Ministry starts issuing permit to restaurants, shops for 24/7 service

Ministry of Economic Development has revised the Regulation for Restaurant/Tea Hotels and Shops, and started issuing permits to allow such businesses to operate 24/7.

The regulation, published by the Ministry of Economic Development last Monday, lists conditions for granting permit to operate 24/7. They are:

• The business must be operated in a location permitted by city council or island council
• The inside needs to be visible from the outside
• The business must have 24/7 CCTV cameras operational
• Smoking ban must be imposed from 1 am to 4 am
• A MVR 2,000 fee

Shops in Maldives previously had to be closed by 10 pm, and restaurants and tea hotels by midnight.

Ministry of Economic Development has warned businesses which violate the revised regulation will be penalized. First time offenders will be penalized with suspension of permit for six months, and repeat offenders will be penalized with cancellation of permit.