Although some measures included in the draft fiscal and customs policy for 2023 are welcome and necessary, they are often vaguely formulated, while risks for corruption are not considered seriously enough. This is one of the conclusions made by experts at the Expert-Grup think tank, who also came up with a series of recommendations.

One issue examined is the proposal to extend patent-based trade until July 2023. According to Expert-Grup, this provisional solution for small vendors to practice entrepreneurial activity legally has been extended over and over with various justifications and continues to exist 20 years on. The persistence of patent-based trade is worrying, given that it allows for acts of tax evasion, avoidance of reporting, avoidance of controls, but also for the sale of contraband and counterfeit goods. Experts believe that this term must be definitive and stop being extended. At the same time, the Government should develop a program to encourage patent holders to change their registration form, install payment terminals, organize accounting, etc.

Expert-Grup welcomes the implementation from 2023 of VAT refund when the VAT paid by businesses for buying raw materials, fixed assets and the like exceeds the VAT collected on sales. However, despite all the beneficial effects for businesses, the amendment is formulated much too succinctly and does not detail the concrete way of administering this refund, therefore, in the proposed wording, the provision could be used for tax evasion.

The experts believe that the increase in the excise duty on alcohol and tobacco products must be accompanied by measures to combat smuggling and illegal manufacturing and trade. For example, it is necessary to speed up the approval and implementation of a national tracking and tracing system for tobacco products, eliminate trade based on entrepreneurial patents, tighten sanctions for smuggling, and carry out thorough investigations on this subject. It would also be useful to negotiate with the Transnistrian de facto authorities a common approach to excise duties.