The new Customs Code of Moldova will come into force on January 1, 2024.
The Ministry of Finance recalled this, noting that this document will replace the current Customs Code, the Law on Customs Tariffs and the Law on the procedure for the import and export of goods from the territory of Moldova by individuals. The regulation will improve the quality of services provided to economic agents by the customs authority, reduce costs and delays associated with declaring goods, and reduce the risks of fraud and integrity incidents by monitoring customs operations online and reducing the number of paper-based customs procedures. The main new measures that will be implemented with the entry into force of the new Customs Code are: submission of information in electronic format necessary for customs clearance; liberalization of the activities of the customs representative; the applicant's right to respond to the customs decision. Therefore, before making a decision that would have an adverse effect on the applicant, Customs will communicate to the applicant the reasons on which it intends to make the decision, giving the applicant an opportunity to express its dissent within 30 days. In addition, the period for filing appeals against decisions will be extended from 10 to 30 days, and trade facilitation tools will be modernized and brought into line with international standards. The approved new Customs Code also contains a number of new simplifications: simplified declaration, which allows the owner to place goods under the customs procedure on the basis of a declaration with a reduced set of information. Entry into the declarant's accounts will allow the customs declaration to be submitted as an entry in the declarant's accounts, provided that the information specified in the declaration is available to customs authorities in the declarant's system at the time of filing the declaration. Centralized clearance is also provided, which will allow a person to submit at the customs post where he/she is registered a customs declaration for goods presented to customs at another customs post. The simplifications mentioned represent real benefits for economic operators, as they provide an alternative to the standard procedure, meet some specific needs related to the flow and type of goods being declared, ensure rapid provision of customs clearance, and involve cost reductions. An important advantage in the commercial activities of economic agents will be the implementation of a mechanism for paying import duties before customs clearance or within 7 days from the date of notification of the customs debt, with the establishment of a guarantee of the full amount of duties. Thus, the customs payer will receive a “vacation” from paying customs duties. At the same time, the new document establishes clear conditions (not regulated in the current Customs Code) for the reimbursement of import duties in the event of defective goods or non-compliance with contractual terms. The draft of the new Customs Code of Moldova was developed over the course of 3 years based on the cooperation of the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Service with the World Bank, the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM), a mission of TAIEX experts together with the EU High Advisor on Customs and Tax Issues Rosario de Blasio and the European Commission.// 28.12.2023 — InfoMarket
