The Parliament’s Whole House Committee has approved a government-backed proposal to significantly reduce import duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products, less than two years after the taxes were sharply increased as part of the administration’s anti-smoking campaign.
The proposed amendment to the Import-Export Act seeks to lower the import duty on cigarettes, beedi, and heated tobacco products from MVR 8 to MVR 4 per stick, while reducing the ad valorem tax from 100 percent to 30 percent.
The bill, sponsored by Komandoo MP Mohamed Ibrahim, also includes an exemption from import duties for smoking-cessation products such as nicotine gum and nicotine patches.
Introduced in Parliament on June 22 and forwarded to the Whole House Committee on June 24, the bill received unanimous support from all 69 lawmakers present during Monday’s committee vote.
During deliberations, members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) proposed summoning relevant state authorities and conducting an assessment of the financial impact on state revenue before approving the legislation. Other lawmakers suggested separate tax rates for beedi and heated tobacco products and recommended changing the taxation method from a per-stick basis to one calculated by weight.
However, the proposed amendments were not submitted in writing, leading the committee to vote on the original bill instead.
The move marks a significant policy shift from 2024, when President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration doubled tobacco import duties as part of a broader effort to reduce smoking. Those measures also included bans on vapes and e-cigarettes, as well as restrictions targeting the post-2007 generation from smoking.
The anti-tobacco initiatives earned international recognition, including a special award from the World Health Organization (WHO) for President Muizzu and an Integrity Award from the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC).
Despite the recognition, the stricter regulations contributed to the growth of an illegal market for smuggled cigarettes and vapes, resulting in substantial losses in government import revenue.
The administration had previously defended the tax increases, emphasizing that public health concerns outweighed financial considerations. However, Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan later described the decision to double cigarette taxes as a difficult one and announced that the government was considering lowering the duty to MVR 4 per stick.
President Muizzu has maintained that the proposed reductions do not represent a reversal of his administration’s anti-smoking stance but rather necessary adjustments to address emerging challenges.
