The amended and supplemented law on the payment for environmental pollution and President Igor Dodon’s decree to promulgate this law were published in the December 30 issue of the Official Gazette, IPN reports.

In order to stimulate the implementation of non-polluting technologies and take other measures to reduce the emissions of pollutants in the environment and to diminish production and packing waste, there were set new taxes for persons who produce and/or import packing made from plastic, polyethylene, aluminum and other materials, which depend on the pollution level.

For primary packing made from plastic material, the tax will be of 0.18 lei to 1.50 lei apiece, depending on the weight of the product. For primary packing from aluminum, there will be paid 0.15 to 0.56 lei apiece, depending on the volume and weight.

For lacquers, colorants and paints, the environmental pollution or ecological tax will be of 1.5% to 3% of the price, while for surface organic agents, detergents and lubricants of 1%.

Those who pay the given tax are exempted from paying fines and penalties for these sums, in accordance with the Fiscal Code. So as not to discriminate against taxpayers who were already fines and penalized in 2017, in favor of those who will be exempted from, the delay penalties and fines imposed in 2017 will be annulled.

Given that the bill was passed by Parliament on December 22, it was decided to extend the period for declaring and paying taxes from December 31, 2017 until February 25, 2018.

A sum of 17 million lei in ecological taxes was collected in the national public budget last year. Of this sum, 12 million lei was taxes for goods that pollute the environment while they are used, while 5 million lei was taxes for emissions of pollutants and storage of waste.