The Maldives Customs Service failed to recover nearly USD 31 million in revenue by the end of 2022, according to a compliance audit released by the Auditor General's Office. The report, which reviewed the agency's operations over a three-year period, revealed a widening gap in revenue collection and pointed to entrenched weaknesses in enforcement and institutional coordination.
Covering fiscal years 2020 through 2022, the audit found that USD 30,991,884 remained uncollected as of December 2022. Of that total, approximately 83.3 percent, equivalent to USD 25.82 million, was attributed to unpaid import duties. An additional USD 5.01 million in fines had also not been recovered.
The report drew attention to the age of the arrears, noting that USD 20.93 million had been overdue for more than three years. The prolonged delays, the Auditor General's Office warned, reflect persistent shortcomings in recovery efforts and a lack of sustained enforcement.
Recovery initiatives undertaken by the Customs Service have operated within its legal and regulatory mandate. Yet, according to the Auditor General's Office, these efforts have been repeatedly obstructed by structural barriers. Chief among them is the failure to enforce court judgments, which has left USD 10.42 million uncollected. The audit also observed that cases submitted to the judiciary often languish without resolution, further impeding the collection process.
The report identified another source of revenue loss: temporary imports. Goods brought into the country for limited use or economic benefit accounted for USD 14.66 million in unpaid import duties and fines. Under customs regulations, duties become payable if such goods are exported illegally or not re-exported within the prescribed timeframe.
The Auditor General's Office cited difficulties in contacting responsible parties and noted that other government ministries had not reliably informed Customs when duty payments became applicable. These lapses, the report indicated, have contributed to the accumulation of arrears and weakened regulatory oversight.
To address the deficiencies outlined in the report, the Auditor General recommended that the Customs Service engage with relevant authorities and pursue structural reform. Strengthened collaboration across government agencies was also urged, with an emphasis on implementing more robust enforcement mechanisms to ensure the timely recovery of outstanding revenue.