In the FEZ of Moldova, the practice of disloyal competition will be excluded and opportunities for the introduction of corruption schemes will be closed.
In particular, this is provided for by the relevant amendments to the Law on Free Enterprise Zones and the Customs Code, which the government approved at a meeting on Tuesday at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization. As the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Dumitru Alaiba explained, it is about creating conditions for loyal competition in the FEZ and establishing clear rules of the game between all participants in the competitive environment. In particular, the current exemption from customs duty is proposed not to be applied to goods produced in the FEZ and imported into the rest of the customs territory of the country. Also, this exemption will not apply to domestic goods that have not undergone sufficient processing in the FEZ and are imported into the rest of the customs territory of Moldova, as well as to foreign goods placed in the FEZ, with proof of their preferential origin attached. It is provided that goods wholly received in the customs territory do not have the customs status of domestic goods if they are obtained from goods in temporary storage or placed under the regime of external transit, free zone customs warehouse, temporary importation or processing in the customs territory. All these changes are the conditions of the European Union and were agreed by the Interdepartmental Working Group responsible for assessing the legal framework and harmonizing legislation in the field of state aid, in particular, free economic zones. The bill is proposed to enter into force on July 1. As Dumitru Alaiba noted, it is about ensuring fair taxation for goods produced in the FEZ, when, for example, the tariff position in the FEZ changes. According to him, this disloyal practice existed for many years and the goods entering the territory of the FEZ changed the tariff position there, were imported into the customs territory of the Republic of Moldova without paying customs duties, which was incorrect. “By eliminating this practice, we will ensure equal conditions for all players and market predictability,” he said. In turn, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that, simply put, the government is making amendments to close well-thought-out and previously used opportunities for corruption schemes and violations in the system. // 04.04.2023 — InfoMarket.
