Ministry of Finance has amended the Public Finance Regulation to allow parties that conduct projects without open bidding to provide advance payments without guarantees.
The amendment dictates that parties are allowed to provide advance payments without guarantees after receiving permission from Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer. As such, parties are required to obtain written permission from Finance Minister Ameer for specific projects.
The Public Finance Regulation states projects conducted to establish basic services, or projects conducted by government-owned companies, companies listed in the Maldives Stock Exchange, or organisations recognised by the Government of the Maldives are allowed to provide advance payments without guarantees.
Previously, advance payments are provided for state projects costing over USD 16,000, and the advance payments were to be no more than 15% of the estimated cost of the project and be repaid within 45 days.
A total of six amendments have been made to the Public Finance Regulation since its publication in 2017.