Economic Ministry said on Tuesday that over 7,000 businesses in Maldives are operating with expired operating licenses.
Speaking at the Parliament's Economic Committee regarding the proposed amendments to the Sole Proprietorships Act, Registrar of Companies at the Ministry Mariyam Visham said the study conducted to determine obstacles faced by private business owners noted several issues in registering their businesses.
She said that while there are over 18,000 private businesses registered in Maldives, 7,000 businesses have expired operating licenses.
Visham did not elaborate on this matter further though.
Sole Proprietorships Act states that private businesses are registered for a period of five years. Visham said one of the proposed amendments included extending that period to ten years.
"The current law gives a 90 day period to renew the license before it expires. However we are proposing [with the amendment] to give a period of up to one year to request extending the license," she said.
She also expressed concern over the fact that some private businesses, while registered under a Maldivian, are fully operated by foreigners.
"It is our concern that foreigners operate these businesses shielded by Maldivians while the Sole Proprietorships Act was allocated for the smallest local business owners in Maldives," she had said.
Visham said they have proposed ways to take legal action for such perpetrators in their amendments as well.
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