Representatives of patent holders said the assertion that 95% of the patentees switched over to another form of activity is not true as the process in ATU Gagauzia hasn’t even started. They demand that Minister of Economic Development and Digitization Dumitru Alaiba should report in Parliament on the implementation of the changes related to the annulment of the entrepreneur’s patent for retail trade and the switchover to other forms of activity.

In a news conference hosted by IPN, Eleonora Țurcanu-Herghelegiu, a patent holder, said that Minister Alaiba lies when he says that 95% of the patentees started to practice another form of activity. In Gagauzia, the patentees didn’t comply and didn’t purchase a cash register as the local authorities were receptive to their problems. The patent holders from other localities should also be heard by the local authorities, but all the mayors were afraid to state their opinion before the central authorities.

Eleonora Țurcanu-Herghelegiu noted that the switchover to other forms of activity was imposed by force, blackmail and attack on older persons and persons with disabilities. “These people were intimidated and forced to purchase one more health policy and no one refunded them so far,” she stated. According to her, many people decide to leave the country. Hundreds of people were deprived of the right to survive, of the right to work and this is outrageous.

Patent holder Olga Chapki, local and town councilor, said the patent reform failed. The persons who decided not to comply with this irrational law are blackmailed, sued. Minister Dumitru Alaiba lies when he says that only 700 patentees didn’t comply as he forgets about those from Gagauzia. The traders from the districts of Edineț, Ștefan Vodă, Căușeni, Bălți and many from Chisinau didn’t comply.

Starting with August 28, the patentees’ initiative group wrote letters to the President, the Parliament, the Government, the National Center for Personal Data Protection, the Ombudsman, the U.S. Embassy, the EU Delegation to Moldova and other institutions. Only the National Center for Personal Data Protection reacted as the sales slip issued in accordance with the new rules contains personal data and this is unacceptable, said the two patent holders.

Note: IPN News Agency offers the right of reply to persons who consider they were touched by the news items produced based on statements made by the organizers of the given news conference, including by facilitating the organization of another news conference in similar conditions.