The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has proposed legislative amendments to raise the annual revenue threshold for non-tourism businesses required to exchange foreign currency from USD 15 million to USD 25 million.
The central bank is introducing this change as part of proposed amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act.
Under the current law, non-tourism businesses required to exchange dollars are classified under "Category C." Businesses falling into this category are mandated to exchange 20 percent of their annual foreign currency earnings through a local bank.
The MMA stated that the threshold is being adjusted to ensure that smaller businesses are not burdened by mandatory exchange requirements. Currently, only 13 businesses are registered and exchanging dollars under this category.
According to the MMA, these businesses span various sectors, including telecommunications, aviation, and construction. The authority clarified that its objective is to refine the regulations so that only the largest corporations are subject to these requirements.
While the MMA is now proposing to raise the threshold, the authority had previously recommended that the law apply to businesses earning over USD 20 million annually. However, this figure was lowered to USD 15 million during the parliamentary committee stage.
Statistics shared by the MMA show that during the first year of implementing the dollar exchange policy, businesses exchanged a total of USD 1.7 billion with commercial banks. From this amount, banks sold USD 768.5 million to the MMA.
The MMA intends to implement the revised amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act starting this September.
