Travellers Over 21 Allowed to Bring 1 Carton Cigarettes Duty-Free Under Amended Rules 

Travellers aged 21 and above returning to the Maldives can bring specified quantities of tobacco products for personal use without submitting a Goods Declaration, under an amendment to the regulation on duty exemptions for items brought into the country.

The first amendment to the regulation covering duty exemptions for travellers, personal-use goods, and commercial samples was published in the Government Gazette today.

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Under the amended regulation, travellers aged 21 and above can bring up to 200 cigarettes (1 carton cigarettes), including heated tobacco products and beedis, 20 cigars and 100 grams of tobacco, as well as other tobacco products measured by weight, without a Goods Declaration.

The amendment also sets out items related to rolling tobacco that can be brought in for personal use by travellers under the age of 21. These include manual portable devices designed to roll one cigarette or beedi at a time, 50 loose sheets of rolling paper, 50 loose filters and 50 empty tubes or tubes fitted with pipe filters.

The government introduced a blanket ban in 2024 on the sale, distribution and possession of cigarettes and other tobacco products for individuals born on or after 1 January 2007 as part of its generational tobacco control policy.

The newly introduced amendment increases the quantity of cigarettes that can be brought into the Maldives from one unopened pack to one carton for eligible travellers aged 21 and above.