High Court removes MIRA from Male' High appeal over Tribunal’s procedural decision

The High Court has decided to dismiss the inclusion of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) from the appeal filed by Male' High Pvt Ltd challenging a procedural decision of the Registrar of the Tax Appeal Tribunal.

The Registrar and Members of the Tribunal had refused to accept Male' High’s case for failing to pay 25 percent of the amount due under the Administrative Taxation Act. Male' High subsequently appealed the refusal at the High Court.

In response to the application addressed to MIRA, the authority submitted a procedural objection, arguing that the matter concerned an administrative admissibility decision of the Tribunal and not a substantive decision issued by MIRA. Therefore, MIRA requested that it be excluded from the proceedings.

The High Court on Thursday decided to proceed with the case without including MIRA at this stage. The judges unanimously held that the appeal relates solely to the legal validity of the Tribunal’s procedural decision and does not engage MIRA’s substantive rights or compliance.

Exercising its power to exclude parties, the Court ordered the removal of MIRA from the case and resolved to continue the matter as an expert procedural review. The decision was issued by a bench comprising Justices Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, Hussain Mazeed and Ibrahim Mahir.