Amcham Moldova proposes to establish a preferential amount of customs duties on the import of exotic fruit concentrates.
This is stated in the package of proposals that the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova (Amcham Moldova) submitted to the Ministry of Finance as part of the preparation of a draft tax and customs policy for 2024. In particular, it is proposed to establish a minimum duty (1%) on the import of mango puree, concentrated juice lemon, grape, pineapple, pomegranate, multifruit juice, as well as tomato paste, nutritional supplements and other items. The association notes that domestic juice producers are making every effort to enter foreign markets with a wide range of products, as close as possible to the expectations of consumers and external partners. For this reason, juice producers widely use imported exotic concentrates, while 65% of juices produced in Moldova are intended for export. However, for juice produced from imported (exotic) semi-finished products, the import duty ranges from 10% to 40%, depending on the state. At the same time, domestic producers of fruit juices are taxed twice - not only when importing raw materials, but also when exporting finished products. As a result, the duty rate ranges from 15% to 45%, depending on the country of export. The incentives offered by Amcham are expected to allow Moldovan companies to reduce the cost of juice production and be more competitive in the international market, increase the volume of exports, which will provide the budget with additional income through business income tax, income tax withheld from employee salaries, deductions to the budget state social insurance and compulsory medical insurance funds. //28.03.2023 — InfoMarket.
