About 12% of the Moldovan products exported to Russia last year did not meet the sanitary norms, as against 5% in 2008, the president of the Russian Audit Office Sergey Stepashin said in the joint meeting of the Audit Office of Moldova and the Board of the Audit Office of Russia held in Chisinau on May 21, Info-Prim Neo reports. Sergey Stepashin recommended the quality certification services to more intensely cooperate at the stage preceding the sale of products on the market so as to avoid unpleasant consequences and useless costs. According to him, the levying of an environment pollution tax on Moldova’s territory is now an obstacle to developing the commercial relations between the two countries as this tax creates unequal conditions for the local producers and importers. The tax is imposed on importers and varies between 0.5% to 5% of the value declared in customs of about 180 names of products. Under the amendments adopted by the Parliament of Moldova, this tax will be annulled on January 1, 2013. The parallel audit report of the Audit Offices of Moldova and Russia on the use of public money for implementing the economic cooperation program between the two countries for 2009-2011 had been prepared for almost six months. It focuses on the legislation of the two countries and other documents that regulate the import and export of agrifood products, including Moldovan wines and other alcoholic drinks on the Russian market and meat and meat products, the imports from Russia into Moldova, the reciprocal investments. The parallel auditing revealed the necessity of extending the number of ‘one-stop’ customs terminals for the products of Moldovan wine companies. The president of Moldova’s Audit Office Serafim Urecheanu said the audit report will be sent to the governments and legislatures of the two countries. According to hum, the identified drawbacks will be removed gradually, without being politicized. The two institutions in the near future plan to perform an audit on the supply of Russian gas to Moldova and another one on the use of the munitions that remained on Moldova’s territory since World War II, especially in the eastern districts. The economic cooperation program between Moldova and Russia was signed in 2008. Russia is Moldova’s top export partner. Exports to this country in 2011 totaled US$625 million, 1.5 times more on 2010 and over two times more on 2009. Imports from Russia came to US$823 million, an increase of over 40% compared with a year before. They represent 15.8% of the total imports into Moldova.