Parliament gave a first reading to a bill providing for the annulment of the duty-free regime all over the Republic of Moldova. When the new provisions take effect, the duty-free stores will be able to work duty-free only until their licenses expire, IPN reports.

Bill sponsor, PAS MP Dumitru Alaiba said the goal of the legislative proposal is to promote the principle of fiscal equity by imposing taxes on the goods that are sold on the country’s territory, including in retail outlets in customs areas. “In 2023, we will have to protect the citizens, thousands of businesses. This means investments and additional resources in the state budget, which should be identified and used efficiently. The initiative was proposed namely for these purposes,” stated Dumitru Alaiba.

In the case of the Chisinau International Airport, the licenses of the duty-free shops housed by this expire in December. This does not yet mean that the retailing outlets will be banned. These will be able to work further but will pay all the taxes.