The People's Majlis has passed the Foreign Currency Bill sent to give legal power to the regulation requiring resorts to exchange dollars revenue at local banks, along with the changes brought by the committee.

The two major changes brought by the committee are raising the age of exemption from dollar conversion from 10 years to 12 years, and making it discretionary to convert less than 20 percent of foreign currency income if a resort faces financial difficulties. Previously, the bill had this as a mandatory requirement.

Additionally, the committee's amendment includes that relief will be given only after a case review by the MMA.

According to the bill, for every tourist arriving at Maldivian resorts, USD 500 or 20 percent of the foreign currency income received by that party during that month must be converted through the banking system. For guesthouses, vessels active in the tourism industry, and other places operating in the Maldives except resorts, USD25 or 20 percent of the foreign currency income received in a calendar month must be converted for each tourist.

The bill states that its purpose is to establish a robust legal framework needed to determine foreign currency transactions in the Maldives, regulate the import and export of foreign currency, handling, depositing, and converting foreign currency in the Maldives, and to set and implement rules and principles related to foreign currency and foreign currency transactions.

The bill has categorized parties registered with MIRA as goods sellers and service providers in the tourism sector into two categories.