● MONDAY, January 25
Customs duties on raw material imported for making industrial goods to be decreased
The Ministry of Economy supports the initiative to reduce the customs duties on raw material used by companies from the processing industry to 1%. In a press release, the Ministry says the initiative is aimed at ensuring a favorable investment climate and business-friendly working conditions in Moldova. Legislative amendments are needed because the autonomous trade preferences granted by the EU to Moldova expired on January 1, 2016 and the new Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between Moldova and the EU took effect. This covers the whole territory of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region. Unlike the previous regime, the new trade regime bans the use of the drawback (refund of duty) fiscal rules when the import taxes levied on goods that must be re-exported after being processed on the customs territory are fully or partially refunded.
Priorities of new minister of economy for first 100 days of appointment
The resumption of the dialogue with the International Monetary Fund and other development partners and the further modernization of the economy are only some of the priorities of the Ministry of Economy. Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister Octavian Calmac told a news conference that the achievement of these priorities will allow unblocking financing provided in the form of budget support and implementing a number of important projects to modernize the economy. The minister noted that given the unprecedented political crisis and the severe financial and economic constraints, the Ministry of Economy, which manages a series of areas of strategic importance for the country’s economy, aims to implement a series of measures and initiatives during the first 100 days of governance. One of the foreign policy objectives is to reestablish the commercial relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other traditional foreign partners, including by dialogue within joint intergovernmental commissions.
Parking garage at Chisinau airport started to collect fees
The access to the parking garage built in front of the Chisinau International Airport is now fee-based. The garage’s manager said the first 15 minutes of the parking time is free. One hour of parking time costs 10 lei. Those who want to leave their cars at the parking garage for 24 hours pay 100 lei. The same rate is charged for drivers who leave their vehicles for more than 10 hours. According to the manager, the fees are collected through the agency of automated fee machines. Thus, at the entrance the driver is issued with a parking card with information about the vehicle. Payment is made at the automated free machines by introducing the card. The system calculates the parking period and fee. The payment is made in cash, by bills of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 lei. The system also enables to pay by card, but this method is now not functional.
Priorities of agriculture minister at beginning of term
The new Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Eduard Grama made public his priorities for the first 100 days of the appointment. These center on the economic assessment of the subordinate institutions and the updating of the Land Code. The Ministry’s efforts will also be aimed at working out and promoting a mechanism enabling the farmers to import oil products for own consumption and at promoting the Law on Subsidization Principles in Agriculture. In 2016, the Ministry’s administration will aim to liberalize the prices of agricultural inputs, to maximally substitute the imported agrifood products with a healthy consumption of domestic goods and to stimulate the implementation of modern technologies in agriculture.
● TUESDAY, January 26
Octavian Armasu: Adopting budget law is the only solution
The Government will finalize the draft budgetary-fiscal policy law for 2016 this week, Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu stated in the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel. “We had discussions with representatives of the IMF in Chisinau. The invitation for an IMF mission to come to Chisinau must contain reasoned ideas. The dialogue with the IMF will not be simple, while their conditions are clear. We must discuss the budget elements with the IMF. The budgetary-fiscal policy is another dimension. It was prepared by the previous Government. We only did some changes. The draft budgetary-fiscal policy law for 2016 will be ready by this weekend. It will be published on the Ministry’s website,” said the minister.
Natural gas tariffs for end-users down almost 11%
The average final tariff of natural gas for end-users will be by almost 11% lower. The Administration Board of the National Agency for Energy Regulation approved a decision on January 26. The new natural gas tariffs take effect on February 1. According to a press release of the Agency, the diminution of the natural gas tariffs was determined by two main factors – the reduction in the purchase price of the natural gas imported from Russia and the amendment of the Law on Natural Gas and of the methodology of calculating and applying the regulated natural gas tariffs, with the Agency being authorized to fully regulate the activity of the transport network operator. Thus, the average final tariff of the natural gas supplied by SA “Moldovagaz” was decreased by 10.9% – from 6 222 lei/1 000 m3 set last November to 5 545 lei/1 000 m3, a decrease of 677 lei. Thus, the household users who consume less than 30 m3 inclusive a month, at one apartment or house, will pay 5 892 lei/1 000 m3 (-10.1%), while the household users who consume more than 30 m3 – 6,138 lei/1 000 m3 (-10.1%).
● WEDNESDAY, January 27
Season tickets for trips by trolleybus to cost more
The Chisinau Electric Transport Company decided to increase the price of season tickets for travelling by trolleybus for private individuals and legal entities from February 1. At the same time, the Chisinau City Hall said it will carry out an assessment to see if the company’s decision is justified from legal and economic viewpoints. The Electric Transport Company said the move follows the rise in the electric power tariffs. Thus, a monthly season ticket for private individuals will be sold for 200 lei, up 20 lei. A half-month ticket for legal entities will cost 110 lei, up 10 lei, while a monthly ticket – 320 lei, up 20 lei. The pensioners and students will pay the same amount as until now.
EU provides €18m for environmental projects to Moldova
The European Union signed three co-financing agreements with the EBRD for supporting the activities of the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership (E5P) in Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. The financing for Moldova represents €18.7 million, while for Armenia and Georgia – by €10.2 million. According to European officials, the first tranches will be disbursed in the near future. The E5P funds will be used to implement energy efficiency and environmental projects like those to thermally insulate buildings, to save energy and to build new heating, water supply and sewerage systems.
● THURSDAY, January 28
Adjustment of national legislation to European standards continues
The Government on January 27 approved the national legislation adjustment plan for 2016. Under the plan, the national legislation will be adjusted to 33 EU acts of the title “Economic cooperation and other types of sector cooperation”, 44 UE acts of the title “Trade and other aspects related to trade” of the Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union and six acts of the annex to the EU-Moldova Common Aviation Area Agreement. Among the new acts that will be drafted and promoted are the bill on accounting, the bill on auditing, the bill on banking activity, the bill on additional surveillance of financial institutions that belong to a financial conglomerate, the bill on the informing of consumers about food products, the bill on the Urbanistic Code and constructions, and the bill on the implementation and publication of the list of airlines banned in the EU and Moldova.
Premier seeks moratorium on inspections at economic entities
Prime Minister Pavel Filip suggested introducing a three-month moratorium on inspections carried out by state bodies controlled by the Government and on searches within contravention investigations. He put forward such a suggestion in the January 27 meeting of the executive. “The State Main Tax Inspectorate, the Customs Service and the Economic Police are ill-intentioned towards the economic entities. The inspections are performed with serious abuses. The companies are subject to three-four inspections a week,” said the Premier.
Moratorium on fiscal inspections is welcome, experts
The three-month moratorium on inspections carried out at economic entities is welcome, said experts from Wednesday’s panel of the talk show “Fabrika” produced by Publika TV channel. Lawyer Roger Gladei welcomed Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s decision, but said that he is against the abolition of inspections for good. “The inspections have their own goal. They are aimed at making the economic entities more disciplined and should not constrain. They must have an educative role, not a repressive one. However, this moratorium is like a jolt. Despite the moratorium, measures should be taken to prevent tax evasion and smuggling,” he stated.
EBA Moldova explains mechanism for implementing transfer pricing
Accounting specialists, financial directors and managers on January 28 were trained to implement the transfer pricing conception within a seminar staged by the European Business Association (EBA Moldova). Oana Motoi, taxes department coordinating manager at KPMG Moldova, said it is very important to understand this principle in the context of the adjustment of Moldova’s legislation, including the fiscal one, to the European standards. Based on transfer pricing, a transaction between the affiliated sides is performed at a market price, which is the price at which a similar transaction was carried out in comparable economic conditions. The experts of KRMG Moldova explained the given conception, the legal provisions concerning transfer pricing and its impact on the income and income tax to the participants in the seminar. They also presented methods of documenting transfer pricing and of preparing the taxpayers for using it.
● FRIDAY, January 29
Premier addresses problems faced by businesses
Representatives of the business sector of Moldova complained they face a series of problems in their activity. In a meeting with Prime Minister Pavel Filip, the entrepreneurs mentioned among the shortcomings the excessive regulation of some areas, the instability of labor force and the deficient infrastructure. For his part, Pavel Filip said he will insist on the removal of all the barriers and constraints imposed on businesses. According to him, the institution of a three-month moratorium on any type of inspections on the part of the Fiscal Service and the Economic Frauds Division was a first step in this direction. During the moratorium, a new legal framework will be thought up to regulate the inspections carried out at economic entities so as not to allow abuses and intimidation.
Period for reporting losses by economic entities could be extended
The period during which the losses sustained in entrepreneurial activity can be reported will be increased from 3 to 7 years by excluding the equal spreading out of payments. Such provisions are contained in a bill to amend and supplement a number of legal acts, which was proposed for public debates and which results from the fiscal policy objectives for 2016. According to the Ministry of Finance, the move is aimed at supporting the economic entities recoup their investments. This will positively affect the results of their financial-economic activity, including in agriculture. The incomes earned as recompense, reward and allowances by members of companies’ boards and of censors commissions will be classed by employers as salary and income tax will be paid on them according to the general norms.
Big companies from Transnistria paid lower contributions in 2015
The contributions paid by 33 of the 50 big companies operating in the Transnistrian region, which pay the largest amounts as taxes into the social insurance fund, decreased significantly last year. Thus, in 2015 these were by over 40 million Transition rubles (over 75m lei) lower than a year before. The Transnistrian press reported that the contributions paid into the social insurance fund by the company “Tirotex” were by 13.5 million rubles lower (over 25m lei), while those paid by Sheriff decreased by 12.5 million rubbles (23.5m lei). According to the Transnistrian administration, 17 companies paid larger contributions yet. Among these were the Moldovan Power Plant (Cuchurgan) and Energocapital, which paid by 19.5 million rubles (36.7m lei more than in 2014.
● SATURDAY, January 30
Moldovan farmers exceeded some of export quotas to EU, but paid no taxes
Though many of the export quotas to the EU stipulated in the Association Agreement haven’t been used, the Moldovan farmers and exporters exceeded the quotas set on wheat, barley, flour and grain derivatives. As a result of the approaches made by the authorities to the European institutions ,it was agreed that the Moldovan producers will be allowed to continue to export to the EU without paying import duties, said Sergiu Tirigan, division head at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. In the program “Dialog” on Agro TV Moldova channel, the official sated that the export quotas on barley weren’t fully used, as the quotas on wheat weren’t often. But in 2014 and 2015, the national producers and exporters redirected the grains to the EU market, especially when the prices of grains decreased and they got a higher price there.
New source for strengthening financial autonomy of budgets of local authorities
The tax on motor vehicles is to be transferred from the road taxes system to the system of local taxes by excluding the toll paid by vehicles registered in Moldova. Such provisions are contained in the draft fiscal policy document for 2016 that was proposed for public debates. According to the Ministry of Finance, the transfer will ensure greater financial and budgetary autonomy for local public authorities and equity in the allocation of public funds. A new title is thus to be included in the Tax Code – Tax on Motor Vehicles. It will be similar to the property tax and will be put in the same way. There will be taxed all the motor vehicles registered in Moldova on a permanent or a temporary basis, except for trolleybuses and vehicles owned by foreign military forces, given the international treaties signed by Moldova.
