Wedding and christening ceremonies are healthier, but more expensive

Serving alcoholic beverages without excise stamps at wedding and christening ceremonies held in specially designed places will be banned. The persons who will celebrate weddings, baptizing ceremonies or other events in restaurants, cafes and ceremony houses will not be able to bring and serve alcoholic beverages without excise stamps, Nicolae Platon, the head of the State Main Tax Inspectorate, said in a news conference, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “Home-made wine will be allowed at different ceremonies as the wine was removed from the list of products that must obligatorily have excise duties on them. But the excise stamps on bottles of cognac, whisky, plum brandy and other strong alcoholic beverages are mandatory,” said Platon. Dorian Cibotaru, the head of the Inspectorate’s Fiscal Anti-Fraud Division, said that the 200 inspections carried out so far this year at different producers, distributors, storehouses and shops showed that the strong alcoholic drinks made in Moldova are most often counterfeited. “Imported strong alcoholic beverages had forged excise stamps on them or were sold with the validity period expired in 5% of the cases. In the other 95% of cases, forged excise stamps were identified on bottles of alcoholic drinks made in Moldova,” stated Dorian Cibotaru. He also said that 46% of the cases of forging excise stamps were recorded in northern Moldova, 29% in the southern districts, while 25% in the center of the country. 60% of the stores where forged excise stamps were found were average-sized shops, but such cases were identified in supermarkets as well. According to Dorian Cibotaru, the counterfeit excise stamps lack the filigree with the words “excise stamp RM” and fluorescent fibers, have a different color and type of paper, and are torn easier.