Cabinet has proposed the doubling of the import taxes on alcohol, pork and certain plastic products, and tripling the taxes on tobacco, in an amendment to the Maldives Import and Export Act.
Tariffs will be dropped 15 percent on milk products, if parliament passes the amendment.
Regulation to permit the sale of pork and alcohol to foreigners in large hotels on inhabited islands was scuttled in February 2010 after opposition from conservative groups. A licensing system was phased out in the lead up to the regulation and was not restored following its repeal, leading to a flourishing black market trade in the banned commodity.