Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian said that the decisions announced by Tiraspol, including the one to cancel the “preferential customs regime” for Dubăsari farmers, do not intimidate the constitutional authorities. According to him, these “response measures” will not make Chisinau to review its position regarding the new provisions of the Customs Code, IPN reports.

“The race to escalate relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol is harmful. We are not intimidated by these steps, by any means, and they will not make us review the position we have. Concessions as regards the Customs Code will not be made,” Oleg Serebrian told reporters.

According to him, if no agreement is reached with Tiraspol, Chisinau authorities will decide how to compensate the Moldovan farmers for the sustained losses. “This is not the first time we have resorted to such compensation. Although I hope we won’t get this far,” noted the official.

The new Customs Code that took effect on January 1 eliminated all exemptions from customs duties enjoyed for decades by economic agents from the separatist region of Transnistria. Its provisions create equal treatment of all companies from both banks of the Nistru, given that more than half of the goods produced in the Transnistrian region are sold on the right bank. The implementation of the new Customs Code is one of the main commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova together with the obtaining of the EU candidate status.

In response, the administration of the Transnistrian region announced that it decided to cancel the so-called preferential customs regime for farmers from Dubăsari, who own farmland located beyond the Râbnița-Tiraspol road. Thus, the farmers are obliged to pay taxes into the budget of the Transnistrian region. Also, the regime in Tiraspol intends to oblige owners of cars with Moldovan license numbers, who have their permanent residence in Doroțcaia, to pay vignette. Another decision announced by Tiraspol stipulates that, starting with February 1, legal entities registered in Moldova, but operating in the Transnistrian region, will pay for energy resources, according to the charges applied on the right bank. The decision also refers to state institutions.