Thus, the new law has as an annex the list of objects for which the Compensatory Remuneration is paid, based on the tariff headings of the Combined Nomenclature of Goods. Previously, the law contained vague and uncertain wording regarding the items for which the Compensatory Remuneration is paid. Specifically, Article 26 of the former law listed a series of equipment and media, using the misleading phrase “etc.” at the end of the list. This phrase was open to extensive interpretation, but also open to challenge.

The new law also sets out the mechanism for informing collective management organisations about potential payers of compensation. Thus, the Customs Service informs AGEPI about the importers of the items on the list annexed to the law, and AGEPI in turn subsequently informs the Collective Management Organisations about these importers. Such a support and information mechanism was missing in the old law.

The third defining provision in the new law concerns the amount of the Consumer Remuneration. That is, a fixed amount of compensatory remuneration, equal to 0.3% for the equipment and material supports listed in the annex to the law, was indicated. Previously the law stated that this fee could exceed 3 per cent, as the old law used the phrase “at least”.

All these legislative changes have been discussed over 5 years on the Economic Council platform, with the participation of all parties involved in this process, which comes to establish a clear and mutually fair and beneficial mechanism in the collection and payment stages of the private copying remuneration.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

With the help of the Qualified Advanced Electronic Signature, representatives of the diaspora, including entrepreneurs, can interact with state authorities, economic agents or other citizens remotely – from their country of residence. This means they can submit online applications, apply for e-services, sign contracts with utility providers, and access a wide variety of other services for which they previously had to travel within the country.

For entrepreneurs who have a business in Moldova, and cannot be physically present here, the digital signature will help them to submit electronically signed reports and declarations to state institutions remotely. It is now also possible to remotely apply for permit documents, including signing business contracts and staff employment agreements via the Internet.

These services have also become available from outside Moldova after the Parliament adopted the first legislative package for the digitisation of the economy in November 2021. The document implements a whole series of key actions from the “Roadmap for boosting the process of digitisation of the national economy and development of e-commerce”, developed by the Ministry of Economy and the Economic Council to the Prime Minister, with the support of development partners (EBRD, IFC, USAID, GIZ, UK GGF).

The Economic Council is now working on a new legislative package that, among other things, will allow for the provision of a wide range of remote notarial services and the promotion of e-commerce.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

Once the new provisions enter into force, the Government must, within two months, bring its relevant legislation into line with the new amendments and adopt legislation to implement the law. With the support of UN Women, a number of proposals are being worked on, such as the law on childcare vouchers and the regulation on the organisation and operation of childcare services for children aged 0-3 provided by employers.
The need for the creation of Early Childhood Education Centres for employees’ children is promoted by UN Women Moldova, which has also raised the issue with the Prime Minister on the Economic Council platform. During the discussions with the business community and representatives of state institutions, it was mentioned that the opening of children’s centres in companies would encourage women to return to work before the end of their maternity leave.

Statistics show that in 2020 the employment rate of women aged 25-49 with at least one child of pre-school age is 35.5%, considerably lower than that of men, which is 64%. The same data show that on average about 16% of the total number of children aged 1-2 years are enrolled in early education institutions, which shows that such services in Moldova are still very few.

The topic is part of the Roadmap for Women’s Economic Empowerment, developed by the Secretariat of the Economic Council under the Prime Minister of Moldova, with the support of UN Women and with financial support from Sweden.

This set of legislative amendments aims to achieve maximum impact in the short term, focusing on legislative interventions that will stimulate remote interaction between Government, Business and Consumer.

The law voted today aims to adjust 29 pieces of legislation to overcome existing constraints that limit the possibilities for remote interaction, promoting digital services and electronic identity for entrepreneurs and citizens.

Thus the voted document will allow remote registration of a company, modification of the documents of incorporation or liquidation of the business. The possibility of using electronic signatures in employment relations between employer and employee, including the signing of remote employment contracts. Unilateral recognition of qualified advanced electronic signatures issued in EU countries and the possibility to interact with Moldovan authorities at a distance for diaspora and European investors. Possibility to obtain qualified advanced electronic signatures in Moldovan consulates abroad.

The legislative changes also allow the wide use of electronic documents and the strengthening of the provisions of the Law on electronic signature and electronic document for the benefit of citizens. Introduction of electronic power of attorney in relations with public authorities. Obligation of public institutions, first of all the Public Services Agency and municipalities, to receive electronic documents and issue various documents (decisions, certificates, extracts, permits, etc.) in electronic format as a priority.

At the same time, today’s amendments will make it easier to register remotely on the public procurement portal and subsequently to carry out electronic public procurement. The use of electronic documents in other areas of importance to business, including relations with public utility companies (natural gas, electricity, water/sewerage, communications, etc.). Eliminate notification and authorisation as a personal data operator. Extending the legal forms of expression of the citizen’s consent to the processing of personal data.

The package of amendments for the digitisation of the economy was drafted by the team of experts of the Economic Council to Prime Minister Nicolae Botan, Roman Ivanov, Ilona Panurco and Sergiu Bozianu.

The adoption of this draft law provides an appropriate technological response to a series of constraints and challenges for citizens and businesses in the context of the pandemic crisis. This will ensure that the advantages of remote digital interaction can be exploited without delay, in line with best practices that have become the norm in most technologically advanced countries.

The app has already been downloaded to mobile phones by several members of the Economic Council community, as well as by managers of Moldovan businesses.

BizRadar was developed at the initiative of the Economic Council Secretariat and is the first of its kind in Moldova. Through this software, members of the Economic Council and managers of private companies have the opportunity to keep abreast of the most important news on the regulatory framework in the economic field, participate in surveys on the state of affairs at the moment and challenges in different sectors of the national economy. Members of the BizRadar community can come up with proposals to overcome these problems, which will immediately reach the Government and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, this source being a short and efficient way of interaction to contribute and improve the decisions of the authorities on various topics related to the development of a favourable business environment.

BizRadar also offers the possibility to give appreciation to business interaction with state institutions. Based on the provided estimates, an overall score of the institutions will be formed to measure the performance of their activity and motivate the state authorities to continuously improve their services, thus contributing to the development of the business climate in the country.

Through the App, entrepreneurs can also, without revealing their identity, report abuses of power by state institutions.

All the information in the application will be processed by the Secretariat of the Economic Council, which will analyse it and bring it to the attention of the institutions, which have difficulties in communicating with the business community. These developments will be kept under constant review by the Prime Minister and the Government.

Until now, for economic agents, this process of payments to the state involved the collection of handwritten signatures on the invoice and the delegation of the responsible person to the bank to make the payment. The Economic Council to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, promotes the implementation of the topics in the Roadmap for the digitalization of the economy and the promotion of electronic commerce.

One of the actions of the document is to facilitate the implementation of MPay payment solutions through internet banking services for legal entities and to examine the possibilities of integrating alternative fintech services with MPay. In order to promote this topic, the Secretariat of the Economic Council organized a series of consultations between the National Bank of Moldova and the E-Government Agency with business associations and economic agents.

Through the MPay service, public services can be paid both with the bank card and through internet banking. The MPay service has been available since 2013.

30 December 2020 – Mobile operators have been paying the so-called “luxury” tax, or as it is officially called, the mobile phone tax since 2000. It was then set up to tax high-income people who could afford to buy a mobile phone, considered a luxury in those days. The subject was also discussed at the Economic Council, when the mobile operators declared that this 2.5% fee makes the services provided to the population more expensive.

The topic was brought up to date this summer by economic agents, when experts from the Economic Council Secretariat prepared the COVID Pandemic Impact Study on Economic Sectors and the Policy Matrix, supported by the EBRD, the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and by the International Finance Corporation. Thus, the experts recommended to the authorities to permanently eliminate this tax, which has become a fiscal anachronism, which could lead to reduced tariffs for mobile telephony service or the launch of new mobile telephony services that would facilitate the remote use of other services and e-commerce.

The idea of the experts of the Secretariat of the Economic Council was partially taken over by the authorities. Thus, at the end of 2020, the Parliament by approving the fiscal budget policy reduces the luxury tax for mobile operators, starting with 2022, from 2.5% to 1.5%.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

Many countries in the region such as Bulgaria, Romania and Austria have opted to reduce the VAT rate in the HORECA sector either for a specified period, for example from 2020 to 2021, or for an unlimited period.

In the middle of 2020, the Secretariat of the Economic Council supported by the EBRD, the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation prepares the Impact Study of the COVID pandemic on the economic sectors and the Policy Matrix. During this exercise, the experts spoke directly with representatives of economic sectors, including HORECA. One of the demands of companies in this field was to reduce the VAT rate.

Thus, the experts proposed in the Matrix with policies for the recovery of economic sectors, the reduction of the VAT rate for HORECA from 15% to 12%.

In 2019 the Parliament reduced the VAT rate for HORECA from 20% to 10%. According to the conclusions of the Impact Study of the COVID pandemic on the economic sectors and the Matrix with policies, the HORECA sector registered in 2019 double revenues from sales – from 215 to 469 million lei. Moreover, this measure contributed to the start of the process of “whitening” the sector, substantially increasing sales through accounting. Subsequently, the VAT rate was increased again, reaching 15% this year.

The deadline for applying these facilities expires in 2020. The business associations in the field addressed this topic during the elaboration by the Secretariat of the Economic Council of the Impact Study of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic sectors. The document was supported by the EBRD, UK Government’s Good Governance Fund and the International Finance Corporation.

Within this research, a Matrix with economic recovery policies was developed. Among the proposed measures is the extension of the application of the fiscal facilities to the income tax provided for the employees whose basic activity is “realization of programs”, approved by Parliament.

These benefits will be reflected on about 1000 non-resident IT companies of the IT park with about 6000 employees. The turnover of these companies amounts to about 3 billion lei.

The government is taking such action to ensure a predictable business environment and ensure a favorable investment climate in the information technology industry, but also because it wants to help increase the number of these specialists in Moldova.

The total amount of revenues from the provision of ICT services in 2019 is 860 million US dollars. There are 1,687 companies operating in the Moldovan IT industry.

In the summer of 2020, the Secretariat of the Economic Council prepared the Impact Study of the COVID pandemic on the economic sectors and the Policy Matrix.

In this document, developed based on the recommendations of the business community, it was proposed to fully deduct and disregard as a facility granted by the employer the expenses incurred by the company to ensure the fight against COVID or ensure compliance with the rules to prevent the spread of COVID.