The Ministry of Finance has decided to defer lease payments for resorts and land due to the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ministry revealed this in a circular, which reads that the deferment is for a period of one year.

The decision is followed by the economic difficulties surfacing for businesses and the public, due to the global pandemic and the safety and restrictive measures in place.

In light of this, the government has been providing assistance to those affected, in order to help them maintain their businesses.

The deferment is effective for the remainder of 2020 and includes resort payments for the third and fourth quarters of the year and land lease payments from June 2020 to December 2020, which is to be settled by June 21, 2021.

The deferred payments are to be settled within one year, as such, payments must be distributed within a period of four quarters starting from June 21, 2021 if the payments are made once in every three months. In this regard, payments will need to be settled on the 21st of June, September, December and March.

If they are to be settled on a monthly basis, they must be distributed equally within a period of one year and no fines will be issued for unpaid payments over the deferment period.

Fines will be issued once the period expires, said the ministry.

The ministry has since urged businesses to bring the required amendments to agreements, in accordance with the deferment plan.