The total admitted value of gifts offered to civil servants out of politeness or on the occasion of certain protocol actions will not exceed the amount of one thousand lei per calendar year. A provision to this effect is included in a draft government decision, submitted for public consultations by the Ministry of Justice.
The draft provides for the renewal of the regulation on the legal status of gifts. If the value of the gifts exceeds one thousand lei per year, an evaluation commission within the institution, consisting of three persons, may decide to transfer the gifts to the management of the public entity or, if the commission find the gifts inadmissible, it will hand the gifts over to the National Anticorruption Center.
According to the draft, the eligible gifts are those offered out of politeness or on the occasion of certain protocol actions, including jubilee mint and commemorative metal coins. Inadmissible gifts will be considered the goods, services, favors, invitations or any other advantages, which are meant for personal use of the public servants or his/her family, and if the gifts are related to the servant's professional activity.
The draft decision also provides that money in circulation, in national currency or foreign currency, financial means and payment instruments are not considered as eligible gifts. The proposed regulation exempts medals, decorations, badges, orders, as well as office supplies received by civil servants at training seminars, conferences, etc. Additionally, this involves perishable products or expenses paid by local or foreign non-commercial organizations, as well as payments for attending conferences or study visits by public entities.
Moreover, the bill also stipulates that in the case of items that have historical, scientific, artistic or other cultural value, these, as well as the objects of worship transferred to the management of the public entity, can be passed on free of charge to museums, libraries and other institutions, upon informing the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research. Additionally, the gifts transferred to the management of the public entity can be passed on free of charge for charitable purposes.
It is expected that some of the gifts under the management of public organizations will be marketable. The money collected from the sale of eligible gifts will be transferred to the state budget account.
