State revenue rises 3% to MVR31.5 billion on higher import duty and GST collections

Revenue received by the state, including grants, has risen to MVR31.5 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance and State-Owned Enterprises. The Weekly Fiscal Developments report recently released by the Ministry of Finance shows that state revenue has increased by 3% compared with the amount received during the same period last year, when MVR30.6 billion had been collected. The growth has come primarily as a result of increases in revenue collected from import duty and the General Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on the value of goods and services. Revenue collected as import duty rose by 18.3% to reach MVR2.7 billion, up from MVR2.3 billion in the same period last year. GST revenue also grew by 7.7%, reaching MVR4.3 billion. With these increases, total revenue collected as tax rose by 7.4% to MVR24.3 billion. Rises were also recorded in other revenue-generating areas. Tax collected on business and goods increased by 21.3% to MVR5.7 billion, while revenue collected as airport service charge and departure tax rose by 9.2% to MVR1.5 billion. MVR1.5 billion was collected as airport development fee, an increase of 9.1%. In addition, revenue received from goods rose by 12.3% to MVR1.9 billion, while the amount received as grants increased by 77% to MVR515 million. On the expenditure side, the state has spent heavily on administrative services and urban development. Recurrent expenditure on administrative services rose by 7.4% to MVR1.9 billion, while capital expenditure on urban development facilities, excluding land and buildings, rose by 8.6% to MVR2.8 billion. Total expenditure on Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIP) rose by 16.0% to MVR4.3 billion. Among other expenditure, spending on salaries and allowances rose by 14.1% to MVR5.5 billion, while expenditure on assistance and subsidies rose by 43.7% to MVR10.3 billion. Within this, spending on subsidies rose by 71.8% to MVR4.2 billion, while expenditure on health insurance rose by 23.6% to MVR1.910 billion. By contrast, expenditure on debt repayment and interest fell by 5.2%, dropping to MVR3.8 billion compared with the same period last year. Overall, by 08 October 2026, the state's total expenditure had risen to MVR35.9 billion, an increase of 18.3% compared with the same period last year. Of this, recurrent expenditure was MVR31 billion and capital expenditure was MVR4.9 billion. By the end of this period, the state's financial figures show that an overall deficit of MVR4.4 billion has been recorded.