Import Act only applies to goods stored on or cleared through the regional port’s associated island. Exemptions Granted by the President Under the authority granted by the Export Import Act, the President can decide to fully or partially exempt import duties on goods imported for activities considered economically beneficial to the Maldives. These exemptions apply to: • activities aimed at reducing imports and increasing exports; • activities that introduce and promote technol - ogies not currently available in the Maldives; • activities that expand the country’s core economic sectors, generate business and employment opportunities, and improve over - all living standards; • activities that enhance foreign currency inflows into the Maldives; • new or uncommon economic activities that contribute to diversifying the Maldivian economy; • activities that support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises; and • entirely new ventures in the tourism sector or capital expenditure and renovation projects for existing tourism investments, where costs exceed 25% of the original investment value.
FTAs The Maldives is a party to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) which has been effective since 2006. Under SAFTA, the Mal - dives allows lower tariff rates on specific goods imported from countries in the region. The free trade agreement between the Chinese government and the government of the Maldives (the “China-Maldives FTA”) which was ratified in 2017 has been implemented since 1 January 2025. The China-Maldives FTA provides distinct tariff treatments for goods imported from China. • Category A: goods on which all tariffs will be eliminated starting from 1 January 2025. • Category B: goods on which tariffs will be eliminated over a five-year period. • Category C: goods on which tariffs will be eliminated over an eight-year period. • Category E: goods on which tariffs will remain at “base rates”. The Maldives introduced the Competition Act (Law 11/2020) (the “Competition Act”) in 2020 and it officially came into force on 31 August 2021. The Competition Act defines a ”merger” as: • the merger of two or more legal entities that were previously independent; and • the acquisition of direct or indirect control over all or part of the assets and goodwill of an entity through a joint venture agreement. The Competition Act states the criteria to deter - mine whether a merger infringes the principles of mergers under the Competition Act to be for - 6. Competition Law 6.1 Merger Control Notification
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