● MONDAY, March 28

 About 2.5m lei collected into state budget as road taxes last week 

More than 8,600 vignettes (proof of payment of road tax) to the value of about 2.5 million lei have been issued in the course of last week, the Customs Service has said. The Service warns the motorists not to falsify the vignette as they face punishment. Ten cases of falsification of the vignette were identified last week. The culprits were fined a total of 100,000 lei. The attempts to falsify the vignette are detected with the help of the automated monitoring system managed by the Service.

Moldovan company Ritlabs achieves Microsoft Gold 

Ritlabs, SRL, “Email Done Right”, has attained a Microsoft Gold Application Development Competency, IPN reports, quoting a press release of Ritlabs. According to the press release, Ritlabs, SRL attained a Gold Application Development Competency, demonstrating a “best-in-class” ability and dedication to meet Microsoft customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment, distinguishing itself within the top 1 percent of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem. To qualify for the Gold Competency, Ritlabs was tested in technical knowledge through rigorous examination, and submitted customer references attesting to their satisfaction with Ritlabs products and their compatibility with Microsoft programing.

Tiraspol will not devalue ruble, shortage of currency expands 

The so-called supreme soviet of the Transnistrian region decided not to allow the ruble to depreciate, as it was forecast. However, local specialists note that the problem of lack of currency hasn’t been solved and is worsening, while the shortage of currency is growing and this leads to the intensification of the activity on the currency black market. Olga Radulova, vice director of the central bank of Transnistria, was quoted by the news agency “Novostipmr” as saying that now the demand for currency totals about US$13 million. As the central bank will sell currency only once a week, the demand will expand until the next transactions. Maia Parnas, a member of the central bank’s administration board, said that even if the central bank sells currency daily, the situation will not change and system measures are needed.

Notices for paying property tax could be issued to taxpayers on October 30 

The calculation of the property tax that is introduced by the draft budgetary-fiscal and customs policy for this year and the issuing of the notices for paying this tax could be staged by the local fiscal bodies one month earlier, which is on October 30. Such a proposal was formulated in a meeting of the working group constituted by Parliament to examine the document. According to the authors, the amendment is aimed at offering the taxpayers enough time to pay this tax. At the first stage, taxable entities will be the taxpayers that own realty that is over 120 square meters in area and whose cadastral value exceeds 1.5 million lei. The tax of 0.8% is to be paid into the state budget by December 25 of each year. According to the cadastral data, this tax is to be paid by over 3,000 taxpayers, most of which are from Chisinau municipality.

● TUESDAY, March 29

Fourth grant call of Sustainable Land Management program 

The World Bank-funded Moldova Agriculture Competitiveness Project MAC-P, in concert with the Ministry of Environment, launched the fourth grant call within the post-investment grants program Sustainable Land Management. According to a press release of the project’s team, the call for grant proposals is intended for agricultural producers from all over the country, except for the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti, which use sustainable land management practices and thus maintain the health and productivity of soil. The financing of sustainable land management measures includes the covering of costs for purchasing agricultural machinery designed to ensure the rational exploitation of land. The farmers who bought agricultural equipment/machinery starting with November 1, 2015 and used sustainable land management practices such as No-till and Strip-till, integrated pest management, wooded protection strips and agro-forest and hydro-technical measures after November 1, 2015 can recover a part of their investment. The grants represent 50% of the investment, but not more than US$20,000 per applicant.

Land tax is raised in a difficult period for famers, MP 

The 15% rise in the land tax, as provided in the draft budgetary-fiscal and customs policy for 2016, will represent an additional burden on agricultural producers that sustained significant losses owing to drought last year, head of the Parliament’s standing commission for agriculture and food industry Radu Mudreac said in a meeting of the working group set up by the legislature to examine the draft policy. The MP noted that the farmers weren’t paid the subsidies to which they were entitled in 2015. “The unpaid subsidies for last year are large in amount. There is no clarity as to the size of the agriculture subsidization fund for 2016. It is proposed also raising the tax on hay and pasture. What should the farmers do? How should they increase production and exports?” asked the MP.

● WEDNESDAY, March 30

 Experts seek transparency in negotiations on purchase price of power 

The electricity tariffs for end-users were decreased by 11% in nontransparent conditions. The Ministry of Economy’s explanation that the tariff was reduced because the purchase price of electric power fell by 0.5 eurocents leaves room for questions, said experts involved in an economic debate on the tariffs of energy resources staged by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” and Radio Free Europe. Moderator Vlad Bercu tried to find answers to some of the questions together with experts Ion Muntean and Ruslan Surugiu. The participants in the debate said it’s not clear how the company “Energocapital”, which is an intermediary and does not produce electricity and does not control costs, could obtain a lower price for the electricity purchased from the Cuchurgan Power Plant.

2016 is a lost year in dialogue with development partners, ex-minister 

The officials and those who made optimistic statements about the signing of an agreement with the IMF at the start of this year probably realized that 2016 is a lost year as regards the resumption of the dialogue with the development partners, including on the financial component, ex-minister of finance Veaceslav Negruta said in an interview for Radio Free Europe. “A possible agreement with the IMF will not be put into practice in 2016. In the best case, this can happen in 2017. The lack of the financial component will be felt in 2016 at the levels of budget and public financing and in the investment activity,” stated Veaceslav Negruta. As to the conditions imposed by the IMF on the Moldovan authorities, the ex-minister said that these refer first of all to the banking sector and then to the public finance sector, where the correlation between incomes and costs is fully distorted. “There are other things that were announced by the International Monetary Fund, the Council of the EU and the partners from Bucharest. These conditions weren’t met. Thus, the probability of resuming the dialogue with these bodies is low. Besides the official agenda, there is another agenda that tempts them to keep the IMF far away,” stated Veaceslav Negruta.

“Expert-Grup”: Reforms in financial-banking sector started, but are slow 

Reforms in the financial-banking sector started, but are slow, said experts of the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup”, who monitored the activities in this sector during the last three months. In a news conference , these said that both the authorities and the community of donors became more active in the reformation process. Despite this, the measures taken so far are not enough for solving the bank crisis or for preventing similar crises in the future. The monitoring report on the reformation in the financial-banking sector covers four areas: the financial-banking package; the draft roadmap; the contest for selecting the candidate for National Bank governor and the technical assistance in the financial-banking sector. Expert Dumitru Pantea said that after last year’s shocks in the banking system, in 2016 the situation seems to stabilize. The share of deposits in lei has increased following the restoration of the people’s confidence in the national currency. The number of loans in lei and in foreign currency decreased because of the monetary policy that makes the loans very costly for the population.

CAPC: Provisions of Law on Moratorium on State Inspections are ambiguous 

The provisions of the Law on the Moratorium on State Inspections are ambiguous and can be easily avoided. At the same time, when drafting the law, the Ministry of Justice exceeded its authority as it can formulate only bills concerning justice and human rights protection, consider experts of the Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption (CAPC), who appraised the vulnerability of this law. In a news conference , CAPC expert Mariana Kalughin said the law, which was drafted to limit the methods by which the state can abusively intervene in entrepreneurial activity, as the informative note provides, was adopted with violations of the legislation. The period of 15 working days of the publication of the bill on the Parliament’s website for this to be debated by civil society wasn’t respected. The appraisals to which the bill was to be subject before being submitted to Parliament are absent.

PM seeks facilitation of issuing of authorizations for fuel import to famers 

The decision by which the farmers are allowed to import diesel fuel directly from refineries takes effect on April 1. In this connection, Prime Minister Pavel Filip called on the National Agency for Energy Regulation to remove the useless bureaucratic barriers so that the farmers could easier import fuel, especially now that the farming works are in full swing. The Premier also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry to make sure that the farmers are broadly informed about the possibility of importing fuel directly.

● THURSDAY, March 31

The Bat! Email Client is Now Officially Certified for Windows 10 

The well-known email client The Bat! v7.1.18 developed by the Moldovan company Ritlabs, SRL has been certified for Windows 10, IPN reports referring to company’s press release. As stated in the press release, “The Windows App Certification Program outlines program and technical requirements to ensure third-party apps carrying the Windows brand are easy to install and reliable on PCs running Windows”. “The fact that our applications are certified and compatible with Windows technology proves their quality. Our customers value stability, performance and trust The Bat! Email Client because it performs well on the Windows platform. We’re proud to continue providing customers with high-performing products they can count on,” said Maxim Masiutin, Director of Ritlabs, SRL.

ctivity of SMEs will be adjusted to European development principles 

The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) per 1,000 people will rise to 25 by 2020. The SMEs will employ about 65% of the economy workers, while their share in the GDP will represent 38%. The bill’s provisions were adjusted to the European principles for developing this business sector with the aim of stimulating the creation of SMEs, reducing the administrative barriers and enhancing the competitiveness of the SMEs. Thus, in accordance with the good practices of EU member states, a Consultative Council for SMEs will be set up to analyze the competitiveness of the sector and formulate recommendations for improving the business climate. It will consist of representatives of the Government, private sector and NGOs.

Central bank reduces annual base rate to 17% 

The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova on March 31 decided to reduce the base rate on the main short-term monetary policy operations from 19% to 17% annually. The annual interest rates on overnight loans will be decreased from 22% to 20%, while on overnight deposits – from 16% to 14%. According to a press release of the central bank, the Board also decided to maintain the required reserves ratio from financial means attracted in freely convertible currency at the level of 14% of the base, while the reserves ratio from means attracted in Moldovan lei and non-convertible currency – at the level of 35% of the base. The analysis of the recent macroeconomic indicators shows that the annual rate of inflation continues to decrease even if it remains above the upper limit of the variation interval of ± 1.5 percentage points of the inflation target of 5%. The annual rate of inflation for February 2016 was 10.3%, a decrease of 3.1 percentage points on a month before. The annual growth rate of prices is expected to gradually decrease, including owing to the high comparison base of 2015.

New methodology of forming and applying prices of oil products approved 

The National Agency for Energy Regulation on March 31 approved the new methodology of forming and applying the prices of oil products by which the method of determining the retail prices of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas was conceptually changed. The Agency considers the new methodology will stimulate loyal competition between oil companies and will lead to a decline in retail prices for end-users following the price reductions on regional markets. Thus, the prices of oil products and liquefied petroleum gas will be formed based on the average value of the Platts quotations for the main oil products or the Argus DAF Brest assessments for propane-butane mix for liquefied petroleum gas, the excise duties and value added tax put in accordance with the Fiscal Code and on a specific profit margin. The methodology defines the method of determining the upper retail prices of the main oil products and liquefied petroleum gas each two weeks according to a preset formula, depending in the mentioned components. It also specifies how the maximum value of the specific profit margin is calculated and approved.

● FRIDAY, April 1

News measures to support business entities in Transnistria 

In a move to support the business community in Transnistria and to create advantageous conditions for external trade for the Transnistrian business entities, the Moldovan authorities started to review the legislation. According to the Reintegration Office, the taken measures are aimed at accelerating the socioeconomic development of the Transnistrian communities, promoting interaction between the entrepreneurs from both sides of the Nistru River and restoring the common economic area. In this connection, the Government approved a bill to amend and supplement a number of legal acts by which the fiscal, customs and budgetary policies for 2016 are set out. The bill also amends the annex to the Law on the Combined Nomenclature of Goods.

€3m worth of grant for modernizing thermoelectric system of Balti 

The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership (E5P) will offer €3 million worth of grant in co-financing for the project to modernize the thermoelectric system of Balti municipality (SA CET-Nord). A trilateral agreement between Moldova, represented by the Ministry of Economy, SA CET-Nord and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which manages the E5P Fund, was signed for the purpose. According to the Ministry of Economy’s press service, the grant supplements the loan of €7 million provided by the EBRD to SA CET-Nord in 2015. SA CET-Nord supplies heat to 75% of the population of Balti municipality and to a large number of public and commercial buildings. The signed document amends the financing agreement between Moldova and the EBRD that was signed in 2014 and ratified in 2015.

● SATURDAY, April 2

Draft budgetary-fiscal policy for 2016 adopted in first reading

Parliament carried the 2016 draft budgetary-fiscal policy in the first reading on April 1. The document was passed by the votes of the parliamentary alliance, the opposition expressing its dissatisfaction with it and saying that it further impoverishes the population when the economic situation is rather bad already. The goal of the policy is to diminish customs and tax evasion and to efficiently collect resources in the national public budget. It provides for the rise in the tax on farmland by 15% and in the excise duties on oil products, cigarettes, apple and pear cider, beer, strong alcoholic beverages and jewelry. The income tax rates for private individuals and legal entities are maintained at the level of 2015. A property tax is introduced for persons who possess buildings that are over 120 square meters in area and have an estimated value of over 1.5 million lei. This tax is to be paid by December 25 of each year. Another new tax is the tax on motor vehicles registered in the Republic of Moldova. This replaces the road toll. However, the road toll for vehicles that weren’t registered in Moldova, or the vignette, was raised.

Revision of authorizing documents for running businesses will continue this year

About 100 certificates, permits and authorizations will be excluded from the Nomenclature of Authorizing Documents that includes over 400 names of documents. A relevant provision is contained in the bill to amend and supplement the law on the regulation of entrepreneurial activities by authorization. The Ministry of Economy announces that the exclusion of the 100 authorizing documents from the Nomenclature is not the final objective and the revision and optimization process will be continued this year. Under the bill, the one-stop shop mechanism will be implemented at national level, this being a precondition for including the licenses and authorizing documents in the platform of the electronic one-stop shop. On the other hand, though many of the public authorities started to implement this mechanism, the one-stop shops are nonfunctional.