Plastic bag fee implemented; prices quadruple

A plastic bag fee of MVR 2 will be collected from each plastic bag provided to customers at the point of sale, starting April 18.

The fee collected under the Waste Management Act, came into effect at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

The fee will be collected from GST-registered businesses and must be paid to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA). Even if an individual business is not registered for GST, the party that is required to register for GST must pay the plastic bag fee to MIRA.

The parties exempt from this fee include:

- Plastic bags sold or provided free of charge by duty-free shops

- Plastic bags used to carry any fresh, unpackaged fish and other meats

- 'Bin liners' sold or supplied free of charge, specifically for waste disposal

- Plastic bags used by the manufacturer of a good for the necessary packaging

Plastic bags made from degradable plastic are also subject to this fee. When purchasing plastic bag bundles, a fee of MVR 2 will be collected from each bag in the bundle.

MIRA is scheduled to hold online sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to provide additional information on how to levy tax on plastic bags. The session will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on both days.

What does this change mean?

With this new change, the price of plastic bags has quadrupled.

"We used to pay MVR 85 for a bundle of 100 plastic bags—now it costs MVR 285," a local retailer told Mihaaru news.

"Charging customers MVR 2 will be a big loss. So now we have to charge MVR 3 per bag, as well as the mandatory MVR 2 plastic bag fee. We have to charge customers a total of MVR 5 per plastic bag now."

Previously, the smallest plastic bag for retailers cost between 50 and 10 Laari. However, with the new fee, a small plastic bag will cost about MVR 2.50 to MVR 2.85. While a bundle of 100 plastic bags cost only MVR 16 before, the new price will be around MVR 220. A bundle of large red bags used to cost MVR 60; the price now will be MVR 270.

The introduction of the plastic bag fee is part of the government's efforts to promote sustainability and reduce plastic waste in the country. The government has set a goal to phase out single-use plastics by 2030 and has been taking steps towards achieving this target, including introducing the ban on single-use plastics in government offices and public places in 2019.