Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Pușcuța, Minister of Finance, said the criticism leveled at provisions of the bill for which the Government assumed responsibility comes from those who didn’t try to understand the essence of the proposals. In a press briefing, he provided details about the bill, IPN reports.

“As regards the taxes on the use of subsoil, following those changes the sums that are to be collected into the state budget for subsoil use will grow two times,” stated Sergey Pușcuța.  

“As to the eventual reopening of duty-free stores in the Transnistrian region, you should read attentively the bill. I assure you that you will find not even one point that refers to the Transnistrian region. The bill contains nothing of the kind.”

According to the minister, what the Government aims to do is to modify the working regime related to the activity of duty-free stores. “I want to remind that following the changes made to the Tax Code in October 2019, particular moments with a negative impact on local producers appeared. This way, the national producers that now supply goods to the duty-free area are to calculate and pay excise duties into the budget,” he stated.

“Also, under the legislation, the duty-free stores that sell these goods at the entrance to the Republic of Moldova should calculate and pay excise duties. Excise duties are thus applied twice, on goods when they are received from national producers in duty-free stores and later when they are sold at the entrance to the Republic of Moldova. As a result, the national products are fully uncompetitive with the imported goods that are sold duty free and on which excise duties are imposed only once.”

As to the tobacco law, Sergey Pușcuța said the authorities do not annul, but put off the measure that bans the display of tobacco products in commercial units in visible places. In times of a pandemic, it is not opportune taking such measures.