Maldivians Now Allowed to Bring Limited Tobacco Products for Personal Use

Maldivians aged 21 and above arriving in the country from overseas can now bring limited quantities of tobacco products for personal use without submitting a Goods Declaration, following an amendment to the regulations governing duty exemptions for travellers’ personal effects, small-scale private imports and commercial samples.

The first amendment to the regulations allows eligible travellers to import up to 200 cigarettes, including heated tobacco products and bidis, 20 cigars, or 100 grams of tobacco in the form of dried tobacco leaves without further processing for personal consumption.

For tobacco products other than cigarettes and cigars, the allowance is based on weight, with a maximum limit of 100 grams.

The amended regulation also permits travellers aged 21 and above who bring rolling tobacco or materials used for rolling tobacco to receive limited quantities of related accessories. These include a small, manual and portable machine capable of rolling one cigarette or bidi at a time, 50 sheets of cigarette or bidi rolling paper, 50 filters, and 50 empty cigarette or bidi tubes or pipes.

However, the amendment maintains restrictions introduced under the Tobacco Control Act, meaning no concession under the regulation will be granted to individuals born on or after January 1, 2007, for the importation of tobacco products.

The regulations also make clear that the duty exemption does not cover tobacco or nicotine-containing products and related accessories such as e-cigarettes, shisha, flavoured cigarettes and e-liquids.

Before the amendment, the provision allowing a specified quantity of tobacco products to be imported for personal use without the applicable declaration was limited to tourists aged 18 and above. The revised regulations have now extended the specified personal-use allowance to eligible Maldivian travellers, while raising the applicable age threshold to 21.

The amendment forms part of the regulatory framework governing what travellers may bring into the Maldives as personal effects and the circumstances under which such goods may be exempted from customs duties. The revised provisions are now in effect.