Maldives Member profile
Status of notification in the reporting periods
2010-2012
2012-2014
2014-2016
2016-2018
2018-2020
2020-2022
2022-2024
2024-2026
Notification information
Types of restrictions
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 HS chapters notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 WTO justifications notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 Non-WTO commitments notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
QR details
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Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/461/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.52.
Maldives applies import prohibitions and restrictions on certain goods based on health, safety, security, or environmental and religious grounds, or to comply with international conventions. Import bans are imposed on narcotics and psychotropic substances, pornographic material, idols for worship, religious materials offensive to Islam, and live pigs. Imports of live wild animals and dolphins, sharks, whales, giant clams, and black corals are also banned. Prohibitions or restrictions also apply to imports of endangered animal and plant species under CITES and to ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol.[78]
3.53.
During the period under review, Maldives adopted import bans on several categories of single-use plastic products. The import bans are part of Maldives' Single Use Plastic Phase-out Plan 2020‑2023, an initiative that seeks to protect human health and Maldives' marine environment by phasing out the importation, production, and sale of certain single-use plastic products in Maldives and promoting the use of sustainable alternatives. The various import prohibitions were followed by prohibitions on the production and sale in Maldives of the respective single-use plastic products (Table 3.6). Source: Decree No. 13/2023, 30 November 2023.
3.54.
Maldives also applies permit and registration requirements on the importation of certain goods (Table 3.7). These measures are in place for non-economic reasons, generally the protection of health and the environment, safety, public morals, and national security.
3.55.
A significant development since Maldives' previous Review is the elimination of the import licensing regime administered by MEDT. Under this regime, which applied to all goods, importers needed to obtain a licence from the MEDT to engage in import activities. Licence holders were allowed to import goods up to a specified value within a year.[79] Through a 2019 amendment to the Export Import Act, the all-encompassing licensing regime was repealed. Importers now need only to register with the MCS. The stamp fee collected for the issuance of the licences was repealed and replaced with a revenue fee (Section 3.1.4).
3.56.
Maldives submitted a reply to the questionnaire on import licensing procedures regarding its import licensing regime to the WTO in 2002. No further notification has been submitted on this matter.
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.64.
Maldives maintains export restrictions to comply with international commitments on public health and environmental protection. Maldives bans exports of certain marine species on conservation grounds. The Fisheries Regulation (2020/R-75) prohibits the exportation of several marine species (lobster and lobster meat; top shells/trochus shells; corals and sea anemones; eel; pufferfish; oysters; silver sprat; blue sprat; cardinal fishes; anchovy; fusiliers; bigeye scads; chromis; chiragara spider conch; spider conch; silver-mouthed turban; and octopus).
3.65.
Maldives phased out an export licensing regime administered by the MEDT as of April 2019. Under the now-abolished regime, which applied to all goods, exporters needed to obtain a licence from the MEDT to engage in export activities. Licence holders were allowed to export goods up to a specified value within a year.[84] This all‑encompassing licensing regime was repealed through a 2019 amendment to the Export Import Act. Exporters now need only to register with the MCS (Section 3.2.1).
WTO's environmental database (EDB)
The EDB contains environment-related measures that may qualify as QRs and therefore should be notified under the QR Decision.