The Airport Taxes and Fees Act, which was enacted on 7 December 2016, brought significant changes to the mechanism for collecting the “Airport Service Charge” or “ASC”, which had hitherto been collected under the (Tenth and Eleventh Amendment to the) Airport Service Charge Act.
With the first Amendment to Airport Taxes and Fees Act, Airport Service Charge was repealed, and Departure Tax was introduced from 1 January 2022.
ASC was commenced on 7 December 2016. ASC is levied on passengers departing from the Maldives from an airport in the Maldives, at a rate of USD 25 per foreign passenger and USD 12 per Maldivian passenger. Persons with diplomatic immunity, transit passengers and children under the age of 2 are exempt from ASC. ASC was repealed on 31 December 2021.
ADF is a fee levied on each passenger, including transit passengers, departing from the Maldives via Velana International Airport. ADF was commenced on 1 May 2017.
ADF Rates
From 1 May 2017 to 31 December 2021
| Passengers | Amount (USD) |
| Maldivian passengers | 12 |
| Foreign passengers | 25 |
From 1 January 2022 till 30 November 2024
| Travel class | Maldivian Passengers (USD) | Foreign Passengers (USD) |
| Economy class | 12 | 30 |
| Business class | 60 | 60 |
| First class | 90 | 90 |
| Private jet | 120 | 120 |
From 1 December 2024 onwards
| Travel class | Maldivian Passengers (USD) | Foreign Passengers (USD) |
| Economy class | 12 | 50 |
| Business class | 120 | 120 |
| First class | 240 | 240 |
| Private jet | 480 | 480 |
Exemptions
Passengers with diplomatic immunity and transit passengers on ‘direct transit’ are exempt from ADF.
A tax, based on the class of travel, levied on passengers departing from the Maldives from an airport in the Maldives. Departure tax was commenced on 1 January 2022.
Departure tax rates
From 1 January 2022 till 30 November 2024
| Travel class | Maldivian Passengers (USD) | Foreign Passengers (USD) |
| Economy class | 12 | 30 |
| Business class | 60 | 60 |
| First class | 90 | 90 |
| Private jet | 120 | 120 |
From 1 December 2024 onwards:
| Travel class | Maldivian Passengers (USD) | Foreign Passengers (USD) |
| Economy class | 12 | 50 |
| Business class | 120 | 120 |
| First class | 240 | 240 |
| Private jet | 480 | 480 |
Exemptions
Passengers with diplomatic immunity, transit passengers and children below the age of 2 years are exempt from Departure tax.
For scheduled flights, the airlines are responsible for collection of ADF and departure tax from their passengers. For flights such as chartered flights and private jets, it is the responsibility of the operator of the respective airports to collect ADF and departure tax.
ADF and departure tax must be filed using MIRA 530 (Airport Taxes and Fees (ATF) Return), and the corresponding payment must be made monthly, on or before the 28th of the following month. ADF and departure tax must be paid in United States Dollar.
The ATF return must be filed online via MIRAconnect. ATF payments can be made using a Mastercard Business Debit Card, BML Islamic Mastercard Business Debit Card, or via a foreign remittance request or MRTGS form.
If an airline or an airport operator charges an amount in excess of what is required under the Act and the Regulation from a passenger, as either ADF or departure tax, the excess amount charged must be refunded to the passenger before the deadline for filing the ATF return for that relevant period. If such excess amount is not refunded to the passenger by the deadline, the amount must be paid to MIRA.
If an amount paid as such to MIRA has been refunded to the passenger, the taxpayer may request MIRA for a refund of the amount paid to the passenger by including the amount in the ATF return applicable to the period during which the amount was paid back to the passenger.