Premier intervenes to remedy situation of German investor Draexelamier

Prime Minister Vlad Filat on November 22 convened a meeting to discuss the situation of the German company Draexelmaier in Moldova and the actions of the fiscal bodies, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Government. The press reported recently that the German investor gave up investing €15 million in the construction of a new factory in the free economic zone in Balti because it is subject to harassment by the Tax Service. The fiscal authorities deny the accusations, blaming the imperfection of the legislation that has been interpreted until now in the German company’s favor. In the meeting, the company’s administration and executives of the State Main Tax Inspectorate gave details about the situation to the Premier, saying that everything is due to the imperfect regulations in the field. It was agreed that the identified impediments will be removed so as to ensure optimal work conditions for the investor. For this purpose, Vlad Filat ordered creating a working group involving directors of free economic zones and specialists of the relevant public authorities, who will examine the problems faced by the resident companies of the zones owing to the imperfection of the legislation and will put forward proposals for amending the laws so as to avoid ambiguous interpretations. “Nobody has the right to interpret the legal norm. It must be very clear so that it allows nobody to act in a different way than that stipulated by the law or the Government decisions. These changes must be made as soon as possible. We want the business environment to develop so that we have a powerful economy and new workplaces for the people,” stated Vlad Filat. The German company Draexlmaier Automotive produces spare parts and electrical equipment for vehicles. The free economic zone in Balti is one of the over 50 places all over the world where the company is present. Until 2011, Draexlmaier had opened in Balti two factories that employ 2,600 persons and was to open this year one more factory with about 2,000 workplaces. The press reported that owing to the penalties of 6 million lei imposed by the fiscal bodies, the company decided to abandon the project and to open a factory in Romania.