Moldovan Parliament has approved the Concept of introducing a tax monopoly in the country.
In particular, at Friday's session the MPs adopted in the first reading amendments to the Law on Entrepreneurship and Enterprises, providing for the creation of a tax monopoly mechanism. It is planned that the government will be able to grant a tax monopoly status to an enterprise or a group of enterprises to carry out exclusively economic activities related to goods, services, a group of goods or a group of services for the purpose of generating revenue for the state. The monopoly status will only be granted to a legal entity with wholly or predominantly state capital. It is stipulated that from the moment when the share of state capital becomes a minority, the company loses the status of a tax monopoly and all exclusive rights secured by the tax monopoly status become invalid. The document provides for the establishment of a National Commission on Tax Monopoly, which will identify the need to establish a tax monopoly on certain economic activities. Thus, the Commission, based on appropriate analysis and public consultation, will determine the company or group of companies that will be granted the status of tax monopoly. The Commission will analyze and assess the impact of granting tax monopoly status, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of economic and other factors in the short, medium and long term. The Commission will propose to the government for review and approval, through a central specialized body providing the Commission's office, a draft regulatory act granting tax monopoly status to an enterprise or group of enterprises. It will also annually monitor and evaluate the economic sector in which an enterprise or group of enterprises that has been granted tax monopoly status is active and report to the government, as well as propose to the government to remove the tax monopoly status of an enterprise or group of enterprises that have been granted tax monopoly status, in the event of deviations from the specific rules governing activities established by the normative act, by which it was granted the status of a fiscal monopoly, or at the time of suppression of the circumstances that determine the need to establish a tax monopoly. The Commission will consist of 5 members: 1 representative of the Ministry of Finance (chairman of the commission), Ministry of Economy, Competition Council and 2 representatives of the civil society in the economic sphere. Tax monopoly status may be granted to companies that: engage in business activities for which it has been established that a tax monopoly is necessary, and these activities are not secondary or auxiliary to the main activities; have technical capabilities, equipment and apply advanced technologies for business activities for which it has been established that a tax monopoly is necessary. Tax monopoly status does not exempt an enterprise from the obligation to hold the permits required by law. An enterprise or group of enterprises granted tax monopoly status shall be prohibited from undertaking actions that may result in the deterioration or suspension of tax monopoly-related activities. // 15.07.2022 – InfoMarket
