Limits for cash payments to be established in Moldova

Chisinau, 1 February /MOLDPRES/ - The parliament will regulate the norms as regards the carrying out of discounts in cash. The parliament today adopted a draft law which envisages exact norms as to the circulation of cash money in the economic circuit and the orientation to transfer payments.    

The new regulations will ensure the enhancement of the transparency and security of transactions, the combating of fiscal evasion and unfair competition, development of the digital economy and the use of quick solutions of making payments.  

The draft’s provisions will be applied to the legal entities, no matter the type of property and legal form of organization, except for the authorities and public institutions. The new conditions will be applied to the non-commercial organizations, private people who carry out entrepreneurial activity, permanent representations of the branches of the non-resident entities, as well as to the private people who buy real estate or transport means from other private people.   

Depending on the category in which they fit, the specific character and the frequency of payments, the limit of the payments made in cash will be of 100,000 lei cumulatively monthly or annually. In the context, the limit for the collection of cash payments from private people who do not carry out entrepreneurial activity will be of 100,000 lei for one payment. Thus, when buying a real estate, the cash payment will be accepted, only if its values does not exceed 100 average monthly salaries on the economy and in case of purchasing a transport means – 50 average salaries on the economy. The draft sees that the notaries will be obliged to make sure that the payment was made by transfer; otherwise, they will not authenticate the sale/purchase contract. The Public Services Agency will also have the obligation to make sure that the payment was made by transfer, whet it registers the transfer of the title on transport means; otherwise, it will not record the title in the state Register.      

At the same time, the economic agents will be able to use limitless sums of cash money for the remuneration of work and other payments generated based on the labour relations, for the fulfillment of the obligations related to the loans borrowed from financial entities, carrying out of discounts with public institutions and authorities, payment of tax liabilities, payments and fines to the national public budget.  

The draft also stipulates the limiting of the commissions applied for the carrying out of discounts by transfer. Thus, the commissions or other payments collected by the providers of payment services from Moldova could not exceed 0.1 per cent of the sum traded by transfer, including for the extraction of cash money. Fines worth 3 per cent and 10 per cent of the sum will be imposed for the infringement of the limits at the carrying out and collection of cash payments.