Moldovan authorities propose package to simplify and reduce bureaucracy in tax and customs sectors

Chisinau, Aug. 1 /MOLDPRES/- The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization have made public a new package to simplify and reduce bureaucracy in the tax and customs sectors. The initiative would support the development of the business environment and save money and time for entrepreneurs.

Minister of Finance Veronica Sirețeanu said today that the set of measures was meant to allow the business environment to carry out its activity in the simplest and most predictable manner. One of the proposed actions concerns the possibility of VAT deduction based on tax receipts, but only in the case of cash registers that are connected to the electronic sales monitoring system.

"We also propose offering the possibility of placing petrol and diesel under customs warehouse regime. This norm was proposed especially as a reaction to last year's energy crisis and the possibility of forming reserves, including in customs regimes with a special destination, such as the customs warehouse", said Sirețeanu.

The limit of the amount that is not considered tax arrears is proposed to be increased from 100 lei to 500 lei. Another action is aimed at simplifying the process of declaring goods brought in and out of the territory of the Republic of Moldova by means of postal items. "There was a problem with how this procedure is administered from a customs point of view. Thus, it was proposed to exclude the obligation to submit a customs declaration in detail and to present a simplified customs declaration", said Sirețeanu.

Deputy Prime Minister Dumitru Alaiba, Minister of Economic Development and Digitization said that this is "the biggest bureaucracy reduction package designed so far". "The most modest estimate suggests that the package will allow entrepreneurs to save at least half a billion lei every year (about 25 million euros), and will have an impact of about 0.2% of GDP," said the deputy prime minister.

Alaiba said that in the fiscal field, the main provision is the cancellation of the cash register and control machine, an action that will save entrepreneurs at least 5 million working hours annually.

"We will set the right to deduct VAT for the purchases of goods and services made by entrepreneurs based on tax vouchers and which have been paid through the business payment card. Currently, the fiscal legislation also includes some provisions that involve physical visits to the offices and counters of the State Fiscal Service, the application of holographic signatures, the exchange of information on paper. We eliminate all these provisions and thus promote the use of the electronic document and remote communication," the official said.

The project is to be submitted to public consultations.

The legislative changes were set by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization in collaboration with the Economic Council under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and GIZ.