The nongovernmental organizations need the public utility certificate now only if they rent property from the local public authorities so as to be exempted from paying rental based on it. The subject was discussed in a public debate staged at IPN.

According to the head of the National NGO Council Iuliana Cantaragiu, the utility certificate is asked from the NGOs, not yet from religious organizations. “They are considering amending the Law on Denominations so as to introduce the public utility certificate for these too or to remove it for NGOs as well,” she stated.

The chairman of the certification commission working under the Ministry of Justice Ruslan Berzoi said the NGOs are not required to specify the reason why they need a public utility certificate. The law specifies the advantages given by such a certificate. The public association that has such a certificate and has the status of public utility can benefit from a number of rights. Among the advantages is the possibility of fulfilling social orders placed by the state, participating in contests that finance particular activities, etc.

During the last five months, the commission received 76 applications from NGOs, 31 of which were rejected. Another 45 public associations were issued with the certificate. “The problem is that the NGOs that submit an application for the utility certificate do not know what documents they need to file exactly and the legal provisions. No decision not to provide the utility certificate has been challenged so far as the applicants understand that their files do not meet the law,” stated Ruslan Berzoi.

To get the public utility certificate, the NGOs must have worked for minimum a year and must have no debts to the state budget.