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A 2013-2017 Manifesto contains several aspects of the Government's development strategy, comprising: (...) clean, unpolluted environment; (...)

Table 2.1 Main trade-related legislation, 2015
(...)
Title of legislation: Environment Protection and Preservation Act, 1993 (No. 4/93)
(...)

During the review period, the WTO Secretariat remained the largest provider of TRTA and capacity-building activities to Maldives. In 2010 and 2011, Maldives submitted four requests for technical assistance and capacity building in the areas of trade and development, customs valuation and trade facilitation, SPS and TBT, and trade in services. As a result, two national activities on customs valuation (2011) and SPS and TBT (2012) involving 44 participants were organized in the country. Between 2009 and 2015, Maldives was invited to 261 TRTA activities abroad (global, regional and national) and online (e learning); 113 officials/stakeholders participated in 54 of them, in areas such as market access, Aid for Trade, trade facilitation, government procurement, intellectual property rights, trade and environment, public health, SPS, agriculture, trade in services, and Doha Development Agenda issues.(...)

As of 18 July 2011, the BPT (Business profit tax), inter alia, replaced the foreign investment royalty regime that discriminated against foreign investors (section 3.4.2). Furthermore, Article 15(b) of the legislation establishing the tax allows for total exemption for foreign investors for a certain period provided that the investment is in priority sectors promoted by the Government (e.g. public private partnership (PPP) and renewable energy), covered by an FIA (foreign investment agreement) citing the exemption term, or in the context of SEZs (section 3.4.2.3 and Table 3.4).

(...) Import restrictions and prohibitions on various items for, inter alia, religious, health, safety, security, and environmental reasons have remained generally unchanged. (...)

In general, items for personal use are exempted from customs duties, provided that they are worth Rf 6,000 or less. Duty is charged on the amount in excess of the threshold of Rf 6,000. Other duty-free items include: bio-degradable plastic bags; pipes and green house units; and products using renewable energy, and those that are used to generate renewable energy. Items imported for the expansion of the poultry, fisheries and agriculture industries are also duty free.

Import restrictions and prohibitions are maintained for religious, health, safety, security, and environmental reasons. (...)

Table 3.3 Goods subject to import permits, July 2015
Goods Type of permit / Issuing person or authority or requirement
Hydrochlorofluorocarbon gas and equipment containing HCHC gas, Prior permit/Environment Protection Agency
biodegradable plastic products Certification/Environment Protection Agency
(...)

In accordance with commitments under the Montreal Protocol, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) imports are subject to a quota. [13] A draft legislation related to the import restriction for items containing HCFC has been sent to Parliament.

[13] The Government of Maldives has committed to a complete phasing-out of HCFC imports by 2020. A system of licensing and quotas was put in place in 2010. From the baseline level of 67MT in 2011, the quota is set at 43.6MT (35% reduction) in 2016 and 21.8MT (67.5% reduction) in 2018. In January 2011, licences were issued to three importers.

In general, export prohibitions are imposed to comply with international obligations for environmental, public health and intellectual property reasons. Exports of certain marine species remain prohibited for environmental reasons. Exporters are subject to the same licensing requirements as importers (section 3.2.5).