Sales tax abolished for sanitary napkins

Parliament approved Wednesday night a bill to exempt sanitary napkins from the six percent Goods and Services Tax.

Abolishing GST for pads and tampons, which were not counted among essential commodities with zero tax, was a campaign pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It was included in the agenda for the new administration’s first 100 days.

The government-sponsored legislation was passed unanimously with 73 votes in favour from the 79-member house.

During the debate on the bill earlier on Wednesday, MPs urged the government to monitor whether shops would reduce prices.

A campaign dubbed #MassaruTax (period tax) to abolish the tax was launched on social media by a pair of Maldivian sisters in 2016. An online petition was also circulated to gather support.