Ecological tax on importers is not annulled, Economy Ministry

The ecological tax put on the imported plastic and Tetra Pak products since 2008 will not be annulled as local entrepreneurs asserted, but the application mechanism will be balanced, Deputy Minister of Economy Octavian Calmic said Wednesday, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “The Ministry of Economy decided to work out a series of amendments to the Law on the Payment for Environment Pollution. A precondition is the gradual switchover to a European system for managing packing and packing waste. We will obey the international practice of putting uniform ecological payments on the producers and importers,” Octavian Calmic said in a press briefing. He also said that the list of packing on which the importers pay an ecological tax was extended by including the packed dairy products and products that pollute the environment when used such as plastic dishes and other items. The deputy minister informed that Moldova filed a lawsuit against Ukraine within the World Trade Organization so that it reduced the excise duties on alcoholic beverages exported to Ukraine by Moldova. “We tried to remove this litigation from the agenda of the WTO and settle it at bilateral level. If Moldova and Ukraine adjust their legislation to the international norms by the end of this year, the litigation will be stopped,” said Octavian Calmic. Recently, several national associations of producers and entrepreneurs gave a news conference, saying the Economy Ministry’s initiative will have negative effects on the state budget and the environment.