● TUESDAY, October 1
EBRD joins financing package for Moldova’s Trans-Oil
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announces that it is joining the $ 150 million financing package for Trans-Oil. In a press release it is mentioned that "Moldova’s leading agricultural company Trans-Oil will be able to increase its production of sunflower oil and explore new markets thanks to a comprehensive $ 150 million financing package from three development banks and six commercial lenders”. The EBRD is providing US$ 30 million. The facility, arranged by ING Bank, also involves UniCredit Bank Austria, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the Dutch Development Bank FMO, Mobiasbanca - OTP GROUP, OTP Bank, FIMBank, and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise.
● WEDNESDAY, October 2
Minister of Finance, about the IMF Mission’s visit to Chisinau
The Minister of Finance, Natalia Gavrilița, mentions that the Mission of the International Monetary Fund, which begins its visit to Chisinau on October 2, targets the budget consultation for the year 2020, IPN reports. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, the minister has said that during the negotiations with the IMF tax policy "surprises" are not envisaged. "As I said, when we had this assessment at firefighters’ pace, when we came to governance and had to stabilize the 2019 budget, we had already negotiated those measures that we insisted on being applied from January 1, 2020, so as to ensure predictability for the business environment”, the minister noted.
● THURSDAY, October 3
Brânzan: $ 70 million for road building remain unused
Almost 70 million dollars offered by the World Bank for building national roads in the Republic of Moldova remain unused. So far, the road builders have largely focused on using the money from the state budget. The statement was made by the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, Vadim Brânzan, on "Secrets of Power" show, on Jurnal TV. "The money is simply unused. Probably, it is easier to take money from the budget and use it as you see fit, whereas the World Bank imposes certain conditions of transparency, fairness, competition etc.”, said the minister.
Annually, the state loses 20 billion lei due to tax facilities, economic expert
The state of the Republic of Moldova loses annually 20 billion lei due to tax facilities. This amount constitutes half of the state budget for the current year. The statement belongs to economic expert Veaceslav Ioniță and was made on "Fabrika" show, Publika TV. "For over 30 years, the Republic of Moldova has offered over one hundred tax facilities that no one knows about and no one has examined. Their impact has never been analysed. We cancelled the last three in the field of HoReCa and others, but the remaining 105 have never been examined, "stated Veaceslav Ionita.
Natalia Gavrilița: We must continue raising salaries
The Ministry of Finance is working on a mid-term strategy on the pay of public-sector employees. According to Finance Minister Natalia Gavriliță, discussions are on-going with the International Monetary Fund to obtain support for increasing salaries, IPN learned from a press release of the Ministry. Natalia Gavrilița considers that raising salaries is an investment in the citizens of Moldova. “I strongly believe in employees’ rights, in decent pay and social protection. We must continue raising salaries”, the minister declared during a Wednesday meeting with representatives of the Confederation of Labor Unions (CNSM).
Bill for small businesses be introduced in Parliament
A bill proposing a series of immediate measure for helping small businesses will be formally introduced in Parliament next week. Until then, the bill’s sponsor MP Radu Marian is inviting suggestions from the public and stakeholders. The bill proposes, among other things, accepting cash register receipts as evidence for requesting expenditure deduction for tax purposes. However, only 0.5% of the annual taxable income could be subtracted this way. Marian also proposes removing the “seal hear” text from fiscal invoices and other formal tax statements. “While there’s been legislation for quite a while now which scrapped the seal requirement, affixing a seal is still required in practice. This provision should act as a reminder for all the users that a seal is not mandatory,” explains Radu Marian.
Prosecutors freeze Air Moldova assets, including two planes
The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Assets Recovery Agency have frozen 670 million lei worth of assets, including cars, real property and two airplanes belonging to Air Moldova. The National Anticorruption Center said in a press release that the airline’s flight operations have not been affected by this or previous criminal procedures. The restraint is in connection with an investigation which alleges that important amounts of money were laundered via fraudulent transactions during the company’s privatization last year.
● FRIDAY, October 4
"Law on de-offshorisation", voted by MPs in the first reading
The Parliament voted at first reading amendments on several legislative acts (the so-called de-offshorisation law), which are designed to safeguard the public sector from security risks coming from local and international criminal groups. The promoted regulations establish restrictions on participation in privatization procedures, public-private partnership, public procurement and concessions for several categories of legal entities. These include: legal entities founded by subjects from jurisdictions that do not comply with international transparency standards, legal entities comprising, directly or indirectly, one or more entities registered or residing in such jurisdictions, legal entities registered in the Republic Moldova if the participation shares in the share capital belong to legal entities registered in jurisdictions that do not implement international transparency standards.
IMF has allocated $ 46.1 million to the Republic of Moldova
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has allocated a new $ 46.1 million instalment to the Republic of Moldova, following the assessment of the progress made in meeting the assumed commitments. About $ 27.5 million are earmarked for the support of the state budget, says a press release of the Ministry of Finance. According to the institution, the first disbursement was made on September 24, in the amount of $ 30.7 million, out of which $ 18.4 million were intended to support the state budget. The remaining $ 15.4 million were disbursed on September 30. $ 9.1 million are meant for supporting the state budget.
Parliament tells Government to seek annulment of Air Moldova privatization
The Government has been instructed to seek the annulment of the Air Moldova privatization agreement and request damages for the failure to fulfill contractual obligations. This is included in a resolution adopted by Parliament after hearing the final parliamentary inquiry report on the Air Moldova privatization. “The Inquiry Commission has found that the interest of the state was not duly protected during the tender process through which Air Moldova was privatized, and the contract failed to include sufficient provisions to ensure the fulfillment of the objectives declared by the state. The contract’s form and content are totally inadequate and disproportionate to the goal of privatizing Moldova’s most important airline,” the Commission chair Igor Munteanu told Parliament’s plenary meeting.
Parliament asks the Government to start the procedure of cancelling the Airport concession
Chisinau International Airport concession contract is based on Government decisions that are contrary to the legal provisions, which is why it will be required to ascertain the absolute nullity of the transaction by a competent court of Moldova. The signing of this contract has seriously affected the public interest, public order and legality, declared at the Parliament plenary the Chairman of the Inquiry Committee for the evaluation of the preparation and conduct of the Chisinau International Airport concession, Igor Munteanu. Following the hearing of the Committee's report, the Parliament passed a decision asking the Government to evaluate the possibility of taking legal action in the national courts in order to declare the concession contract void.
● SATURDAY, October 5
State budget revenues in the first eight months of the year are higher than in 2018
In the first eight months of the year, the revenues of the state budget constituted 2471.1 million lei, of which the general and collected revenues - 24,548.7 million lei, and the revenues of the projects financed from external sources - 192.4 million lei. The Ministry of Finance informs about this in a press release. According to the institution, compared to the same period of the previous year, the revenues of the state budget are higher by 6.2% or by 1438.6 million lei, following the 6.9% increase of the general and collected revenues. Expenses in the reference period constitute 27131.5 million lei, being 14.8% higher than in the similar period of 2018.
Republic of Moldova to benefit from a $ 3 million budget support
The Republic of Moldova will benefit from an additional budget support of $ 3 million, following the modification of the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the International Development Association and the Loan Agreement between Moldova and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which supports the Government reform in tax administration area. A draft law to this effect has been adopted by Parliament in two readings. The Ministry of Finance states in a press release that the decision was taken to restructure the project by amending the agreements.
Legislation passed to facilitate land consolidation
Owners of parcels of land fragmented by barriers like minor roads or planned but not planted woodbelts will be able to buy them from the local authorities and consolidate their land, under legislation adopted by Parliament on Friday. The bill’s sponsor Radu Mudreac (PSRM) said this will be allowed only if the owner is one and the same and it doesn’t prevent other owners from reaching or working their land. Before this, the law didn’t provide a clear mechanism for how local authorities could sell access roads crossing agricultural land, explained Mudreac.
