Moldova to adopt new Customs Code

Chisinau, 12 August /MOLDPRES/- The cabinet considered today a draft decision which provides for the adoption of a new Customs Code in the Republic of Moldova. This derives from the need to execute the commitments assumed by our country, by signing the Moldova-EU Association Agreement, being one of the necessary conditions for fulfilling the commitments of the Republic of Moldova under the Loan Agreement on the Omnibus exceptional macro-financial assistance program, the Government's communication and protocol department has reported.

Thus, the document, drawn up on the basis of the results of the examination of the opinions of the Members' amendments, implies:

· Adjustment of certain key concepts, such as: customs office of supervision, customs decision, declaration of origin, exporter, re-export notification, etc .;

· Modification of the ceiling for withdrawal of the customs broker's license from 2 million lei - to 500 thousand lei;

· Concretization of the fact that the exchange rate applied for customs purposes represents the official exchange rate of the leu against foreign currencies established by the National Bank of Moldova at the time of the occurrence of the customs debt;

· Simplifying the conditions for the destruction of goods infringing an intellectual property right, as well as increasing the period from one year to 3 years, in which the right holder is obliged to destroy the goods infringing an intellectual property right.

The new Customs Code proposed for adoption corresponds to European Union legislation, which provides for the possibility of duty-free shops only in airports, ports, on board aircraft and ships. Some of the duty free shops in the land border area will cease their activity upon expiration of the license, namely on December 22, 2022, ie until the entry into force of the new Customs Code.

At the same time, it is proposed to apply state guarantees on economic agents registered until the date of entry into force of the Customs Code in free economic zones, the Free International Port "Giurgiulesti" and the International Free Airport "Marculesti", in accordance with the provisions governing the areas respectively. The respective guarantees will be extended to the economic agents that will be registered between January 1, 2023 - September 1, 2024.

In addition, in order to improve the provisions of the bill, additions have been proposed that aim to ensure a level playing field and bring clarity to customs regulations, such as: reduction of the fine in case of non-declaration of goods, clarification of serious violations and crimes related to economic activity, but also the updating of some norms of the Code with the provisions of the legislation in force at the moment.

The new Customs Code will enter into force on January 1, 2023.

Photo: Government