MIRA ordered to halt tax recovery of Dharumavantha Project

The High Court has ordered a stay of tax recovery by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) to the Chinese company that took on the Dharumavantha Hospital project.

MIRA filed a case against Singapore's Chang Hua Construction company in order to obtain more than MVR 100 million in GST.

The Singaporean company was hired as a contractor in the Dharumavantha Project, where a 25 storey building was to be built at IGMH for USD 140 million (MVR 2.1 billion).

However, in 2023, the Civil Court ruled that the tax should be paid by the Maldivian government. Even though Chang Hua Construction issued a procedural objection stating MIRA's case can't move forward, the Civil Court ruled in favor of MIRA last year. The construction company proceeded to appeal the decision at the High Court.

The construction company requested a stay in the trial at the Civil Court until the case gets resolved at High Court. The order released by the High Court last Thursday states that if the Civil Court proceeds with the case before the High Court closes it, it might open up the path to unforeseen damages. Due to this, the order states for a stay in the trial.

The case regarding the Maldivian government having to pay the tax has been appealed in the High Court. An interim order was also issued by the High Court in order to halt the enforcement of the sentence.