Parliament approved in the first reading a bill on the abolition of duty-free trade regime.
The bill provides for amendments to the Customs and Tax Codes and other legislative acts. Its main goal is to promote the principle of tax justice by applying taxes to goods which are sold on the territory of Moldova, including in trade units located in customs zones. Particularly, according to the bill, starting from October 1, Moldova will stop issuing new licenses for duty-free stores, bars and restaurants and starting from September 4, 2023 the duty-free regime will be completely abolished. The existing trade enterprises operating in the duty-free trade regime after the expiration of the duty-free licenses will be able to operate only with the payment of all taxes. According to Dumitru Alaiba, chairman of the Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance and one of the authors of the project, the initiative is aimed at ensuring fairness for all entrepreneurs in terms of taxation, providing the state budget with new sources of income, as well as to prevent the risks of smuggling and organized crime. "In 2023, we will have to protect citizens, thousands of businesses, and this is additional investment and resources in the state budget, which must be identified and used effectively," said Dumitru Alaiba. The explanatory note to the draft states that for the 6 months in 2022, tax benefits within the duty-free regime exceeded 1 billion lei (VAT, excise tax and customs duties), and in 2022, these benefits will total 2 billion lei. In pre-pandemic years, this figure was higher and reached 4 billion lei per year. At the same time, it is pointed out that the duty-free stores are a significant source of smuggling, first of all, of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. //30.09.2022 - InfoMarket.
