Sub Inspector of Police Thalhath Ahmed has stated that if a traffic fine is over MVR 10,000, one can compensate through community work than making payments.

Speaking with RaajjeTV’s ‘Fala Suruhee’ programme, Thalhath said that this rule was set as a way to pay back to the government for fines and that collecting traffic fines is also done under the Public Finance Act.

Thalhath further said that Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has the power to assign community work for compensation of fines rather than paying the actual amount, and that this regulation applies only when the amount is over MVR 10,000. MIRA also has the power to raise charges in such cases.

Therefore, if the individual performs community service at a place that MIRA assigns, also at their given time, the work done will count as community service and deplete some of the debt in terms of the amount of work done.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people faced fines for various reasons such as disregarding Covid-19 regulations as well as some road rules, which increased the amount of people in debt to the government in fines.

Following complaints of financial difficulties of paying the fines, this community service option is being offered as the alternative.