Businesses in Moldova save approximately 1 billion lei per year thanks to seven packages of measures to deregulate entrepreneurial activity
The Economic Council under Prime Minister of Moldova reported this, noting that over the past two years the Moldovan government has promoted seven deregulation packages aimed at eliminating unreasonable and ineffective bureaucratic requirements. These reforms create a more favorable business environment, providing enterprises with greater flexibility and opportunities for development. In particular, packages 1 and 2 abolish the obligation for employers to approve internal regulations and draw up preliminary employment contracts. It also simplifies the hiring of ICT professionals on fixed-term contracts. Instead of the permanent medical document (“blue passport”), a medical certificate is introduced, reducing the bureaucratic burden for approximately 20,000 employees in the HoReCa sector and other industries. In addition, the cash register journal is abolished, the tax debt threshold is increased from 100 to 500 lei, and VAT deduction on fiscal receipts up to 2,000 lei is allowed when paying with a business card. Package 3 introduces key changes to state control legislation, making the rules clearer and fairer, broadening their application, redistributing the powers of control bodies according to their competence, and introducing sanctions for inspectors for unlawful actions. This reduces the risk of abuse and eases conditions for entrepreneurs. Package 4 includes changes to 12 laws, removing unnecessary restrictions. Among the measures are the recognition of EU commodity exchanges, the modernization of exchange legislation, the simplification of connection to utilities, and the abolition of complaint books. Package 5 proposes new measures to reduce the administrative burden on businesses and employers: the obligation to keep records of potential conscripts and to transfer data to military registration offices is abolished, and adaptation and computer medical examinations are abolished. Access to subsidies for rural tourism is also being expanded, including for village houses, tourist estates, and craft units. Package 6 abolishes mandatory packaging for bakery products, the approval of mineral resource reports, and certain restrictions on non-bank credit institutions. The effectiveness of control over investments in public construction has been improved. Package 7 amends 16 laws, reducing the administrative burden: digitization of processes for shareholders, elimination of the monopoly on fire safety training, reduction of MOLDAC accreditation fees, and simplification of licensing for rural pharmacies. Restrictions on wholesale trade have also been lifted and voluntary business liquidation has been simplified. It is emphasized that these legislative changes, which will bring annual savings of around one billion lei to businesses, were developed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Economic Council under Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, with support from UNDP Moldova and the USAID project “Moldova Institutional and Structural Reforms Activity” (MISRA). // 04.06.2025 — InfoMarket
