Beijing time, October 14, at the 7th Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum held in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mohamed Najiz, Assistant Commissioner General, Digital Tax Services and Technology of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority, delivered a keynote speech, systematically introducing the development process and practical achievements of the Maldives in transitioning from traditional manual tax filing to digital services.
The Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism was initiated by China in April 2019. It has now become an influential multilateral cooperation platform in the international tax field under the Belt and Road Initiative, continuously promoting the sharing of tax administration experience and practical cooperation among countries and supporting the modernization of global tax governance.
It is reported that one of the important outcomes of this forum was the official release of the Belt and Road Initiative Taxpayer Service Product Portfolio (2.0), providing replicable and adaptable references for taxpayer service governance for all parties.
Mohamed Najiz introduced that the Maldives is an archipelagic country in the Indian Ocean with a population of nearly 500,000. It consists of about 1,200 islands, of which only about 200 are permanently inhabited by local residents. There are about 200 resorts in the country, each located on a separate island. The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority was formally established in 2010 and has about 300 staff members.
Mohamed Najiz pointed out that in the early days of the establishment of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority, tax filing and payment relied on manual processing, taxpayers faced high commuting costs for tax filing, and queuing times were long. In response, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority carried out tax awareness work through roving presentations, household visits, and face-to-face communication, laying a solid foundation for enhancing voluntary taxpayer compliance under the new tax system.
Mohamed Najiz stated that the Maldives currently adopts “Gulhigen MIRA” as its service philosophy, striving to build a modern taxpayer service system that is accessible, fair and just, and responsive. It has established a diversified consultation service matrix including the “1415” service hotline, online consultation, and customized training by the Tax Academy, carried out regular tax law publicity through multiple channels, established and improved mechanisms for collecting opinions and for statements and defenses, protected taxpayers’ right to remedies, and fostered a law-based and fair tax environment.
The Maldives adheres to the service provision principle of “digital first, offline as a fallback,” and continues to expand online tax filing channels such as “MIRAConnect.” At present, the online filing rate is about 96%, and the online tax payment rate has reached 99%. In parallel, it has built a regional service network offline, setting up two core tax filing institutions in the capital, Malé, and 19 regional tax service points across the country. It provides personalized services for different market entities, works with tax-related intermediary agencies to collaboratively improve tax compliance, establishes unified service standards, and continuously optimizes tax filing quality and efficiency based on taxpayer feedback.
Mohamed Najiz believes that the essence of taxpayer services is the trust relationship built between tax authorities and taxpayers. Digitalization is an important path to improving service efficiency, and the ultimate goal is to make tax compliance simpler and smoother.
Looking ahead, the Maldives will be guided by its strategic plan and digital transformation roadmap to advance the implementation of electronic invoicing, explore the standardized application of artificial intelligence, deepen cross-departmental data sharing, and continuously reduce tax compliance costs. He looks forward to using the Belt and Road cooperation platform to learn from and improve together with other countries.