Sale of Tobacco Products on Resorts

Recently, the Maldives Government took some extensive action on the sale of tobacco products in the Maldives. This has a direct bearing on the sale of tobacco products at various resorts and its outlets—such as restaurants, coffee shops, and bars.

The sale of tobacco products in the Maldives is regulated by two legal instruments: the Tobacco Control Act of 2010 as amended by the Tobacco Control (First Amendment) Act on 13 November 2024 (Law); and the Tobacco Control Regulations introduced on 12 February 2025 (Regulations).

 The Law

According to s28 of the Law, every person who engages in wholesale or retail sale of tobacco products must (in addition to obtaining the trade permit issued by the relevant government agency) have a valid license issued by the Ministry of Health.

The law speaks of three types of licenses, and one of them is a license for wholesale / retail sale of tobacco products. The application is to be made to the Ministry of Health as provided in the Regulations.

The Law goes on to prohibit the sale of tobacco in any form in contravention of the Act and Regulations and provides some serious penalties for breaches including the imposition of extensive fines and revocation of licenses.

 The Regulations

Among other things, the Regulations provide for the standards to be adhered to at places where tobacco products are sold.

Also, the Regulations require a license to be sought by those who engage in the trade / sale of tobacco products.

The Regulations also provide guidance on packaging and labelling requirements in the sale / trade of tobacco products. Also, the Regulations require the permanent display of certain prescribed messaging (as per approved form) at places selling tobacco products.

Every place engaging in the sale of tobacco products requires a separate license from the Ministry of Health.

This, in terms of a resort, means that each sales outlet of a resort (selling tobacco products) would require a separate license. And one license for the whole resort would not suffice.

The applicant for a license must already carry a trade permit from the government agency.

The Regulations are also very clear that no trade in tobacco products in the Maldives can be carried out after the introduction of these Regulations except after obtaining the license.

That said, a transitional period of three months is given to comply with the new requirements of the Regulations and obtain the license as per the Regulations. A license is issued for 5 years.  

According to the Regulations, the Ministry of Health is to keep and maintain a register of traders in tobacco products in the country.

The application for the license is to be made via onegov.mv and must provide the details required by that portal. Also, a fee schedule is provided in the Regulations.

Applicability to Resorts

Unfortunately, there is no exception made by the Act or the Regulations in respect of disapplying the Act or the Regulations to resorts.  

With no separate treatment for resorts, the law is designed to give country application, applying the law to every corner of the country. However, any careful read of the law would suggest that the bulk of the provisions are introduced to apply to residential populations / inhabited islands.

Since there is confusion over this matter – if the Law and the Regulations would apply to resorts as well, we have approached the Ministry of Tourism to see how this new policy requirement may be implemented, monitored, or ensured in tourism establishments including resorts.

Interestingly, we also notice that where the Regulations vest certain government agencies with enforcement of the Regulations, there is no mention made of the Ministry of Tourism in that list of agencies.

It is also unclear how the Ministry of Health / the Health Protection Agency would actually roll out the Law and Regulations to resorts and resort outlets and carry out monitoring and compliance measures.

That said, still, in the absence of any direct evidence to the contrary, the prevailing view can safely be summarized as follows: Until the law or MOT takes meaningful action to disapply the resorts from the ambit of the Law and the Regulations, the Tobacco Control Act and the Tobacco Control Regulations would continue to apply to resorts, outlets on resorts.

Photo: Courtesy of Corporate Maldives