● MONDAY, October 16

The National Wine Day develops yearly and the efforts to promote moderate and responsible drinking and to protect the environment should be thus stepped up. Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Vasile Batca said the 16th National Wine Day involved 47 winemakers, many of which were small producers. About 100,000 people visited the central square of Chisinau, which is the venue for the National Wine Day, on October 7 and 8. According to the border police, 44,500 foreigners entered Moldova during the two days. According to the minister, the visitors could taste 1,000 brands of wine made this year and last year. The wineries provided 58,000 bottles of wine on the premises and 48,000 bottles in the Great National Assembly Square. The grape harvest this year was assessed at 620,000 tonnes, as opposed to 615,700 tonnes last year. About 110,000 tonnes are table grapes. The vineries in Moldova occupy 129,000 hectares.

● TUESDAY, October 17

Fiscal invoice becomes mandatory as of October 28

From October 28, all the entities that are VAT payers and those that are not registered as VAT payers, but must keep accounting records will have to use the special regime form “Fiscal Invoice”, which was approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance this August, in the economic-financial activity. n a press release, the State Tax Service says the fiscal invoice on paper or in a digital form is used when delivering freight, providing services and performing works, leasing out assets, etc. On condition that the instructions on the issuing, keeping and use of standard forms of primary documents with special regime are respected, the entities are allowed to use fiscal invoices printed on paper with protection signs, series and numbers allotted by the State Tax Service or generated through the Integrated Information System “e-Invoice”. It is also allowed to use the standard forms of primary documents with special regime “Fiscal Invoice” and “Invoice” that were valid before the Ministry of Finance’s Order of August 28 took effect, in printed form, until all the stores of entities and the State Tax Service are used up.

Fuel price ceilings decreased

The National Agency for Energy Regulation announced the fuel price ceilings for the next two week. Both the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel were decreased by 0.23 lei. A liter of gasoline coded 95 will be sold for at most 16.97 lei, as opposed to 17.20 lei during the last two weeks. Diesel fuel will cost at most 15.18 lei a liter, in contrast to 15.41 lei now. The new fuel price ceilings apply to the period between October 18 and October 31. The Agency calls on those who possess information about cases when filling stations post higher prices than the ceilings to report these on the green line +373 800 10 800 or through the email address anre@anre.md.

● WEDNESDAY, October 18

One more chance for SA “Aroma”

The list of debtors of vital importance for the national economy will be supplemented with the wine and cognac factory SA “Aroma”. The insolvency procedure against SA “Aroma” was launched in April 2013. In a year, in May 2014, the Creditors Council accepted the restructuring plan that enabled the company to improve its situation and to repay a part of the debts. Until April 1, 2017, it paid debts of over 100 million lei, but has yet over 150 million lei debts. Under the Law on Insolvency, if the debtor is of vital importance for the national economy, the implementation period of the restructuring plan can be extended for two years, at the request of creditors or ministries. The state owns a 100% shareholding in SA “Aroma”.

● THURSDAY, October 19

Three rural pensions inaugurated after renovation

Three rural pensions called “Casa din lunca” (“Everglade house”), “Casa de sub stanca” (“Cliff house”) and “Casa verde” (“Green house”) were inaugurated after renovation in the region of the cultural-natural reserve Orheiul Vechi on October 18. The renovation works were financially supported by the Moldova Competitiveness Project that is financed by USAID and the Government of Sweden. The reconstruction works lasted for over 16 months and cost over US$ 120,000. Thus, the three houses improved the accommodation conditions, renewed and decorated the guest rooms, extended the lodging capacity and diversified services. Andrei Chistol, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, said the rethinking of the rural pensions is an activity by which the tourism sector and the country’s cultural heritage can be developed. “These activities form part of the Memorandum of Understanding for developing and promoting the cultural-natural reserve Orheiul Vechi as a first tourist destination in the country as the potential of the rural and cultural tourism there is great and these are important elements that should be put to good use,” stated Andrei Chistol. Six pensions have been renovated so far in the region of the cultural-natural reserve Orheiul Vechi within the “Hospitality + Moldova” program of the Moldova Competitiveness Project. Currently, about ten of the 26 rural pensions registered in Moldova provide tourist services compliant with the Western standards.

German-Moldovan program to enhance qualification of managers extended

The German-Moldovan program to enhance the qualification of managers has been extended. About 250 businesspeople from Moldova have taken part in this so far. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Germany’s Ambassador in Chisinau Julia Monar and Deputy Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Vitalie Iurcu. In a press release, the Embassy of Germany says that starting with 2008, the Republic of Moldova has been a partner of this international program that is implemented within the German-Moldovan bilateral cooperation, being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The memorandum was signed during the “Agro-Invest Bridges” Forum that was organized by the association of graduates INVENT Moldova together with the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Moldova under the auspices of Moldova’s Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. The event involved about 100 graduates of the program to enhance managers’ qualification.

Private hospitals will be able to provide oncological treatment services

Parliament adopted in the first reading a bill that enables private medical institutions to provide medical prophylaxis, diagnostic, treatment and surveillance services in the oncological field. One of the bill authors, Democratic MP Boris Golovin said that until recently only the state health facilities could provide services in such fields as mother and child health, mental health and oncological diseases. The changes made to the legislation will offer persons suffering from cancer the right to choose the medical institution where they want to go. Now, the only medical specialized institution, the Oncological Institute, is overfull. The specialists there work in three shifts and the hospital does not have enough space. By allowing private hospitals to serve oncological patients, the number of persons who need to go abroad for treatment owing to the long lines at home and the equipment that often malfunctions here because it is overused will be decreased.

Offer of national producers at “Moldagrotech” is competitive, specialists

The offer of the national producers of agricultural equipment and machinery presented at the exhibition “Moldagrotech” is completive, consider experts and visitors of the exhibit. Vitalie Trinca, of “Agropiese TGR Grup” that distributes imported and national equipment, said the four large producers of agricultural equipment and machinery that are known by consumers –“Agromasina”, “Mecagro”, “Moldagrotehnica”, and “Hidromasina” – and smaller producers exhibited new models. For example, the Balti-based company “Moldagrotehnica” displayed a modern double-disc sower and a sower with slide plates for corn and sunflower, two new large plows and a smaller plow for tractors of 80 horsepower. The autumn edition of “Moldagrotech” is held at the Exhibitions Center “Moldexpo” during October 18-21. It involves over 140 companies from Moldova, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Slovakia, and Ukraine that exhibited their products on an area of over 12,000 square meters.

● FRIDAY, October 20

Number of animals used in lab experiemnts to be reduced

The number of animals used for scientific purposes will be decreased by rerunning the experiments on the same animal as long as this does not hinder the achievement of the scientific goal and does not worsen the state of the animal. This is provided in a draft law that was passed by Parliament in the final reading on October 19. The growers, suppliers and users should have appropriate installations and equipment that meet the requirements for lodging species of animals and that enable to conduct experiments in an efficient way and cause stress the least to the animals. Also, the subjects should possess an authorization issued by the National Food Safety Agency. The law bans the use in experiments of animals without an owner, stray and non-domesticized animals of domestic species. The animals should be killed only by methods that cause pain, suffering or stress the least, in the unit of a grower, supplier or user, only by trained personnelThe death as the end point of an experiment is avoided when it is possible and is replaced by early and human end points. If death cannot be avoided as an end point, the experiment is planned so that it leads to the death of a smaller number of animals, reduces the length and intensity of the animals’ suffering to a minimum and ensures a painless death if it is possible.

Road that will connect eight villages to be built in Telenesti

A road that will ensure connection between eight villages will be constructed in Telenesti district. The L-326.M2 Klishova – Suhuluceni – Leuseni – Verejeni road is designed to facilitate the people’s access to public services. The budget of the project is of about 83 million lei. The money will be provided from the National Regional Development Fund and the Road Fund. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, during a visit to the building site, the Ministry’s secretary of state Dorin Andros said that this regional development project promotes territorial connection and intensification of economic activity in the region, including by ensuring the mobility of the labor force. At the initial stage, the road infrastructure will be rehabilitated and modernized on a distance of over 23 km. There will be rehabilitated and built 17 bridges and four rotaries. Five access intersections will be laid out. Four public transport stations will be constricted and the road will be marked.

No irregularities were identified in consignments of plums returned from Russia so far, NFSA

Director general of the National Food Safety Agency (NFSA) Gheorghe Gaberi stated for IPN that it is normal for some of the fruits to contain pests. The consignments of plums that were returned from Russia until now because they contained the Oriental fruit moth, which is a quarantine object on the territory of this state, have been examined in Moldova and no irregularities were identified in them. “This year we have exported 14,700 tonnes of plums to the EU, to practically all the member states, starting with the UK, France, the Netherlands and ending with Romania, Poland and the Baltic States, and irregularities were identified nowhere. Only the Russian Federation found faults as this moth is an object for quarantine there. Maybe there was one moth in one plum and they saw it when it came out. We do not want to doubt the quality of the inspections performed in Russia, but this pest is something normal in such goods,” stated Gheorghe Gaberi. According to Gheorghe Gaberi, the Agency’s role is to monitor the fruit since the orchard is planted until the fruit reaches the consumer and to determine not only quarantine objects, but also the excessive quantity of nitrates, pesticide residues and other irregularities. Last year, there were inspected food products worth US1 billion that were later exported.

Details about fiscal invoice that will be used as of October 28

Starting with October 28, all the entities that are VAT payers and those that are not registered as VAT payers, but must keep accounting records will have to use the special regime form “Fiscal Invoice”, which was approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance this August, in the economic-financial activity. Alesea Boghiu, division head at the Ministry of Finance, told a news conference that the goal of the changes is to simplify the method of documenting economic operations, IPN reports. The fiscal invoices will be used when transporting assets without transmitting the ownership right in the case of entities disintegrated from territorial viewpoint, outside the entity when transmitting the assets for processing, keeping, examination or on lease and when re-invoicing the compensated costs. Details about the filling out of fiscal invoices are available at the State Tax Service’s website. The Service also said that the business entities ask for an increasing number of series and numbers for individual printing of invoices and fiscal invoices. During nine months of this year, there were requested 13.98 million series and numbers, as opposed to 11.4 million in 2016.

● SATURDAY, October 21

External advertising in Chisinau banned for a period

External advertising will be temporarily banned in Chisinau. The measure refers to advertisements placed on ground, on walls and on roofs of buildings. An order to this effect was signed by acting mayor of Chisinau Nistor Grozavu. The decision will be applied until the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) approves the new regulations concerning the placing or re-placing of external advertisements in Chisinau municipality. The specialized subdivisions, including the General Police Inspectorate, are to ensure control to identify illegally placed advertisements and to take the required measures. Under the new regulations that are to be debated publicly and will be then examined by the CMC, the authorities will agree the places where billboards can be set up and these will be later put up for auction.

Proposals to amend legislation on economic offenses

Business entities that committed deviations could escape punishments that would lead to the blocking of their activity if they accept blame for the committed offense, remove its consequences and pay fines into the state budget. The provisions are to be included in the legislation on the initiative of the Ministry of Justice and are designed to facilitate business activity. The proposals were analyzed by the Premier’s Economic Council. State secretary general of the Ministry of Justice Anatolie Munteanu said the amendments made to the Penal Code during the last few years imposed punitive measures. Together with the multiple punishments stipulated by the Tax Code and the Customs Code, these excessively constrain the conditions for developing businesses and lead to blockages that reduce the attractiveness before foreign investors. The legislation will be thus modified in case of minor offenses to reduce the punishment or annul it if the caused damage is compensated. The Premier’s Economic Council has 71 members. This is a consultative body while duty is to develop a healthy socioeconomic climate, a nondiscriminatory and transparent business environment favorable for investment.