Moldovan premier on intentions to support business

"Dear friends,

Yesterday I had a meeting with representatives of the Moldovan business - Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Foreign Investors Association, American Chamber of Commerce, European Business Association, National Confederation of Employers, Alliance of Small Enterprises, National Association of Restaurants and Leisure Centers.

We discussed and agreed the support measures for the economic agents, which will be taken by the government and the National Bank in the coming days. Namely:

- deferment of payment of income tax from entrepreneurial activity for the first quarter of 2020, for the period up to 25 June 2020;

- postponing until 25 April 2020 the declaration and payment of income tax for 2019 by (1) individual entrepreneurs or households, non-VAT payers, up to 3 employees and (2) economic agents of the small and medium-sized enterprises (IVAO regime);

- reducing the VAT rate from 20% to 15% for HORECA sector, starting with May 1, 2020;

- setting moratorium on all state controls until June 1, 2020. In case of extending the state of emergency, this period will be extended;

- extension by 30 days of the deadline for examining violations of tax and customs legislation or examining tax and customs appeals that occurred during the state of emergency;

- the suspension during the state of declared emergency of the fiscal visits;

- cancellation of the obligation to carry out the obligatory audit of the individual financial statements for 2019, except for public interest entities;

- possibility of commercial banks to reschedule mortgages for private people;

- additional measures to stimulate commercial banks to provide loans to the economy and citizens under more favorable conditions, including by revising to decrease the basic rate;

- the use of credit resources attracted by government from IFI for financial support to small and medium business;

- increasing the amount of compensation from the state budget of the beneficiaries of First Home loans.

- increase by 150 million lei (by amending the budget) of the government intervention fund to provide guarantees for bank loans of strategic economic entities, if needed (mechanism similar to the guarantee fund offered by the government through the First Home program).

Also, for 24/24 support for business, the Single Call Center of the State Tax Service (080001525) will take over starting 20 March all questions of the economic agents on their activity during the state of emergency.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council of the Prime Minister is at entrepreneurs’ disposal.

It is the first list of actions we take to support the business. They will follow depending on the situation.

I note with great satisfaction that the business and the government are acting in these difficult times jointly with a common goal - protecting the economy from the effects of the pandemic and maintaining at any cost the financial and banking sustainability of our state.

We take care of business, and business takes care of the country's budget!

Dear entrepreneurs! You are in the first line of defense of the country with this coronavirus.

Thank you very much for the high spirit of responsibility you show in these difficult moments! ”