Government bill on raising import duties narrowly accepted by parliament for consideration
23 Apr 2013, 5:15 PM
Parliament voted 26-25 today to accept for consideration a bill proposed by the government to increase import duties as part of a raft of measures to raise MVR 1.8 billion (US$116 million) in new income.
The amendments to the Import-Export Act (Dhivehi) submitted by MP Riyaz Rasheed on behalf of the government proposes raising tariffs on a range of items such as liquor, pork, tobacco, perfume, cement, gas and energy drinks.
MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted against the amendments while MPs representing parties in the ruling coalition voted in favour.
However, during preliminary debate at today’s sitting of parliament, some government-aligned MPs expressed concern with the potential rise in prices as a consequence of reversing import duty reductions.
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