The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) stated yesterday that exchanging 40 percent of their USD revenue is not something they can do as resorts rely quite heavily on USD to provide services and other matters.
In a statement written by MATI, they said that exchanging 40 percent of their USD revenue is not a viable amount for the industry as resorts use USD to pay salaries, service charges, taxes (Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST), Green Tax, Withholding Tax and Income Tax), rent and loans that need to be paid in foreign currency.
Even if a government investigation has alleged that some resort operators have conducted illegal transactions which facilitates foreign currency prices rising on the black market, MATI said that they have not received any information regarding such an activity. The statement also reads that MATI has always urged all resort operators to fully comply with laws and regulations.
MATI's statement further reads that taking steps against the entire industry while conducting an investigation into a few resort operators and accusing resorts of running the USD black market is not fair.
The statement outlined MATI's concern regarding the government preparing to submit an amendment to the Foreign Currency Act to the Parliament, specifically making it mandatory for Category "A" businesses (resorts) to exchange 40 percent of their total revenue at banks.
MATI said that in the meetings they have had with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), they proposed that the exchanged amount should not exceed 10 percent. MATI also said that they requested a solution be found as fast as possible for resorts that have requested a legal exemption from this.
Representative of 146 resorts in Maldives, MATI went on to say that they are always ready to talk with the government and MMA in order to find a fair and sustainable solution.
During the press conference held at the President's Office, Governor Munawar said that along with the choice of exchanging USD 500 per head being abolished, an amendment to the Foreign Currency Act will be submitted to the Parliament where 40 percent of revenue in foreign currency will need to be exchanged at Maldivian banks every month.
As the Foreign Currency Act currently stands, those who generate revenue in foreign currencies have two choices when exchanging USD at banks. One is to exchange USD 500 per tourist and the other is to exchange 20 percent of their total revenue.
