Moldovan PM requests de-bureaucratization measures for entrepreneurs

Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, at a today’s cabinet meeting, presented more cases in which local entrepreneurs reported difficulties encountered in carrying out their activities. In the context, the official asked the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization to prepare, by September 9, a comprehensive de-bureaucratization package that would allow the creation of simpler rules for the business environment.

“The priority of this government is economy, and one of the announced initiatives targeted excessive inspections and all the things that make entrepreneurs’ lives more complicated. In the first phase, we must focus on unblocking certain situations affecting local entrepreneurs. I thank those who have sent dozens of messages. Together with the team, we are processing all of them. In just a few days we received 55 messages and they keep coming. I find it useful to read some of them. We will not remain in the world of reports; we will keep our finger on the pulse of things on the ground,” said Vasile Tofan at the beginning of the today’s government meeting.

A first case reported by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan concerns a small company with three employees, operating in Straseni.

“A small entrepreneur from Floresti, who repairs computer equipment, writes to us: we are three employees including the accountant and we cannot employ another person to deal with occupational safety, because this is what the legislation requires. He is not asking to be exempted from occupational safety rules, but for proportionality. According to him, they are currently placed on the same footing as companies with 100 or 1,000 employees. They believe this is unfair. It seems common sense to me,” said Vasile Tofan.

At the same time, a company from Criuleni reported a local advertising tax that was suddenly increased overnight from 5 to 80 per cent of revenues. Another issue raised in more entrepreneurs’ messages refers to the request that necessary information should be submitted to the state only once.

“A wine producer is not asking for weaker inspections, but for smarter ones. He writes that, in 2026, the relationship between supervisory authorities and businesses must follow the same principle: digital by default, paper only when it is truly necessary. Data contained in invoices, certificates and electronic systems are often manually copied into other registers. His proposal is common sense: the same information should be submitted to the state only once. And inspections should focus, in his words, on ensuring compliance and products’ safety, not on formally checking for the existence of as many documents as possible,” said Vasile Tofan.

The PM also made public a case in which a vessel carrying over 3,000 tons of metal products was blocked at Giurgiulesti because of a 15-centimeter difference between its draft and the water level. The entrepreneur says the incident led to about 6.6 million lei in VAT being frozen instead of reaching the state budget. Eventually, the case was resolved and the ship was unblocked.

In their notifications, entrepreneurs also expressed dissatisfaction with the deadlines granted for responding to the Service for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering. According to them, the 2–5-day period granted is sometimes insufficient, as it is necessary to collect and verify data through multiple IT systems and involve more subdivisions. “No one disputes the importance of combating money laundering, but for complex requests, deadlines must be realistic,” the prime minister said, responding to entrepreneurs’ concerns.

“This is a broader issue; there are many messages referring, indeed, to how difficult it is for people to deposit money, to bring money into Moldova. We are now in August, the Diaspora is coming home and I am sure many people will want to deposit five thousand euros, ten thousand euros they earned in Italy or Spain. It is important that these people are not bounced around between institutions. I believe it is important to simplify the rules, including those on unlocking resources for the Diaspora, because, at the moment, I think the laws are far too strict and limit private capital, including from the Diaspora,” said Prime Minister Tofan.

The PM also referred to a case of retroactive application of penalties that could have led to the suspension of a company’s activity.

“An electronics company says that, during 2023–2025, the Customs Service accepted the same classification for wireless headphones without any objection. Later, the goods were reclassified, and the company was charged an additional 343,000 lei, including 76,000 lei in penalties. The company says that the forced execution made it impossible for them to import goods into the country, forcing them to urgently find resources to pay the disputed amount, in order to continue their activity,” the prime minister said.

According to the official, many of the entrepreneurs’ objections concern the Tax Service. He gave the example of a company which, following a tax inspection, was assessed approximately 900,000 lei in additional VAT, and with fines and penalties, the amount exceeded two million lei.

“After the appeal, according to the letter from the Tax Service, the VAT obligation was reduced from 900,000 to 187,000 lei. The Tax Service reviewed the amount requested. The company says it ultimately paid about 630,000 lei. It was forced to borrow this money and stop other projects. In this context, the entrepreneur only asks that tax inspection procedures respect legality, proportionality, transparency and dialogue with taxpayers,” noted Vasile Tofan.

Under these circumstances, Prime Minister Vasile Tofan requested that, by September 9, a comprehensive deregulation package be presented to facilitate the activity of local entrepreneurs.

“If we want to restart the economy, we want the energy of these entrepreneurs to go into finding new markets, exporting, recruiting people, investing, rather than losing hours in their dealings with the state. That is why, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister Eugeniu Osmochescu, you have a very difficult task: by September 9, we must come forward with an ambitious deregulation package, which covers inspections, as well as other issues. We need to make life easier, first and foremost for local entrepreneurs,” concluded Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.

The Economic Development and Digitalization Ministry (MDED) on July 28 said that it is preparing two new deregulation packages, which include proposals to simplify the regulatory framework, including in the area of labor legislation. The first deregulation package includes amendments to 71 laws, including the Labor Code and the Law on Occupational Safety and Health, and the second covers the revision of 29 government decisions. At the same time, measures are being analyzed regarding the elimination or transformation of certain permissive documents and the review of administrative requirements that may create additional burdens for the business environment.