About MVR 1 billion owed to the state remains unrecovered because it is tied up in lengthy court proceedings, Commissioner General of Taxation Hassan Zareer told parliament’s budget review committee. He said it can take up to a decade for a single case to move from the Tax Appeal Tribunal to the Supreme Court, leaving substantial amounts inaccessible for years.
According to Zareer, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority is currently managing around 200 tax cases with only five lawyers. He noted that MIRA previously had the option of bringing in external experts to represent the authority in court, but current regulations no longer permit that. This, he said, has made it difficult to recruit and retain skilled legal professionals.
“If you work for MIRA, you can’t do any other legal work,” he said, adding that tribunal rules require a master’s degree in taxation for anyone wishing to handle tax cases abroad, including in the EU.
Zareer also raised concerns about the qualifications of those adjudicating tax disputes. In other jurisdictions, he said, judges hearing tax cases are required to have specialised training, while no similar requirement exists in the Maldives. This lack of expertise affects MIRA’s ability to pursue cases effectively, he said, noting that tax is a distinct legal field that demands technical understanding.
MIRA currently collects around 85 percent of total state revenue. As of September last year, the authority recorded MVR 13 billion in outstanding dues, with the largest share linked to unpaid resort rent amounting to about MVR 5 billion. Zareer said prolonged delays in the judicial process continue to hinder the state’s ability to recover these funds.
