The Ministry of Economy has prepared a draft amendment to the legislation related to the activities of free economic zones.
The draft considered at the meeting of state secretaries provides for amendments to several legislative acts. Thus, the current exemption from customs duty is proposed not to apply to goods produced in the free enterprise zone 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. Another change stipulates that the Ministry of Economy will approve a model contract between the administration and a FEZ resident. FEZ administrators will be required to provide the Ministry of Finance with a copy of the concluded contract, as well as report any changes, including suspension or termination of the contract, within 15 days from the date of making these changes to the contract. In addition, 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, customs warehouse of a free zone, temporary importation or processing in the customs territory. The bill is proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2023. The explanatory note to the draft has not yet been published, but it is noted that the changes are aimed at improving the efficiency of the administrations of the FEZ of Moldova and the implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU. There are 7 free economic zones in Moldova. At the beginning of 2022, they had more than 230 residents. The volume of investments in FEZs since their inception has exceeded $500 million.// 10.02.2023 — InfoMarket.
