RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4* 
15 September 2000 
 (00-3635) 
Working Party on the 
Accession of Moldova  
 
DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY  
ON THE ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA  
 
Revision1 
I.  INTRODUCTION 
1. The Government of Moldova applied for accessi on to the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade (GATT 1947) in November 1993. Having re gard to the decision adopted by the General 
Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 31 January 1995, the existing Working Party on 
the Accession of Moldova was transformed into  a WTO Accession Working Party. The terms of 
reference and the membership of the Wo rking Party were reproduced in document 
WT/ACC/MOL/7/Rev.2. 
2. The Working Party met on 17 June 1997, 18 March 1998, 16 April, 19 July 1999 and 
[…………………..] 2000 under the chairmanship of Mr. M. Kumar (India).  
II.  DOCUMENTATION 
3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime of Moldova (WT/ACC/MO L/2 and Addenda 1 and 2) and the questions 
submitted by Members of the foreign trade regime of  Moldova, together with the replies thereto 
WT/ACC/MOL/3 and Corr.1, Add.1, Add.1/Corr .1 and Add.2; WT/ACC/MOL/4 and Add.1 and 
Corr.1; WT/ACC/MOL/8 and Add.1; WT/A CC/MOL/9 and Add.1, WT/ACC/MOL/11, 
WT/ACC/MOL/25, WT/ACC/MOL28 and WT/ACC/MOL/ 30 and other information provided by the 
Moldovan authorities (WT/ACC/MOL/5, WT/ACC/MOL/6, WT/ACC/MOL/10, WT/ACC/MOL12-
24, WT/ACC/MOL26-27, WT/ACC/M OL/29 and WT/ACC/MOL/31). The Government of Moldova 
made available to the Working Party the following documents: 
-  Laws and Resolutions 
− Law "On the Customs Code" - No. 1321–XII of 9 March 1993; 
− Law "On Amendments to the Customs Code "- No. 44-XIII of 12 April 1994; 
− Law "On Sanitary and Epidemiological Protec tion of the Population" - No.1513-XII of 
16 June 1993; 
− Law "On Foreign Investments" - No. 998–XII of 1 April 1992; 
                                                      
* In English  and French only. 
1 New text is indicated in bold typescript and deleted text with strike-through. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 − Laws "On Amendments to the Law on Fo reign Investments" - No. 197-XIII of 27 
July1994, No. 92-XIII of 11 May 1994, No. 321–XII of 13 December 1994; 
− Law "On the Government " - No. 64-XII of 31 May 1990; 
− Law "On Export and Import Regulation of Goods and Services" - No. 188-XII of 26 
July 1990; which was abrogated through the Law “ On State Regulation of foreign 
Trade Activity ”; 
− Law "On Banks and Banking Activity" - No. 601-XII of 12 June1991, which was 
abrogated through the Law “On Financial Institution”; 
− Law “On Financial Institution” – No.550-XIII of 21 July 1995; 
− Law "On the National Bank of Moldova" - No. 599-XII of 11 June 1991 (with 
amendments); 
− Law "On Foreign Economic Activity" – No . 849-XII of 3 January 1992, which was 
abrogated through the Law “ On State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activity ”; 
− Law  “On State Regulation of the Fo reign Trade Activity” approved by 
Parliament in 5 June 2000;  
− Law “On State Budget 1999; 
− Law “On Licensing Certain Types of Ac tivities” – No.332-XII of 26 March 1999; 
− Law "On Cooperation" - No. 864-XII of 16 January 1992; 
− Law "On Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activity" - No. 845-XII of 3 January 1992 
(with amendments); 
− Law "On Insurance" - No. 1508-XII of 15 June 1993 (with amendments); 
− Law "On Consumers Rights Security"- No. 1453-XII of 25 May 1993; 
− Law "On Limitation of the Monopoly Activitie s and Development of Competition" - 
No.906-XII of 29 February 1992; 
− Law "On Amendments to the Legislative Acts" - No. 51-XIII of 14 April 1994;  
− Law "On Legal Status of Foreigners and Pers ons without Citizenship in the Republic, of 
Moldova" - No.276-XIII of 10 November 1994; 
− Law "On Entry and Stay in the Republic of Moldova of Foreigners and Persons without 
Citizenship" – No. 269-XII of 9 November 1994; 
− Law "On Excise tax" - No. 347-XII of 27 December 1994; 
− Law "On VAT " - No. 264-XII of 9 December 1995; 
− Law "On Audit" - No. 729-XIII of 15 February 1996; 
− Law "On Rent"- No. 861-XII of 14 January 1992; 
− 
Law "On Employment"- No. 878–XII of 16 January 1992; 
− Law "On Accounting" - No. 426 of 4 April 1995; 
− Law “On Standardization” – No. 590-XIII of 22 September 1995, a mended by the 
Law 919-XIV of 12April 2000; 
− Law “On Certification” – 652-XIV of 28 October 1999;  
− Law “On Technical Barriers to Trade” – no. 866-XIV of 10 March 2000;  
− Amendments to the Law on the Protection of Industrial Designs No. 991-XIII of 
15 October 1996;  
− Law “On Trademarks and Appellations of Origin” - No. 588-XIII of 
22 September 1995; 
− Law “On Copyright and Neighboring Rights” - No. 293-XIII of 
23 November 1994, amended by the Law no. 29-XIV of 28 May 1998; 
− Law “On Patents for Inventions” - No. 461-XIII of 18 May 1995; 
− Law “On Audiovisual Services” – No.603-XIII of 3 October 1995; 
− Law “On Plant Variety Protection” – No. 915 of 11 July 1996; 
− Law “On the Protection of Industrial De signs” – No. 991-XIII of 15 October 1996; 
− Law “On Amending Various laws on Indust rial Protection Rights”, July 2000;  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 3 
 
 
 − Law “On Securities” – No .1427-XIII of 18 May 1993; 
− Law “On Commercial Secrets” - No. 171-XIII of 6 July 1994; 
− Law “On Bases of Tax System” – No .1198-XII of 17 November 1992; 
− Law “On Profit Tax of the Enterprise s” – No.1214-XII of 2 December 1992; 
− Law “On the Road Fund” - No. 720-XIII of 2 February 1996; 
− Law “On Customs Tariff” – No.1380-XIII of 20 November 1997; 
− Law “On Budget 1998” – No. 1446-XII of 27 December 1997; 
− Law “On Vineyard and Vine” - No. 131-XIII of 2 July 1994; 
− Law “On Veterinary Activity” - No. 1538-XII of 23 June 1993; 
− Law “On Privatization Program for 1997- 1998” - No. 1217-XIII of 25 June 1997, 
(amended by Laws No.1566-XIII of 26 Febr uary 1998; No.187-XIII of 6 November 
1998; No.237-XIV of 23 December 1998; No. 239-XIV of 23December 1998 and No. 253-XIV of 24 December 1998; 
− Law “On Phytosanitary Quarantine” - No. 506-XIII of 22 June 1995; 
− Law “On Government Procurement” - No. 1166-XII of 30 May 1997; and  
− Law “On Free Enterprise Zone "Expo-Business-Chisinau" - No. 625-XIII of 3 
November 1995, amended by 1 517-XIII of 18 February 1998; 
− Annex 5 to the Law No. 390-XIII of 15 March 1995 “On the State Privatization 
Program for 1995-1996”. 
 
− Law and Agreements on local authorities 
 
− Law On the Legal Status of Gagauz ia (Gagauz-Yeri) - No. 344-XIII of 
23 December 1994; 
− Memorandum on the Basis for Normalization of Relations between the Republic of 
Moldova and Transnistria si gned in Moscow on 8 May 1997; 
− Agreement on the organizational basis of so cial-economical colla boration between the 
Republic of Moldova and Transnistr ia signed on 10 November 1997.  
 
− Decrees 
 
− Decree "On the Promulgation of the 1995 Finance Act"; 
− Decree "On the Promulgation of the 1996 Finance Act"; 
− Decree of the Parliament No. 1430-KP of 18 May 1993 Concerning the Introduction of 
the Securities Operations Tax Law. 
 
− 
Decisions and Instructions and other legislative acts 
 
− Governmental Decision No.740 of 2 Novemb er 1995 "On preventing the illicit sales of 
chemical and biological products  intended to be used in agriculture and forestry on the 
territory of the Republic of Moldova"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 371 of 6 June  1995 "On Improving the Mechanism of 
Regulating External Economic Relations"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 340 of 2 June  1993 "On the Approval of Basic Rules 
regarding to Structure of  production and Realization expenditure s of Goods (Works, 
Services), included in its price Cost and mode of Forming of Financial Outcomes of 
Enterprises"; 
− Summary "On the Order of Calculation of the Tax on Banks and the Order of Payment 
of It to the Budget (16 January 1994)”; WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 − Government Decision No. 859 of 13 August 1998 “On Licensing Certain Types of 
Activities”, which was abrogated thorough  the Law No.332 of 26 March 1999 “On 
Licensing Certain Types of Activities”;  
− Governmental Decision No. 1154 of 15 De cember 1997 “On Optimization of Control 
Services Activity at State Customs”, amended by Governmental Decisions No.168 of 16 February 1998; No. 112 2 February 1999; 
− Government Decision No. 760 of 10 Nove mber 1995 “On Production of Wine and 
Other Wine Products with Appellation of Origin”; 
− Government Decision No. 378 of 22 June 1998 “On the Veterinary Statute of the 
Republic of Moldova”; 
− Government Decision No. 777 of 13 August 1998 “On Improving the Mechanism of 
Regulating Foreign Trade (Import Licensing)”amended by the Government Decision No. 76 of 22 January 1998 and Governme nt Decision No. 716 of 30 June 1998; 
− Government Decision No. 697 of 10 Oct ober 1995 “On the Establishment of State 
Services of Phytosanitary Quarantine”, amended by Governmental Decision no. 
408 of 27 April 2000 ; 
− Penal Code Art. 141 "Violation of copyright",  Art. 512 "Violation of property right on 
intellectual property"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 659 of 15 Septem ber 1994 "On the Issue and Turnover of 
Bills"; 
− Governmental Decision No.719 of 23 September 1994 "On the Ministry of 
Telecommunications and Informatics"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 363 of 25 June 1996 “On the Organization of 
Standardization and Me trology Activities”;  
− Governmental Decision No. 713 of 23 Oc tober 1995 "On the copyright owner's 
remuneration for the use of copyright and neighboring rights"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 494 of 17 July 1995 "On the establishment of a provisional 
National Register of Computer Software"; 
− Governmental Decision No. 524 of 24 July 1995 "On the administration on a collective 
basis of patrimonial rights of holders of neighboring rights"; 
− Governmental Decision "On the accession to  the World Convention on Copyright" (6 
Sep. 1952); 
− Governmental Decision "On the accession to the Convention for the Protection of 
Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Companies" (Rome 1961); 
− Governmental Decision "On the accession to the Bern Convention for the Protection of 
Literary and Artistic Works" (Paris Act 1971); 
− Governmental Decision No. 743 of 31 Decem ber 1996 “On the Statute of the State 
Agency on Industrial Property Protection of Moldova”; 
− Governmental Decision no.423 of 3 May 2000 “On the approval of the Rules on 
sanitary-epidemiological State supervision in the Republic of Moldova”, which 
replaces Governmental Decision no.816 of December 1995 ; 
− Governmental Decision “On the implemen tation and fulfillment of commitments 
taken by the Republic of Moldova in th e process of accession to the  WTO”;  
− Provisional Statute on Industrial Property Protection of Moldova; 
− Provisional Statute on Pate nt Attorneys of Moldova; 
− Instructions on Compiling and Filing of Applications for Granting Patents on Invention; 
− Instructions on Compiling and Filing of Applications for the Registration of Utility 
Models; 
− Instructions on Compiling and Filing of Applications for the Registration of 
Trademarks and Service Marks;  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 5 
 
 
 − Instructions on Compiling and Filing of Applications for the Registration of 
Applications of Origin of Goods; 
− Instructions for the Application of the Pr ovisional Statute for Industrial Property 
Protection in Moldova Concerning Inventions on which the Patent on the Responsibility 
of the Applicator is Requested and Instruc tion for the Application of the Provisional 
Statute for Industrial Property Protection  in Moldova Concerni ng Industrial Designs; 
− Instructive-methodical indications of the Ministry of Finance regarding to the State 
sanitary control of imported food produ cts and raw materials, No.3177-84;  
− Medico-biological requirement s and sanitary rules with regard to imported food 
products and raw materials, Decision No. 5061-89 of the Ministry of Health;  
− Concepts of Tax Reform; 
− Governmental Decision No.99 of 27 Fe bruary 1996 “On Customs Valuation”; 
− Governmental Decision No.658 of 20 Septem ber 1995 “On the Mechanism of Public 
Procurement”, abrogated by Law no.1217-XIV of 31 December 1997 on National 
Agency for Government Procurement; 
− Rules of the Ministry of Finance “On the Is sue of Licenses for Insurance Services”; 
− List of Companies Registered in the State Register as Major Domestic Producers; 
− List of Products for which certification is permitted on the basis of manufacturers 
declarations; 
- Annex No. 3 of Government Decision No. 414 dated 13 July 1994 "List of products, 
subject to mandatory certification"; 
- Rules on the Protections of the Republic of  Moldova Territory Against the Entry or 
Introduction from other Countries of Quarantin ed Pests, Pathogenic Agents of Plants 
Diseases and Weeds:  
− List of Internal and External State Guarantees; and 
− List of enterprises in which the State still owns over 25 per cent. 
 
− Draft laws and regulations 
 
− Draft Law on Anti-dumping, Countervailing Duties and Safeguard Measures; 
− Draft Customs Code (Chapters II-XII);  
− Draft Law on Utility Models; 
− Law on Customs Tariff, included draft am endments approved by the Parliament 
in first reading, July 2000; 
− Draft Governmental Decision “On pre-shipment inspection of imported goods”;  
− Draft Amendments to the Law on Consum er Rights Protection No. 153-XII of 25 
May 1993;  
− Draft Law on Certification;  
− Draft Amendment to  the Law on Standardization No. 590 -XII of 22 September 1995;  
− Draft Law on Technical Barriers to Trade;  
− Draft Amendments to the Law on the Pr otection of Industrial Designs No. 991 -XIII of 
15 October 1996;  
− Draft Government Decision “On the special provision s regarding the border measures 
on Protection Industrial Property”. [The provisions of this Decision were included in 
the new Customs Code] 
− Draft Amendments to the Government  Decision No. 697 of 10 October 19 95 “On 
Supplement to the Statute of the State Ser vices on Phytosanitary Quarantine”.  
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 − Free Trade Agreements and other Agreements: 
 
− Armenia; 
− Azerbaijan; 
− Belarus; 
− Kazakstan; 
− Kyrgyz Republic; 
− Romania; 
− Russian Federation; 
− Turkmenistan; 
− Ukraine; 
− Uzbekistan; 
− Trade Agreement Between the Government  of the Republic of Moldova and the 
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; 
− Moldova-European Community Interim Ag reement On Commer ce and Commercial 
Affairs and Agreements for coal, steel and atomic energy; 
− Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Moldova 
on Trade in Textile Products, initi aled at Brussels on 14 May 1993 
Introductory statements 
4. In an introductory statement, th e representative of Moldova said that since the declaration of 
independence Moldova had been vi gorously pursuing free market reforms within a democratic 
framework, notwithstanding political and econo mic difficulties. Cons iderable progresses in 
transforming a centrally planned economy to a ma rket-based economy have been achieved. Fuller 
integration into the world economy and the continui ng diversification of Mo ldova’s economic relations 
with other countries were central objectives of th e Government’s reform efforts. The Government of 
Moldova believed that these objectives could only be attained through trade policies that emphasized 
specialization on the basis of international comparativ e advantage. It was for this reason that Moldova 
attached priority to its accessi on to WTO and wished to complete negotiations for membership at the 
earliest opportunity.  
5. The Constitution of Moldova adopted by the Parl iament in July 1994 stated: "The economy of 
the country is market and society oriented, based on private and public property and free competition". 
Article I states that Moldova is a democratic State regulated by Law. Article 9 ensures private property rights and Article 126 defines the gene ral characteristics of the economy as socially oriented and based 
on private and public property right s and free market principles. The representative of Moldova noted 
that Moldova continued to be a country in tran sition whose economy was undergoing a process of 
structural adjustment in order to correct an excessive dependence on pr imary production. Initially 
inflation had been brought down to an average monthl y rate of 1.1 per cent in April 1996 from 32 per 
cent in February 1993. The budget deficit in 1995 had amounted to 4.9 per cent of GDP. The exchange 
rate of the Moldovan Leu (MDL), introduced in 1993,  was approximately MDL 4.5 to the US dollar in  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 7 
 
 
 May 1995. Following a period of stabilization in the first quarter of the 1999, the currency had again 
come under pressure in May/June depreciating st eadily to around MDL 12 per US dollar, before 
recovering somewhat to around MDL 11 per US doll ar in early July 1999. This situation was linked 
with the financial crisis in the region and current  developments in financial markets. By mid-1999 the 
value of the Moldovan Leu had dropped by more that 65 per cent against the US dollar, giving rise to an 
acceleration of inflation. Since end-1999 the exchange rate had been stable at around MDL 12 per 
US dollar. Nevertheless, the real a nd financial shock from the economic crisis in Russia and in the 
region had continued to weigh heavily on the Mold ovan economy, as evidenced by the collapse of 
exports by 35 per cent in the first half of 1999. De spite these difficulties the authorities were 
convinced of the appropriateness of a free, market-determined floating exchange rate regime, and remained committed to maintaining current international transactions free of any restrictions 
that could run counter to its obligations under Arti cle VIII, section 2, 3, a nd 4 of the IMF Articles 
of Agreement.  
6. Members of the Working Party welcomed Mol dova's application for accession to the WTO, 
noting that Moldova had been pursuing economic re form and trade liberalization decisively. They 
expressed strong support for the early accession of Moldova on the basis of comprehensive market-
access commitments and the early implementation of the WTO Agreements. 
III.  ECONOMIC POLICES 
- Monetary and fiscal policies 7. In response to requests for information, the re presentative of Moldova said that all the key 
sectors, namely agriculture, manufacturing industry  and construction had registered a decline of 
output in 1999 compared to a  similar period in 1998. Private agriculture was becoming increasingly 
important in Moldova, so was farming restructuring. The information for the first half of 1998 showed 
that the number of registered companies with forei gn participation had been rising quite fast. Figures 
for 1998 showed that the employment level had dro pped by 7.4 per cent compared to a year earlier. 
This was a further decline over the first half of  1998. Agriculture and manufacturing had shown a 
decline of 11 per cent over the same period, with wholesale and retail trade at 15.5 per cent and construction at 16.6 per cent lower than a year ago. The dependence on imported goods and services 
had been steadily decreasing, from  64 per cent of the GDP in 1997  to 51 per cent in 1999. In 1999, 
the trade deficit had reached the amount  of US$123,08 million compared to US$388.09 
millionsin 1998 . The share of imports from non
-CIS countries had increased, particularly with regard 
to machinery and equipment. Trade with CIS countries had been showing a reverse pa ttern. The trade 
deficit with non -CIS countries during 1998 ha d reached US$363.8 million.  In 1998, the total external WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 8  
 
 debt had reached US$1.3
 billion .  In 1999 the total external debt amounted to US$1 billion, 
recording a slight decrease of the stock by 2 p er cent as compared to 1998. However, in 1999 the 
Republic of Moldova engaged in a buy-back of the bonds issued in favour of Gazprom in the 
amount of US$140 million and in 2000 restructured the loans provided by Russia and the supplier credits provided by AKA, KFW etc., on favourable terms. This significantly improved 
Moldova’s debt profile. Presently, the Republic of Moldova is current on its external obligations and has no arrears.  The accumulated arrears on the government’s debt servicing had risen to 
US$68.4 million by the end of 1998. He explaine d that State budgetary expenditure had increased 
because payments were transferred from the budget of the Central Government to the budgets of local 
authorities and not became of subsidies to enterprises. Local  authorities did not have the right to grant 
subsidies.   
8. The representative of Moldova added that the G overnment was no longer granting credits to 
economic agents. However, the Government was providing loan guarantees, issued against a risk premium of at least 5 per cent of the principal amount of the loan, which was paid into the Risk Fund. State guarantees could only be issued up to a total value not exceeding the amount in the Risk Fund 
set up by the Law on State Debt and State Guarantees (No. 943-XIII of 18 July 1996). Contributions 
to the Risk Fund were drawn fro m the Budget and from beneficiaries of State guarantees. In 1997 LEI 
75 million had been issued as internal guarantees and US$ 5 million  as external ones. In 1998 the 
amount of LEI 100 million had been issued as internal guarantees and the amount of US$39 million as 
external guarantees for the EBRD loans. It was exp ected that with the ongoing privatisation of the 
energy sector, the contributions of the Budget to the Risk Fund would be phased out. The issuance of 
the State guarantees was not linked to export performance or import substitution requirements . Since 
1999, the Law on State Budget prohibits the issuance of state guarantees and no external 
guarantee has been issued since that time.  
9. The representative of Moldova noted that 1998 had been a very difficult year for Moldova. 
By the last quarter of 1998, the combination of w eak public finances, a problematic energy sector, and 
the fall of the Russian market produ ced an acute economic crisis in the country.  Both endogenous 
factors such as, weak fiscal policies and poor energy sector management, and exogenous factors, 
such as the financial crisis in Russia had a negative impact on the Moldovan economy.  Capital 
flight, a depreciating exchange rate, a significant decrease of international reserves  that fell to 
critically low levels , rising expenditure arrears and budget deficit  financing through central bank 
credit, characterized the crisis. There was an economic decline  in 1998, of 8.5 per cent and  stood at 
MDL 8,804 million , largely because of the severe impact on ex ports of the crisis in Russia. Both 
industrial and agricultural output dropped in 1998. At the same time, final consumption constituted  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 9 
 
 
 more than 102 per cent of GDP, with the trade deficit growing  decreasing from  26,4 % per cent of 
GDP in 1998 to 14,82 per cent in 1999. In 1999 was the first year since independence when both  
export and import volumes register ed a reduction, exports by 27,1 per cent and imports by 42,6 per 
cent as compared with 1998 . The pattern of trade had changed w ith exports to CIS countries in the 
second half of 1998 only one half the levels  recorded during the same period of 1997.  
10. Years of easy financing, especially foreign, a nd slow and incomplete structural reforms had 
resulted in excessive budget deficits and increased indebtedness of the public sector. The figures for 
the 1998 budget had proved unrealistic and had called for considerable re visions. In the second half of 
1998, the Government had to cut spending in order to ensure the resumption of drawings from IMF and to accommodate its limited financing options . The drastic reduction in spending was also 
necessitated by the sharper than expected reduction in real output and therefore of revenue inflows. A 
large item of payment was the public debt service, which in 1998 reached MDL 421.2 million 
including MDL 182.4 million for external debt servicing. The share of public debt service in the consolidated budget expenditure increased to 13.9 pe r cent in 1998. Capital investment, by contrast, 
had remained at a stagnant, low proportion of  public expenditure. Both 1998 and 1999 were 
considered as years with exceptionally high debt-service payments. In December 1998 Moldova 
managed to repay the principal of a Merill Lynch private placement. In 1999 Moldova had been due
 
managed to repay considerable amounts on its  Eurobonds (US$7.45 million) and to make a 
successful buy back of Gazprom bonds (US$140 million).  The debt payment to Gazprom was 
missed.   
11. In view of this difficult situation the Gove rnment and the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) 
sought to stabilise the economy and avoid an infla tionary spiral and further depreciation of the 
currency, continue restructuring and therefore resume growth, avoid a default on treasury bill 
redemption, renegotiate as necessarily external debt a nd any external debt arrears, and create a stable 
and credible policy environment to restore c onfidence and growth. The 1999 budget that was 
approved by Parliament in December 1998 called fo r spending cuts in all major areas. [It met the 
IMF’s fiscal austerity requirements, and opened th e way for resuming IMF funding. In January 1999 
the IMF released a US$35 million tranche from a three -year EFF. However, this budget was built on 
the assumption of one per cent growth in real output in 1999, and an average exchange rate of MDL 
11 per US$1. Both assumptions may prove to  have been overly optimistic. In mid -January 1999 the 
National Bank of Moldova approved a monetary and credit policy for 1999.] The target of the 
National Bank of Moldova’s monetary and credit policy for 2000 is to reduce the inflation rate  
by 41 per cent to 15 per cent.  The program envisages that by the end of 2000 the money supply 
should be increasing by 2% per cent and reach the level of MDL 2,54 billion, monetary base to WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 10  
 
 the level of MDL 1,34 billion, and the volume of  lending that goes directly to the national 
economy by 17,3 per cent to the level of MDL 2 billion.  In order to implement this it was 
planned to diminish the bank liquidity ratio from 0,82 to 0,80 and to gradually reduce the legal  
reserve ratio back to 8 per cent from 15 per cent. Th e last measure became necessary in order to ease 
the pressure on an already fragile banking system. As  a result of resumed IMF lending, international 
reserves had risen, and were expected to rise ag ain with disbursement of $35 million from the World 
Bank. The low levels of reserves would force the NBM to continue its non
-intervention policy, and its 
relative inability to protect the MDL against fur ther pressure. Since reaching its low point in 
December 1998, the MDL had succeeded in re maining relatively stable. through January and 
February 1999. Nevertheless in Ma rch one could observe the cash ex change rate to decline much 
faster than the official r ate, plunging to MDL 10.3 per US$1. This made it evident that the MDL 
remained vulnerable to shocks, either due to debt cr isis in Moldova or to further real depreciation in 
the currencies of its major trading partners.  Despite the fact that the inflows effected from 
multilateral financial institutions in 2000 did not occur, the National Bank of Moldova managed 
to consolidate its international reserves at a leve l sufficient to meet the country’s external 
obligations and maintain them below USD$200 millio n the level reached at the end of 1999. The 
depreciation of Moldovan Leu in 1999 was less than  in 1998. However, an absolute avoidance of 
national currency depreciation was not possibl e. In 1999 the nominal depreciation of the Leu 
exchange rate was 28,2 per cent as compared to 44 per cent in 1998. In real terms, due to purely 
floating exchange rate regime, the purchasing power parity between US dollar and Moldovan 
Leu was maintained, the exchange rate neith er depreciated no appreciated. In 1999 the real 
exchange rate was 100,5 per cent, indicating 0, 5 per cent real appreciation, as compared to 35 
per cent of real depreciation in the previous year. 
12. The representative  of Moldova further noted that in 2000 external debts had reached US$ 
1 (one) billion or approximately 89,6 per cent of  GDP. Despite the fact that debt-servicing 
difficulties were severe,  the Republic of Moldova managed to pay its external obligations and 
restructure the external arrears. (already mentioned in the first quarter of 1999 Moldova had 
missed a principal payment to Gazprom).  However, further external financing was essential, and 
Moldova was seeking alternative sources of financin g. The EU had made EUR 15 million available. 
At was anticipated that the World Bank would provide up to US$60 million, including US$35 million from a structural adjustment program suspende d in 1997, and a further US$25 million through the 
International Development Association. The Govern ment intended to use some of the privatization 
receipts from the sale of Moldtelecom etc. towards debt repayment. The Government of the Republic 
of Moldova, IMF, World Bank and other partners will develop jointly a poverty reduction strategy 
program, documented in a joint pove rty reduction strategy paper.    WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 11 
 
 
 - Foreign exchange and payments systems 
 13. In response to questions, the representative of Moldova informed that the national currency 
- 
the MDL - was convertible.  On June 30, 1995 Moldova accepted the obligations of Article VIII, 
Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the International Mone tary Fund Articles of Agreement that allow the 
liberalisation of current foreign exchange operations.  De facto, this means the convertibility of 
the national currency - Leu that permits legal entities to buy and sell freely currency for all 
current international transactions a nd also for some capital operations.  However, due to the 
growing demand for foreign exchange the National Ba nk of Moldova decided that the exchange rate 
would be calculated as a weighted average rate of all transactions in foreign currencies concluded by 
commercial banks. There were restrictions on foreig n exchange and transactions in foreign currency 
were subject to the National Bank's foreign exch ange regulations. Enterprises in Moldova which 
receive foreign currency had to transfer it to their ac counts with an authorized bank no later than 90 
days from the date of the receipt of the money and no later than 180 days from the date of the customs 
declaration confirming the export of goods or delivery of services . According to the “Regulations on 
repatriation of money means, goods and services gained from foreign economic transactions” 
adopted by the Parliament as on 29 January 1998 terms of repatriation are as follows: i) in contracts of Import of goods and services, payments  shall be repatriated within 90 days as from 
the settlement date; ii) export contracts provide  the following repatriation terms: 90 days for 
strategic goods; 180 days for other goods; 1 (one) year for goods exported in commission 
regime, as from the date of goods delivery. Ther e are no restrictions regarding the number of 
bank accounts owned by economic agents in  foreign currency as well as in MDL. 
If enterprises 
bought foreign exchange at the Interbank currency ex change and did not use it to carry out payments 
abroad within 30 days  from the date of purchase the sum would have to be offered for sale through the 
authorized bank . If during 7 banking days, from the moment of foreign currency purchase by 
resident legal entities, these entities did not ut ilize the purchased currency for settlements with 
non-residents, these legal entities, except for author ized banks, shall be obligated to offer it for 
sale to one of the authorized banks after expiration of the set up deadline. Foreign Legal entities 
may open accounts in Moldovan Leu without an authorization by the National Bank of 
Moldova.  Non-resident legal entities from CIS countries have the right to open accounts in 
Moldovan Leu only with the permission of th e Central Bank of the corresponding state. 
 
14. Moldova became a member of the IMF on Augus t 12, 1992 after the payment of its initial 
quota presently 123,2 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The representative of Moldova noted 
that Moldova was a member of the IMF and had accept ed the obligations of Article VIII of the IMF 
Articles of Agreement. Moldova met the Fund st andards of current account  convertibility and had WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 12  
 
 received assistance from the IMF in the area of monetary policy. A Memorandum on a program of co-
operation with the IMF was signed on 3 April 1996. He said that Moldova would not impose or 
intensify any exchange restrictions, introduce or modify any multiple currency practices, conclude 
any bilateral payments agreements inconsistent with  Article VIII of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, 
or introduce or intensify any import restri ctions for balance of payments purposes. 
 
- Investment Regime  
15. The representative of Moldova said that since 1994 a major objective of national economic 
policy had been to promote a transparent and fair business environment for both domestic and foreign 
investors. To attract foreign investment, Moldova ha d established a stable le gal and institutional base, 
and introduced incentives and guarantee s for foreign investors. He stated  that the normative acts dealing 
with the activities of foreign investors are: a) Fundamental Law – the Constitution of the Republic of 
Moldova adopted by the Parliament on July 29, 1994 . According to Article 126 of the Constitution, the 
State guaranties the inviolability of investments of natu ral and juridical persons, including foreigners; b) 
Law No. 998-XII of 1 April 1992 “On Foreign Investment”, which deals with the settles involvement and protection of foreign investment s, provides the legal, structural  and economic fundamentals for the 
activities of foreign invest ors and economic agents in Moldova a nd offers tax and customs incentives 
that are precisely defined. 
16. The representative of Moldova said that besides the legislation concerni ng foreign investments, 
companies with foreign capital and foreign investors were subject to  legislation concerning relations 
with local natural and juridical persons and to intern ational conventions norms of  which one part is the 
Republic of Moldova and the other countries relate d to Moldova by agreements on of the mutual 
protection investments. The material values envisioned in Article 3 of the Law “On Foreign Investment”, in the form of contributions to the formation and enlargement of the public capital of the 
enterprise were tax exempt. [If the tax exempted goods brought into the country by f
oreign investors 
as a contribution to the public capital were used fo r other purposes, the company had to pay entirely 
the customs duties within 3 years, including the appropr iate interest rate, and at the expiration of this 
period of time, the customs dut ies were calculated at the residual value of goods.]  The right of 
enterprises with foreign capital to profit from customs facilities was confirmed by Articles 35-37 of 
the Law “On Foreign Investments”. He mentioned that  actions stimulating foreign investments at the 
legal level provided a favorable climate: a) assets in the form of goods that are part of and are used for 
the increase of the company’s equity were exempted  customs duties; b) the company was exempted 
from customs duties for those goods (raw materials, se mi-finished goods) that are imported to be used 
in export production; c) companies with foreig n investments exceeding US$250 thousand and with  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 13 
 
 
 over 50 per cent of the net income generated mark eting their own products enjoyed a 50 per cent 
income tax reduction for the first five years of operation; d) companies with foreign investments 
exceeding US$1 million were exempted from income tax for the first three years, provided that at 
least 80 per cent of the calculated tax shall be inv ested in operations development; e) foreign investors 
were guaranteed repatriation of th eir own profits and capital. The above mentioned facilities covered 
the investments made prior to 1 January 2000. However, the application of these measures was 
hampered by the present economic crisis.  
17. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the basic provisions regulating 
investment and any restrictions or registra tion measures affecting foreign investment. The 
representative of Moldova confirmed that the Former State monopoly in foreign trade had been abolished. The relevant legal provisions were Ar ticle 9 of the Constitution, which provided for free 
economic initiative, and fair competition. The criteri a for registration of companies were set out in the 
Law “On Enterprises and Entrepreneurship” of 3 Ja nuary 1992. There were additional requirements 
for certain type of business such as banking, insu rance and joint stock companies set out in the 
respective Law “On Financial Institutions”, Law “On Insurance” and Law “On Joint Stock 
Company”. The state body authorized by the Gove rnment of the Republic of Moldova, or their 
commercial and economic representatives and associa tions, carried out the registration of economic 
agentss with foreign investments (with the exception of banks, their branches and representations). 
The registration of the banks with foreign invest ments, their branches and representatives was carried 
out by the National Bank of Moldova. The manner a nd terms of registration are set up in a similar 
way as the one envisioned for the registration of na tional economic agents (Article 13 of the Law “On 
Foreign Investment”). 
18. In response to additional questions the represen tative of Moldova said that establishment of 
companies with a foreign equity participation ex ceeding US$5 million had to be approved by the anti-
monopoly authorities in accordance with Article 11 of the Law “On Foreign Investment”. Possible 
restrictions of competition by domestic companies were examined according to Article 8 of the Law 
“On Monopoly Activities Limitations and the De velopment of Competition”. There were no 
differences in the approval for foreign and dom estic investors by to the State Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Medical and Epidemiological Agency. 
19. Some members of the Working Party asked whet her foreign investors were protected against 
expropriation or nationalization of their assets. The representative of Moldova said that Article 39 of 
the Law “On Foreign Investment” guaranteed foreign investments against expropriation (nationalization, 
requisition or any other equivalent measure), except in cases where such expropriation was carried out WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 14  
 
 for an overriding public purpose, on a non-discriminato ry basis. In the event of expropriation of a 
foreign investment, the Law on Fore ign Investment requires that a foreign investor be paid prompt, 
adequate and effective compensation.  Compensation had to be paid not later than three months after the 
measure had been taken, and included  accrued interest calculated on the basis of an appropriate interest 
rate. Moreover, the Foreign Investme nt Law granted the foreign investor  the right to challenge in court 
the lawfulness of the expropriati on, nationalization or equivalent measure and the amount of the 
compensation. The representative of Moldova said th at the Parliament and the Government of Moldova 
had taken actions to attract fore ign investments aimed at creating a stable legal base and ensuring 
effective incentives, remissions and guarantees for fo reign investors. The Constitution of the Republic of 
Moldova, the Foreign Investment Law and the bila teral agreements on prom otion and protection of 
investment, that Moldova had signed with other co untries, provided a protective foreign investment 
regime. Since 9 June 1993 Moldova was a member of the Multilateral Invest ment Guarantee Agency 
(MIGA). A number of bilateral agreements on promot ion and protection of inve stment had been signed 
with: Turkey, Poland, Germany, United States, Chin a, Kuwait, Iran, Romania, Switzerland, Greece, 
Holland, Luxembourg, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Gr eat Britain, Czech Republic , Israel, France, Italy, 
Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Georgia, Russia and Belarus.  These agreements sought to create and maintain 
favorable conditions for investors in the territory of  the Republic of Moldova and to intensify economic 
cooperation to the mutual benefit, as well as en courage investment between parties, primarily by 
guaranteeing national treatment, non-e xpropriation, and the unrestricted  transfers of investment funds 
from the investments. 
- State ownership and privatization 
20. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova initiated its program on privatization in 1993, 
executed through Law no.1333 –XII of 12 March 1994. In the first two years, 577 large, medium and 
small size enterprises were priv atized, along with abou t half the state buildings. Around 800 thousand 
citizens of the Republic of Moldova participated in this endeavor. As  the program was not completed in 
1994, a further draft program for privatization was presented for 1995-1996. This second phase 
contemplated a deeper privatization, including the comprehensive privatization for patrimonial shares; 
an increase in private property owners and in the im portance of the private sector, restructuring of the 
economy, development of capital markets and infras tructure; as well as a new system of organizing 
companies and other laws to prot ect owners rights. By 1996, this plan had achieved a number of 
objectives – circulation of the wealth accruing to  privatization, creation of a stock market and 
liberalization of real estate owners hip. At the end of this period the private sector prevailed in the 
economy, accounting for 60 per cent  of industrial production, 70 per ce nt of the services supplied in 
retail sales and social services a nd 44 per cent of the bulk works in building and transports. Over 74 per  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 15 
 
 
 cent of the total number of enterp rises have been privatized, including 93 per cent of the enterprises 
processing agricultural raw materials, 82 per cent of those in light industry and 95 per cent of firms in 
trade and social services.  Almost one million citizens owned private land.  
21. He further added that during the process of pr ivatization, the citizens of the Republic of 
Moldova had been given free access to  privatization directly or by in termediary of investment funds, 
fiduciary companies, (in total 53) created specially for th is purpose. Around 2/3 of patrimonial shares 
with a patrimony of value of more than MDL 1.2 b illion had been privatized  through the activities of 
these institutions. Most recently, a system for Re publican-wide bidding for shares subscription was 
established which consisted of the Republican Center of Calculation, two centers of in troduction of data, 
115 points for collection of requests, placed uniformly in  the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The 
system allowed the citizens to have  free access to shares procurement ensuring the equilibrium between 
the request and offer of shares, and securing a consider able saving of time and of  financial resources for 
organizers and participants  at bids. In this way around 1.1 thousa nd enterprises, which constituted 90 per 
cent of all enterprises subject to pr ivatization, had been privatized. 
22. The representative of Moldova said that the Law “On Privatization Program for 1999-2000”, 
extended the Privatization Program of 1997-1998 . The Privatization Pr ogram 1999-2000 covered, 
with limited exceptions, all sectors and branches of  the economy. Enterprises scheduled for total 
privatization were from the following industries: te xtiles and garments, electronics, machine building, 
chemical and furniture manufacture, leather goods, foodstuff and package producing enterprises, as 
well as hotels, shops, restaurants, stores, gas sta tions and cafeterias. The representative of Mol dova 
stated that there were no specific conditions fo r foreign investors concerning participation in the 
privatization program other than those applied for do mestic investors. Foreign natural and legal persons 
were eligible to participate in the Privatization Prog ram.  In response to questions, the representative of 
Moldova noted that the Law did provide in Article 9 that certain types of firms could not be 
privatized, such as firms, which constituted the national patrimony. Other sectors not subject to 
privatization included air and railway transportation, education system and health systems.  He noted, 
however, that the Government of Moldova might at a later date decide to subject those sectors to 
privatization.  
23. In response to further questions concerning th e distinction between "privatized firms" and 
"privatized objects", the representative of Moldova  stated that privatized objects were assets 
previously attached to state owned enterprises, but unrelated to the core activity of the enterprises.  
Such objects - for example laundries, schools, recrea tion halls, bakeries, were privatized separately WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 16  
 
 from the core parts of the state owned enterprise to  which they had been attached.  The privatized 
assets related to the core activities became privatized firms.   
24. In response to questions from members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova 
stated that a special regime existed for the privatizat ion of agricultural enterprises. Only employees of 
the former State-owned agricultural enterprises were eligible to participate in the privatization of 
agricultural enterprises. By 1 January 2000, 96 per cent of applicants had been issued with certificates 
for land ownership. Foreig ners could purchase land except for ag riculture land and forestry land. The 
Law “On normative price and procedure on sale and purchase of land covered the following: (a) sale 
and purchase of land, including of land associated with privatized objects or objects subject to privatization, as well as of land associated with unfi nished constructions; (b) setting the state fee for 
sale and purchase (bequest, donation) of land; (c) ex clusion of land from agricultural and forestry 
category, as well as from the agricultural cycle and a llocation of such land to other categories; (c) 
forced alienation of land; (d) lease relations, (e) establishing the prices for land mortgaging. 
25. In response to further requests for informat ion the representative of Moldova stated 
that another key structural measure involved the liquidation of the state farms and the 
distribution of land to individual farmers. From a pilot project in 1997, the project nationwide 
had been expanded to 989 former state farms and aimed at completing the process by end 2000. 
By end of July 2000, some 875 collective farms had entered into the privatization procedures 
and around 65 per cent of land titled. By end 2000 Moldova would process 989 farms, with at 
least 825 liquidated and individual titles issued representing 80 per cent of agricultural land. 
26. Regarding the privatization of energy, the represen tative of Moldova said that the restructuring 
of the energy sector had started. The Law on the Con cept of privatization of enterprises in the energy 
sector no. 63-XIV of 25 June 1998 envisaged that di stribution companies would be privatized first, 
followed by generating companies. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova was also taking 
steps to complete the privatization of telecommunication enterprises and major wineries.  
27. In response to further questions, the representative of Moldova stated that the status of 
privatization in the Republic of Moldova was set out in Tables 1 and 2 below.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 17 
 
 
 Table 1 
Sectoral Privatisation Data Profile for 1993-1999  
 
Sector Number of Objects 
approved for 
privatization Number of Objects 
privatized as of 
01.01.2000 Percentage of  Objects 
privatized 
Industry 1,521 1,461 96.05 
Agriculture  3,085 2,806 91.00 
Construction 441 408 92.51 
Transport 419 409 97.61 
Trade and Public 
Catering  180 170 94.44 
Consumer Services 402 365 90.80 
Other sectors 467 420 89.94 
TOTAL 6,515 6039 92.70 
 
Table 2 
Sectoral Privatisation Data Profile  by Privatisation Modes for 1993-1999  
 
Sector Privatisation Mode Number of Privatized 
Objects 
Industry Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial 
price; Privatized through individual projects; 
Sale through investment tenders; 
Combination of many methods.    315 
1,098 
 
3 
8 
37 
Agriculture  Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial 
price; 
Privatized through individual projects; Sale through investment tenders; 
Combination of many methods. 644 
2,081 
 
20 
3 
58 
Construction Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial price; 
Privatized through individual projects; 
Sale through investment tenders; Combination of many methods. 90 
299 
 
0 
2 
17 
Transport Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial 
price; Privatized through individual projects; 
Sale through investment tenders; 
Combination of many methods. 94 
295 
 
7 
0 
13 
Trade and Public Catering  Sale through patrimonial shares; 
open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial 
price; 
Privatized through individual projects; Sale through investment tenders; 
Combination of many methods. 44 
122 
 
0 0 
4 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 18  
 
 Sector Privatisation Mode Number of Privatized 
Objects 
Consumer Services  Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial 
price; 
Privatized through individual projects; Sale through investment tenders; 
Combination of many methods. 78 
275 
 
0 0 
12 
Other sectors Sale through patrimonial shares; 
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initial price; 
Privatized through individual projects; 
Sale through investment tenders; Combination of many methods. 78 
331 
2 
2 
7 
TOTAL  6039 
Note: Subject to privatization: property of enterprise s, institutions, entities, associations, their structural 
subdivisions complex production units, objects from the Fund of uninhabitable buildings, unfinished 
constructions, dwellings, state-owned shares in compan ies privatized and to be privatized, as well as 
adjacent land of privatized and to be privatized  companies, land plots of the garden cooperatives. 
28. The representative of Moldova stated that Mold ova would ensure the transparency of its 
ongoing privatization program and would keep WTO Me mbers informed of progress in the reform of 
its economic and trade regimes. He  stated that his Government wo uld provide annual reports to WTO 
Members on developments in its program of priv atization as long as the privatization programmes 
would be in existence, along the lines of that provide d to the Working Party.  He also stated that his 
Government would provide annual reports on other i ssues related to its econom ic reform as relevant 
to its obligations under the WTO.  The Wo rking Party took note of these commitments.  
- Pricing policy 
29. In response to further questions the representative of Moldova stated that before January 1998 
the Government had established the prices and tariff s of energy. Starting with January 1998, tariff 
policy on energy was promoted by the National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA), which had been 
created according to Governmental Decision No. 767 of 11 August 1997. NERA is a non-
governmental, independent regulatory body, which op erated in accordance with legislation of the 
Republic of Moldova. The prerogatives, obligations a nd rights of the NERA were stipulated in the 
laws and governmental decisions on electric po wer and gas. According to paragraph 6 of 
Governmental Decision No.767 of 11 August 1997,  NERA had the following functions; issuance of 
licenses for activities related to production, trans portation, dispatching services, distribution, 
supplying, import and export of electricity, thermal en ergy and natural gas; regulation of tariffs for 
energy products and services; ensuring protection of  the rights of energy consumers; promotion of 
competition in the energy market. NERA had the ri ght to establish a methodology for the calculation 
of costs and tariffs of energy by electroenergetic  enterprises. The methodology was fixed for a three- WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 19 
 
 
 year period. The methodology was based on the est ablishment of the basic tariffs as “ceiling prices” 
with further adjustment of these tariffs, taking in to account the imported prices of fuel, energy and 
natural gas, inflation, depreciation of the nationa l currency, modification of the supplied energy, as 
well as other factors, which directly influence the tariffs. The most recent adjustment of the energy 
tariff in 21 March 2000 (NERA Decision no.20 of 21 March 2000).  This new tariff completely 
cover the real cost of energy, which as a pproved by NERA had entered into force on 1 April 2000.  
1 July 1999.  The tariffs for production, transportation, di stribution and marketing of energy had to 
cover the cost of production, as well as the necessary profit, which is limited by NERA. In addition to 
Governmental Decision No. 767 of 11 August 199 7, Governmental Decision No.547 of 4 August 
1998 "On State coordination and regulation of pri ces and tariffs" established the legal authority to 
apply state control over the prices for a num ber of items listed in table 3, below. 
Table 3 
Nomenclature of goods and services for which  
fixed prices are settled by the Government and/or local authorities  
Description of goods and services Regulating public body 
Services supplied by cadastral territorial au thorities  Ministry of Economy and Reforms  
Imported goods purchased for hard currency on the basis of  
interstate agreements  Ministry of Economy and Reform 
Land and subterranean resources Government of the Republic of Moldova 
Rent of public network by “Radio-Moldova” Company Parliament of the Republic of Moldova 
Paid medical services Ministry of Health 
Products and services of monopolies Ministry of Economy and Reforms 
Coal commercialized by  State Company “Moldova-
Combustibil” Ministry of Economy and Reforms  
Passenger transport services  Governmental bodies and local authorities 
Telecommunication, wire broadcasting, telegraph, postal 
services supplied for population within the Moldova’s 
territory  Ministry of Economy and Reforms 
Technical means for prophylaxis and rehabilitation of 
invalids Ministry of Economy and Reforms 
Precious metals  Ministry of Finance 
Interurban and international ro ad transportation of passenger 
and freight (except air transport)  Ministry of Transport and Communication 
Freight transportation of rail transport services Ministry of Transport and Communication 
Air transportation of passengers State Agency of Civil Aircraft  
Natural gas, electric and thermal ener gy  National Energy Regulatory Agency 
Notary services  Ministry of Justice  
Natural comprised gas in bottles, used by the cars Ministry of Economy and Reforms 
Drugs and medical products, domestically produced Ministry of Health 
Elevator (lift) services Minist ry of Environment and Territory 
Development 
Aqueduct and sewerage services  Local authorities 
Sanitation services Local authorities 
Funeral services Local authorities WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 20  
 
 Description of goods and services Regulating public body 
Heating and water supply services Local authorities 
Rent services Local authorities 
 
Table 4 
Nomenclature of goods for which a limited profitability was established (According to 
Governmental Decision no.335 of 24 May 1994)  
 
Description of product Up to [ -%] HS code 
Milk and dairy products 15 0401-0405 
Cheese with fat up to 2 per cent 15 0406 
Flour of I and II quality to make bread 10 1101-1102 
Bread and bakery products 10 1905 
 
At the same time, according to Governmental  Decision No. 547 of 4 August 1995 there were a 
number of goods (table 5), which for social reasons sh all be sold with a margin of profit that may not 
exceed 20 per cent of the wholesale price.  
Table 5  
Nomenclature of goods, which for social reasons shall be sold with a margin  
of profit that may not exceed 20 per cent of the wholesale price  
Description of product HS code 
Canned meat, fruits and vegetables for children 0702, 0704-0709, 1602 
Vegetables oil  1507-1515 
Butter and dairy products 0405 
Cheese 0406 
Sugar 1701 
Flour 1101-1102 
Bread and bakery products 1905 
Footwear for children Part of 64 
Notebooks for children 482020 
Household soap 340219 
Detergents 3402 
Toys 9501 
Pharmaceutical products (approved by the Ministry of Health)* 30 
*profit margin may not exceed 40 per cent of the wholesale price. 
30. The representative of Moldova confirmed that the price for goods and services in Moldova 
other than for the items listed in Tables 3- 5 were not subject to State control.  
31. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would apply its current state prices 
and any other state prices or price controls applied from the date of accession in a WTO-consistent  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 21 
 
 
 fashion, and would take account of the interests of exporting WTO Members as provided for in 
Article III.9 of the GATT 1994. Mo ldova would publish any list of goods  and services subject to State 
pricing or price controls in the “Monitorul Ofic ial” of the Republic of Moldova, including any 
changes in existing measures. He al so stated that his Government w ould review the current legislation 
and would reduce the incidence of price controls in its economy. The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
- Competition Policy 
32. The representative of Moldova stated that the legal framework for anti-m onopoly regulation 
was Law No.906-XII of 29 February 1992 "On th e Limitation of Monopoly Activities and the 
Development of Competition". This Law establishe d the fundamental principles for regulating the 
activity of enterprises having a de facto  monopoly and for supporting the development of competition.  
33. The representative of Moldova added that as part of the implementation of the Law, a package 
of prudential requirements approved on 5 Octo ber 1993 (Governmental Decision No.619) included 
provisional regulations applying to holding companies. A State Register was maintained of companies, 
which were major producers of a product in the domestic market without holding a dominant market 
position. The list was established for taxation purposes  as the Government considered that because of 
their de facto  monopolistic position on the domestic market th ey should pay an extra tax. Progressively, 
with the restructuring of the economy the position of these producers was being challenged by new 
producers and by imports. 
34. Some members of the Working Party asked for information on the manner in which Moldova’s 
Law "On the Limitation of Monopoly Activities and the Development of Competition" dealt with 
vertical and horizontal restraint arrangements, and the re course foreign firms ha d if opportunities were 
impaired by such arrangements. In response, the re presentative of Moldova stated that vertical and 
horizontal restraint arrangements were forbi dden by the Moldovan Law "On the Limitation of 
Monopoly Activities and the Development of Competition"  if one of the parties had a dominant market 
position, i.e. a market share of 35 per cent or more; and if the arrangement led or could lead to restricting 
competition. Article 4(1) banned horizontal arrangem ents; Article 4 (2) banned vertical arrangements. 
The decision whether or not specific arrangements  violated the Law was taken by the Ministry of 
Economy and Reforms, Department of Antimono poly and Competition. Businesses, regulatory 
authorities, consumers associations , trade unions or the Department  of Antimonopoly and Competition 
could initiate proceedings on its own initiative. Foreig n firms, like domestic firms, had the right to file 
complaints at the Public Prosecutor 's Office. He further added that a unit in the Ministry of Economy to 
which foreign firms had access m onitored competition. Moldovan Law allowed exclusive dealerships if WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 22  
 
 they did not contravene the provisions of Article 4(2) . Existing exclusive dealersh ips did not need to be 
registered and the Government did not keep a register of such arrangements.  
IV.  FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES 
- Powers of executive, legislative and judiciary, administration of policies on WTO-
related issues 
35. The representative of Mol dova stated that, in pursuance of the Constitution, the powers of the 
State were divided among the executive, legislative a nd judicial branches, with the President being the 
Head of State. The President of the Republic of Moldova was the guarantor of national sovereignty, 
independence, and of the unity and territorial inte grity of the nation. The President of the Republic 
was elected by freely expressed, universal, equal, dir ect and secret ballot, with universal suffrage.  His 
term of office was four years.  Following consulta tion with the parliamentary majority, the President 
designated a candidate for the office of Prime Minist er and makes use of the vote of confidence given 
him by Parliament to nominate the Government.  The President had the right to dissolve Parliament in 
the case of inability to form a Government or when the passing of new legislation had been 
deadlocked for three consecutive m onths. The Government consists of a Prime Minister, a First vice-
prime-minister, of ministers and other members, as determined by organic law.  A specific program of 
activities approved by Parliament sets the guidelines, which the Government uses in the exercise of its 
powers. The role of the Government was to carry out the domestic and foreign policy of the State and 
to exercise general control over the public administ ration.  Parliament was the supreme representative 
body of the people and the sole legislative authority of the State in the Republic of Moldova.  
Parliament consisted of 101 members.  The members of parliament were elected by freely-expressed, universal, equal, direct and secret ballot, with universal suffrage.  The Parliament enacted laws, 
ratified international treaties and checked the Execu tive, which was accountable to Parliament.  The 
Judiciary was independent of the Executive and the Legislature.  The Supreme Court of Justice, the 
Court of Appeal, Tribunals (High Courts) and Co urts of Law (Magistrates and County Courts) 
administered Justice. The President on the b asis of a proposition from a special Commission 
appointed judges, except for the Supreme Court. Th e members of the Supreme Court were appointed 
by Parliament. 
36. The representative of Moldova said that there were several governmental entities responsible 
for making and implementing policies affecting fore ign trade. The Department of Foreign Economic 
Relations (DFER) in the Ministry of Economy was responsible for Moldova' s international economic 
relations. The DFER prepared implemented and coordinated foreign economic policy and 
international co-operation. Respons ibility for economic policy as a whole rested with the Ministry of  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 23 
 
 
 Economy and Reforms and included the implementa tion of the economic reforms undertaken in the 
framework of the transition to a market economy . The Department of Customs implemented the 
Government's customs policy and ensured that cust oms legislation was observed. Parliament was the 
only competent body to set tariffs and taxes on im ports and did so in th e annual Budget Law.  
37. The representative of Moldova said that the Na tional Bank defined state national monetary 
policy and was responsible for the stability of th e currency, regulate the money supply, set the 
exchange rate policy and supervised the activities of commercial banks and other credit institutions. 
The National Bank issued licenses for the establis hment of commercial banks, and organized and 
monitored prudential requiremen ts. The National Bank was indepe ndent of the Government and 
reported directly to Parliament. The Ministry of  Finance formulated financial and fiscal policy 
including aspects relating to trade and supervised the implementation of the fiscal regime in 
commercial activities. The Department of Standard s, Metrology and Technical Supervision ensured 
that the requirements of standardization and cer tification were met. The Department provided 
information to importers on products subject to cer tification and on conformity procedures. There was 
also a State Agency for the Protection of Indus trial Property (AGEPI), and a State Agency on 
Copyrights. 
38. The representative of Moldova said that Law No.853-XIII of 29 May 1996 "On 
Reorganization of the Judicial System", provided for a Supreme Court of Justice, Economic Courts, 
Military Courts, Courts of Appeal, five tribunals (High Courts) each covering one of five regions, to 
be set up. Law No.970-XIII of 24 July 1996 “On Economic Courts” stipulated the authority over 
disputes connected to economic re lations among natural and legal pe rsons. The Economic Courts had 
been established by Parliament and the Presiden t of the Republic of Moldova based on proposals 
appointed judges the Supreme Council of Magi strates. The Law “On Economic Courts” had 
established the following system for economic disputes: Economic courts of districts, the Economic 
Court of the Republic of Moldova, and the Supreme Court. All disputes relating to the subject matter 
of the WTO Agreements involving le gal persons were required to be  heard by the economic courts, 
whereas all disputes involving natu ral persons were required to be heard by the ordinary courts. 
Within the structure of the Economic Court of the Republic of Moldova there were Appeal and 
Causation Board.  
39. In response to further questions the representativ e of Moldova stated that any administrative 
decisions on issues covered by the WTO could be app ealed. An appeal in the first instance could be 
taken within the responsible governmental institu tion according to Law No. 190-XIII of 19 July 1994 
“On Petitioning” with amendments introduced by Law No. 18-XIII of 14 May 1998. Article 2 of the WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 24  
 
 Law “On Petitioning” permitted foreigners to addr ess complaints to the respective governmental 
institutions or tribunals when their legitimate rights were affected. Articles 8 and 9 stipulated that the 
timeframe for examination of petitions was betwee n one week to one month. In special cases the 
examination could take a maximum of two months.  
40. The representative of Moldova also noted that appeals could be made to an independent 
tribunal. When both parties at the trial were lega l persons the economic cour ts examined the issue. 
There were two economic courts in  Moldova. One had jurisdiction over the Chisinau municipality and 
the other over the rest of Moldova. If one of the part ies to the trial was a natural person, the issue was 
brought before the ordinary court a nd other superior judicial institutions. Courts of first instance were 
based in each administrative unit (former rayons ), in total 40. Despite the creation of new 
administrative units - judets, that consist of several  rayons, courts of first instance remained in each 
former administrative unit, as well as major cities: Chisinau, Balti, Bender and Tiraspol had several 
such courts based on their internal administrativ e division. Higher-ranking tribunals were based in 
Chisinau, Balti, Bender, Tiraspol and Cahul. There was one Court of Appeal in Chisinau and the 
Supreme Court of Justice is also based in Chisinau. 
41. In response to questions concerning the ratification of the WTO 
Agreement and Moldova's 
Protocol of Accession thereto, the representative of  Moldova stated that after ratification by the 
Moldovan Parliament and following entry into force of the Protocol, the provisions of the WTO 
Agreement and Protocol would overrule a ny domestic laws that were in conflict with them.  
41. In response to requests for information on the status of draft and implementing legislation 
concerning the various WTO Agreements, the re presentative of Moldova presented in document 
WT/ACC/MOL/22 a detailed table entitled Analytic No te Listing Moldovan Legislation, Decrees, 
Decisions and Regulations Relevant to the WTO Lega l Texts: Status of Draf t Legislation and Draft 
Amendments. He confirmed that after ratification of the Protocol of Accession of Moldova to the 
WTO by the Moldovan Parliament and Moldova’s accession to the WTO, the provisions of the WTO 
and Moldova’s Protocol would supe rsede any domestic laws and regula tions found to contradict them. 
According to the Article 8 of the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova pledged to respect the Charter 
of the United Nations and the treaties to which it is a party, to observe in her relations with other 
states the unanimously recognized principles and norms of international law.  The coming into force 
of an international treaty containing provisions cont rary to the Constitution shall be preceded by a 
revision of the latter.  In case t hose international agreements of wh ich the Republic of Moldova is a 
part contain provisions in conflict with those listed in the this Law and normative acts adopted on this 
basis, the provisions of the internati onal agreements are to be applied.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 25 
 
 
 - Authority of sub-central governments 
42. The representative of Moldova stated that  the exclusive responsibility for making and 
implementing policies affecting foreign trade was vested with the central Government. However, 
according to Law “On Special Judicial Statute of the Gagauz-Yeri", the Gagauz-Yeri region was an 
autonomous territorial entity with authority to se ttle political, economic and cultural matters in order 
to safeguard the interests of its population. The Popular Assembly had co mpetence to adopt local 
legislation in the following fields: science, culture , education; household and town-planning; health 
care and sports; local budget; fina ncial and fiscal activity; ec onomy and environment; labour and 
social assistance. The Gagauz-Yeri region had no autonomous authority with respect to foreign trade, did not issue or implement technical standards, sanita ry or phytosanitary standards and did not subsidize. 
43. In response to requests for information regard ing the Agreement on the Transnistria region, 
the representative of Moldova referred to the Memorandum on the Basis for Normalization of 
Relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria signed in Moscow on 8 May 1997. The 
representative of Moldova confirmed that the Memorandum, as well as the Agreement on the Organizational Basis of Social-Economic Collabora tion, signed on 10 November 1997 were the legal 
bases for settling the conflict. Based on this Moldov a was making every effort together with other 
interested countries to overcome the consequences of  the conflict. The activity undertaken so far had 
succeeded in ensuring economic stability and complia nce with Moldova’s external obligations. As 
regards issues related to foreign trade commit ments, Moldova succeeded in finding common ground 
with the Transnistrian authorities. The representativ e of Moldova stated that Moldova had signed a 
special protocol on customs cooperation with the Tran snistria region that foresaw mutual elaboration 
of customs policy, exchange of statis tics and facilitation of border measures.  
44. In response to further questions, the representa tive of Moldova stated that Law No. 344 of 
23 December 1994 “On Special Judicial Statute of the Gagauz-Yeri” had established the autonomy of 
the "Gagauz-Yeri” region in economic matters refers mostly concerning its autonomy in 
administrating its own budget and running economic activity. This region had no authority regarding 
the excise, stamp, or sales taxes or any other taxes related to trade, as well as on establishing requirements for investment, e.g., trade related i nvestment measures covered by the WTO Agreement 
on TRIMS. These were under the exclusive authority  of the Moldovan Parliament. All legal acts 
adopted by the People's Assembly of Gagauz-Yeri region would not contradict Moldovan legislation 
or international commitments taken by Moldova. All WTO Agreements and Moldova's commitments 
in the WTO would be applied uniformly on its customs territory. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 26  
 
 45. The representative of Moldova confirmed that  all fiscal, financial and budgetary activities 
performed by local governments would be in comp liance with Article III of the GATT 1994. The 
representative of Moldova confirmed that sub-cen tral entities had no autonomous authority over 
issues of subsidies, taxation, trade policy or any other measures covere d by WTO provisions. He 
confirmed that the provisions of the WTO Agre ement, including Moldova's Protocol, would be 
applied uniformly throughout its customs territory and other territories under its control, including in 
regions engaging in border trade or frontier tra ffic, special economic zones, and other areas where 
special regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations ar e established. He added that when apprised of a 
situation where WTO provisions were not being ap plied or were applied in a non-uniform manner, 
central authorities would act to enforce WTO provisions without requiring affected parties to petition through the courts. The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
V.  POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
- Registration and right to trade 
46. The representative of Moldova stated that th e Law “On State Regulation of Foreign Trade 
Activity” formally recognized the right to trade. Ne vertheless, pursuant to the Governmental Decision 
No. 777 of 13 August 1998 “On Improving the Mechanism of Regulating Foreign Trade (Import 
Licensing)”, there were no specific registration requirements for engaging in importing. The only 
requirement was that the intention to perform import activities should be mentioned in the statute of the enterprise. Enterprises whose statutes did not yet specify import activities could add these without 
difficulties. 
47. Some members of the Working Party requested further information on the meaning of the 
"statute of the enterprise". In response, the represen tative of Moldova stated that the statute of the 
enterprise was comparable to the ar ticles of incorporation for corpora tions and to partnership agreements 
for partnerships. A detailed list of the informati on to be provided in the statute was contained in 
Article 23 of the Law “On Enterprises and Entreprene urship”. For certain type s of organizations, e.g., 
banks, insurance and joint stock companies and coopera tives, special provisions existed in the relevant 
laws. All types of enterprises, including those wi thout legal personality, had to be registered and 
required a statute. Statutes were not registered. Statutes were submitted together with the application for 
registration of the enterprises a nd a document confirming the payment of a registration fee. The 
representative of Moldova added that all forms of business enterprises, including corporations, 
partnerships and individual firms could engage in the business of importing and exporting. Individuals 
could also engage in import and e xport activities of a commercial nature . The only requirement was that 
individuals had to register their activities as a busi ness. If the importation and exportation activities were  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 27 
 
 
 for the individual personal consumption, there were no requirements. However, natural persons were not 
allowed to import or export goods, su bject to licensing. The same rules applied to foreigners and citizens 
of Moldova. 
48. Members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova could confirm that Governmental 
Decision No. 859 had established "activity licensi ng" requirements for firms performing certain 
activities, such as importing or wholesaling alcohol  beverages or tobacco products; importing or 
selling petrol and diesel; and importing or trading in  chemical and biological products and fertilizers 
for plants. Licensing appeared to also be required fo r trade or storage of chemical reagents, liquefied 
gas and toxic chemical substances in danger of de flagration; ozone depleting substances; and ionic 
radiation sources and radioactive materials. In r esponse, the representative of Moldova stated that 
only Law No.332 of 26 March 1999 "On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities" established 
licensing requirements for some types of activitie s. Article 18 of Chapter V “Final Provisions” 
provided that within two months' of the enactment of  that law, the Government was required to adjust 
its normative acts in accordance with the present la w. Annex 2 of that Law listed the types of 
activities for which a licence was required and the res ponsible institutions for issuing such licensing. 
The list was presented to members of the Wo rking Party in document WT/ACC/MOL/13. The 
representative of Moldova further noted that Artic les 6, 7, and 12 of the Law “On Licensing of 
Certain Types of Activities" governed the procedur es for issuing and granting licenses. Article 13 of 
the Law “On Licensing Certain Types of Activities” provides for detailed procedures when an 
application for licence was refused. The applicant is in formed within 3 days about the refusal to issue 
a licence following the date of adoption of such de cision, indicating the reasons of rejection. The 
reasons to refuse the issue of a licence under the Arti cle 13(2) are: (a) inauthentic or changed data, 
contained in the submitted documen ts; (b) irrelevant conditions or  lack of conditions (technical, 
technological, sanitary-hygienic and ecological secur ity of technological processes) necessary for 
performing the concerned type of activity the listed in application; (c) previous withdrawal of a 
licence for the same type of activity in cases of viola tions listed in the art.16 (c), (d) and (e); and (d) 
other conditions according to the legislation. The applicant may submit a new request when he has 
eliminated the causes, for the orig inal refusal of the application for the licence. The decision of the 
Commission may be brought to courts in accordance with the established way. 
49. The representative of Moldova confirmed that the former state foreign trade monopoly had 
been abolished and that no restrictions existed on the right of foreign and domestic individuals and 
enterprises to import and export goods within Moldov a's customs territory, with the exception that the 
importation and exportation of  goods under licence could be undertaken only by registered firms, and 
with the exception of licensing requirements for tho se activities listed in Annex I of this Report, as WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 28  
 
 called for by Annex 2 of Law "On Licensing of Ce rtain Types of Activities". The importation or 
exportation of products covered by activity licenses wa s subject only to requirements consistent with 
the WTO Agreement. The activity licenses enumerated in Annex 2 of Law "On Licensing of Certain 
Types of Activities" did not restrict foreign participation as they applied equally to foreign and domestic businesses. Activity licenses were admini stered for the purpose of ensuring national 
security, product safety and the protection of human, animal or plant life or health. The criteria for 
granting activity licenses were published in the ”Monito rul Oficial” of the Republic of Moldova. The 
criteria for engaging in import and export trade in the restricted sectors were consistent with generally 
applicable restrictions placed on trade in similar domestically produced goods. The availability of 
activity licenses was not restricted nor was the licensing applied to restrict imports, the production, wholesale or retail trade in any product. The represen tative of Moldova stated that the list provided in 
Annex 2 to the Law “On Licensing of Certain Type s of Activities” was exhaustive and its expansion 
to other activities would require add itional legislation as stipulated in Article 2 (2) of that Law.  The 
list appears as Annex I to this Draft Report.   
50. Some members of the Working Party noted th at Annex 17 of the 1999 Budget Law provided 
for the collection of discriminatory fees in relation to the licensing of the activity storage or wholesale 
of imported alcoholic beverages.  The fee was five times the level of the fee for the storage of domestically produced alcohol.  Those members requested that this be brought into conformity with the requirements of Article III:4 of the GATT 1994.  In response, the representative of Moldova 
acknowledged that the fees in relation to the licensing of the activity of storage or wholesale of 
imported alcoholic beverages were inconsistent with the requirements of Article III:4 of the GATT 
1994.  He noted that the current 2000 Budget Law had deleted references to "i mported" or "domestic" 
when describing the fees for licen sing the activity of storage or wholesale.  Accordingly, the 
discriminatory fees were eliminated as of 1 May 2000, when the Budget Law for 2000 came into 
force. 
51. The representative of Moldova stated that th e 2000 Budget Law of the Republic of Moldova 
had brought all internal taxes and other internal charg es, in particular those applied in relation to the 
licensing of the activity of storage or wholesale of im ported alcoholic beverages,  into conformity with 
the requirements of the WTO Agreement. He conf irmed that from the date of accession Moldova 
would ensure that its laws and re gulations relating to the right to trade in goods and all fees, charges 
or taxes levied on such rights would be in fu ll conformity with its WTO obligations, including 
Articles VIII: I (a), XI: I and III:2 and 4 of th e GATT 1994 and that it would also implement such 
laws and regulations in fu ll conformity with these obligations. He confirmed in particular that activity  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 29 
 
 
 licensing requirements would not abridge the right to import and export. The Working Party took note 
of these commitments.  
- Customs Tariff 
- Ordinary customs duties 
52. The representative of Moldova said that the present import customs tariff of Moldova was 
approved every year as part of the Budget Law. The representative of Mol dova confirmed that after 
ratification of the Accession Protocol by the Mol dovan Parliament, the Moldovan Government would 
set the custom tariffs within the agreed ceiling levels. 
53. In response to questions concerning the applied ra tes of the specific duties the representative of 
Moldova provided the Working Part y with the follow ing tabulation: 
Table 6 
Specific Duties  
 
Code Description Bound Rate of 
Duty 
2203 Malt beer 1,0 EURO/l 
2204 Natural wine, including strong wines; must of grapes other than in item 
2009 1,32 EURO/l 
220510 Vermouths and other wines flavored w ith herb or other aromatic substances 
in containers holding 2litters or less  1,32 EURO/l 
2206 Other fermented drinks (e.g. apple or pear cider, hydromel); mixtures of 
other fermented drinks and nonalcoholic drinks not mentioned in other items 0,24 EURO/l 
2207 Essential alcohol of 80 per cent or mo re; ethyl alcohol and other alcoholic 
drinks, of any concentrations 1, 0 EURO/l 
2208 Ethyl alcohol of up to 80 per cent:  1, 0 EURO/l 
2402 Leaf cigarettes, cigars  made of tobacco or its substitutes 2EURO/1000 pcs 
 
The representative of Moldova noted  that specific duties were admi nistered accordi ng to the normal 
rules of customs procedures. 
54. The representative of Moldova provided the follow ing tabulation of the average customs tariff 
rates: 
Table 7 
Description Year Percentage 
Simple average 1995 9.5 
Simple average 1996 n.a.* 
Trade weighted average 1995 5.9 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 30  
 
 Description Year Percentage 
Trade weighted average 1996 4.8 (using 1995 trade weights) * 
Trade weighted average 1997 11.6 (using 1996 trade weights) 
Trade weighted average 1998 5.0 (using 1997 trade weights) 
Trade weighted average 1999 4.8 (using 1998 trade weights) 
* A simple average for 1996 was not calculated as the 1996 tariff included a number of relatively high fixed 
duty rates. When calculating the wei ghted average these could be ignored, as there had not been important 
import volumes in these tariff lines. 
55. Some members of the Working Party said that there was uncertainty concerning the customs 
tariff schedule currently applied in Moldova. In re sponse, the representative of Moldova submitted the 
customs tariff for 1998 in electronic format, which wa s part of the 1998 Budget Law and had superseded 
all previous customs tariffs. The Government had pr oposed to the Parliament to modify this system 
through the adoption of a customs tariff with base dut y rates and applied rates as an annex to the Law on 
Customs Tariff. Only amendments to the tari ff would be passed through the Budget Law.  
- Tariff quotas, tariff exemptions  
56. The representative of Moldova stated that in  Moldova, at present, there were no tariff quotas.  
57. In response to questions concer ning tariff exemptions, the repres entative of Moldova stated that 
tariff exemptions did not depend on the type of produc t but on its use. He provi ded a list of imports, 
which benefited from tariff exemptions. They in cluded charitable donations from organizations and 
individuals to recognized charit y institutions, goods imported under "cooperation contracts", the GSP 
system, agreements of technical cooperation etc.  Import duty exemptions ap plied to raw material 
imports from all countries if the final product was su bsequently exported. Tariff exemptions other than 
those provided for in the context of a customs union or  a free trade agreement were applied on a M.F.N. 
basis. Moldova was prepared to undertake that exem ptions would only be granted to third countries in 
accordance with the provisions of the WTO. 
- Other duties and charges 
58. The representative of the Republic of Moldov a confirmed that the Republic of Moldova 
levied no duties and charges on imports other than or dinary customs duties. He further confirmed that 
Moldova had bound other duties and charges within the meaning of Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994 
at zero in its Schedule of Concessions on Goods which is reproduced in Part I of the Annex to the 
Protocol of Accession. 
59. The representative of Moldova confirmed that th e “consular charges” applied by the foreign 
representatives and embassies of Moldova for perform ing consular actions and certifying or issuing 
documents with judicial importance were only applie d to legal and natural pe rsons of the Republic of  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 31 
 
 
 Moldova.  These consular charges were not required for the authentication of documents necessary to 
import goods into Moldova. 
- Fees and charges for services rendered 
60. Some members of the Working Party asked whet her Moldova levied other duties and charges, 
in particular any ad valorem  customs fees. In response, the representative of Moldova said that 
Moldova had previously applied an ad valorem  customs user fee.  However, the Budget Law 2000 
removed the 0.25 per cent customs user fee and introd uced a flat fee reflecting the approximate cost of 
the services rendered. In addition to basic administrative expenses related to the processing of imported or exported goods, other related costs su ch as statistical services would be taken into 
consideration, as well as the apportionment of the general costs of improving basic customs 
infrastructure in order to facilitate movements of  merchandise. The revenues from the fee would be 
used to finance the Department of Customs Cont rol activities on the basis of a expenditure-sheet 
approved by the Government. 
Table 8 
Payment Rate for Customs Procedures
 
Types of custom services Rate in Euro 
For the customs authorisation of goods with a customs value 
− Less than 50 
− Between 50 and 1000 
− More than 1000  
3 
5 
0.25% of customs value but not more 
than 600 Euro 
For the customs authorisation of imported or exported goods that 
must be returned to the country of origin 
− For each customs declaration 
− For each additional customs declaration sheet  
 
30 15 
For the authorisation of goods in the case of transit 
− For each customs declaration 
− for each additional customs declaration sheet  
10 
5 
For the authorisation of goods to be transferred to/or from the 
bounded customs warehouse  
− For each customs declaration 
− for each additional customs declaration sheet  
 
30 
15 
For the authorisation of goods, that are outside of zones of customs control (companies premises), or outside of established 
working hours (per hour of one customs officers time)  
− outside of customs control zones  
− outside of office hours, Saturday, Sunday 
− public holidays  
 
 
 
20 
20 
20 
For the cancellation of ordered services, stipulated in point 5, which was not motivated in due time and written form 20 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 32  
 
 Types of custom services Rate in Euro 
To submit the certificate of transport registration of chassis and 
engine toc, introduced on the territory of the Republic, as well as temporary, that must be registered in the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs 5 
For storage goods at customs wa rehouse, for one kilo per each 
day  
− For the first 10 days  
− For each of the following days    
 
0.1 
0.5 
For the obligatory retention of goods to be left at custom, as mortgaged goods for each day of storage 
− For the first 10 days  
− for each of the following days  
 
0.5% of the total price of goods 
0.1% of the total price of goods 
To extend the valid period of th e customs declarant certificate 100 
Additional payment for issue of duplicate certificates by the 
declarant during the year 10 
To change the terms in custom declaration 0.1% of the customs value, but not 
more than 200 Euro 
For the re-evaluation of the customs value, indicated in the 
Custom declaration at the request of the company in the cases stipulated in the legislation 1% of the customs value but not more 
than 500 Euro 
For the escort of goods transported under the customs control 0.5 Euro for 1 km within stipulated 
time and 1 Euro for exceeding the 
stipulated time 
For applying of customs sealing devices and customs stamps 3 per piece 
For presenting evidence that confirm export and import operation 
did by companies 10 
For the customs authorisation of international mail sent by public 
at designated offices 0.4 
 
61. The representative of Moldova confirmed that, from the date of accession, Moldova would 
not apply or reintroduce an ad valorem  customs fee. Moldova confirmed that for import processing, 
fees would be applied in conformity with WTO obligations, especially Articles VIII and X of the 
GATT 1994.  The level of the applied fee would not  exceed the approximate cost of the customs 
processing of imports, revenues from the fee would be used solely for customs processing of imports 
and total annual revenue from collection of the f ee would not exceed the approximate cost of customs 
processing operations for the items subject to the fees.  He confirmed that revenues from the fee 
would not be used for customs processing of exports  or imports exempted from the fee, should there 
be any, or for any other objective.  Information regarding the application and level of the fee, 
revenues collected and their use, would be pr ovided to WTO Members upon request. The Working 
Party took note of these commitments.  
- Import surcharge  
62. In response to questions from members of the Working Party the representative of Moldova 
stated that due to particular balance of payment difficulties, through Article 17.2 of the 1999 Budget  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 33 
 
 
 Law Moldova had introduced a special impor t surcharge at a rate of 5 per cent ad valorem  which was 
applied to 700 tariff lines at the four digit level. The surcharge was applied only to those items to 
which Moldova applied a “zero” rate of custom s duty. When the MFN duty rate was zero, the 
surcharge was applied on an MFN basis.  When the duty rate was not zero, but a zero tariff was applied to imports from some countries under free tr ade agreements, the surcharge was applied only 
to imports originating in the countries participating in the free trade agreements. He confirmed that on 
1 May 2000 Moldova had eliminated the import surcharge. 
63. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova did not apply at this time any other charges 
on goods than the above mentioned. He also said th at after accession all duties and charges applied on 
imports other than ordinary customs duties and char ges for services rendered would be in accordance 
with the WTO provisions. The representative of Mo ldova stated that from the date of accession 
Moldova would ensure that all charges applied to imports were applied in a manner consistent with 
the requirements of the Understanding on Balance- of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994, as well 
as Article XII of the GATT 1994. The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
- Application of internal taxes on imports - Value Added Tax 
64. Some members of the Working Party requested Moldova to bring its VAT system in line with 
Article I of the GATT 1994, so that it was applied eq ually to imports from all third countries, including 
CIS countries. In response the re presentative of Moldova stated that 20 per ce nt VAT was imposed on 
the majority of imported and domestically pur chased goods. The Budget Law 2000 had brought the 
application of excise tax and VAT into conformity wi th the relevant WTO provisions.  As the Title III of 
the Fiscal Code foresaw no such exceptions , the 1999 Budget Law 1998 No. 216-XIV enacted on 12 
December 1998 had brought the application of VAT fully into conformity with the relevant WTO 
provisions, without any exceptions. He added that  VAT for domestically produced goods was paid 
together with the price of the goods. Firms and enterprises submitted a monthly statement to the 
Ministry of Finance, not later than the 20th of th e following month, and paid the VAT due together with 
the submission of the statement. VAT on imported g oods had to be paid before the goods entered the 
customs territory of the Republic of Moldova. 
65. The representative of Moldova said that according to Budget Law 2000 (Article 25.1), VAT 
exemptions are the following:  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 34  
 
 a) power energy both imported and supplied by distribution networks or imported by 
distribution networks. Value added tax on power energy transportation is computed 
and paid to the budget in the generally prescribed manner; 
b) heat energy and hot water supplied to the population. Value added tax on raw 
materials, fuel, other materials and services relating to production and supply of heat 
energy and hot water to the population is not included in the cost value; 
c) electrical power networks of 35 kw sold by the State Enterpri se “Moldtranselectro”; 
d) precious metals and precious stones in any form and condition, including scrap and 
waste containing precious metals and precious stones, purchased by the State Depository of Valuables; 
e) the goods manufactured in the medical production (labour) shops under the 
psychiatric hospitals of the Ministry of Health in which disabled labour is used.  
f) Equipment, machinery and their components, (presented in Annex 17) lorries, tractors 
and combines both domestically produced or  imported, as well as their subsequent 
sale on the domestic market;  
g) importation and sale: of technologically superior seeds and standardised hybrids 
imported and used for propagation purposes a nd implementation of new technologies; 
fruit-growing and viticultural material fo r planting, as well as breed stock and 
poultry, premixes of proteins, vitamins a nd provitamines, antibiotics, veterinary 
vaccines, liquid nitrogen, nutritive additives. 
h) Raw materials, material s and spare parts and components imported by Society of 
Blind People to be processed;  
i) The activities linked to authentication of the rights of landholders.  j) The activities of drafting the texts, publishing and polygraph execution of books 
connected with areas of culture, educati on, and science (except for those with 
advertising, erotic and pornographic charact er), as well as importation and sales of 
book products in the areas mentioned a bove and concerned periodical issues; 
k) Reconstruction works in tuberculosis sana torium for children in Ciadir Lunga to be 
funded with money granted by governments of  Turkey and US as humanitarian aid. 
 
66. The exemption from VAT of products fro m crop farming and animal husbandry in 
unprocessed form and on a live-weight basis during year 1999 did not extend to imports of similar products. The representative of Moldova stated that this practice woul d be discontinued and 
subsequently the Budget Law 2000 eliminated this exemption.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 35 
 
 
 - Excise Tax 
67. The representative of Moldova stated that the cu rrent system of excise taxation treated some 
imported and domestic products differently. Some members of the Working Party stated that although 
they welcomed Moldova’s recognition that the curren t excise tax system treated some domestic and 
imported products differently, wh ich was inconsistent with Articl e III of the GATT 1994, they asked 
that the system be brought into conformity with that provision. In response, the representative of 
Moldova stated that the following excise tax rates included in the Budget Law 2000 and reproduced in 
Table 9, are in compliance with the WTO requirements. He confirme d that the producers of the goods 
paid the excise tax on domestically produced goods on  a monthly basis. Produce rs submitted a monthly 
statement to the Ministry of Finance, not later than  the 20th of the following month, and paid the excise 
due. Excise taxes on importe d goods had to be paid before the goods entered the customs territory of the 
Republic of Moldova. For this purpose importers purch ased excise stamps and marked the goods with 
the stamps.  
Table 9 
List of Excisable Products included in the Budget Law 2000  
Code Description of goods Unit measure Amount 
0901 Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee 
husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion. value in 
MDL  10% 
1604 20 101 other prepared or preserved fish of salmon (red caviar) value in 
MDL 20% 
1604 30 Caviar and caviar substitutes value in 
MDL 25% 
2203 00 Beer made from malt litre 0.8 MDL 
2204 10 110 Champagne litre 2,0 MDL 
2204 10 191 Classic sparkling wine litre 2,0 MDL 
2204 10 192 Natural sparkling wine litre 2,0 MDL 
Ex.220410991 Carbonated sparkling wine litre  2,00 MDL 
2204 21 Other wine; grape must with fermentation prevented 
or arrested by the addition of alcohol in containers holding 2 l or less, other than position 2009:   
 -of an actual alcoholic strength by volume not 
exceeding 13%vol: litre 1,00 MDL 
 -of an actual alcoholic st rength by volume exceeding 
13%vol: litre 1,20 MDL 
2204 29 wine other than that referred to an subheading 2204 
10, grape must with fermentation prevented or arrested by the addition of alcohol in containers 
exceeding 2 l other than position 2009:   
 -of an actual alcoholic strength by volume not 
exceeding 13%vol: litre 1,00 MDL 
 Of an actual alcoholic st rength by volume exceeding 
13%vol: litre 1,20 MDL 
2204 30 Musts other than positions 2204 21 and 2204 29 litre 1,00 MDL WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 36  
 
 Code Description of goods Unit measure Amount 
2205 Vermouth and other wine of fresh grapes flavored 
with plants or aromatic substances. litre 1,2 MDL
2206 Other fermented beverages (for example, cider, perry, 
mead); mixtures of fermented beverages and mixtures 
of fermented beverages and non-alcoholic beverages, not elsewhere specified or included. litre 0.1 MDL
2207 10 000 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by 
volume of 80 % vol. or higher; except those used in 
pharmaceutical industry and medicine alcohol litre 
absolute 0.09 MDL/% 
vol/litre 
2207 20 000 Ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any 
strength alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 MDL/% 
vol/litre 
2208 20 Spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc   
 - current consumption  (not older than 6 years) litre  8 MDL 
 - matured (from 6 to 10 years old) litre  20 MDL 
 - old (more than 10 years) litre 60 MDL 
Ex.220820294 Brandy, in containers each holding not over 2 litre Litre 0,09 MDL/% 
vol/litre 
Ex. 220820894 Brandy, in containers each holding more 2 litre Litre 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2208 30 Whisky alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 MDL/% 
vol/litre 
2208 40 Rum and tafia alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2208 50 Gin and Geneva alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2208 60 Vodka alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2208 70 Liqueurs alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2208 90 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by 
volume of less than 80 % vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages, except those from 220820-
220870) alcohol litre 
absolute 0,09 
leu%vol/litre 
2401 Un-manufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse. Tone 2000 MDL 
2402 10 000 Cigars, cheroots  and cigarillos, containing to bacco 1000 pi eces 1000 MDL 
2402 20 Cigarettes containing tobacco   
 - containing cloves 1000 pieces 7 MDL 
 - others 1000 pieces 3 MDL 
2402 90 000 Cigars, cheroots and cigarillos, containing tobacco, 
containing substitutes of tobacco 1000 pieces 5 MDL 
Ex.2710 00 270 
Ex.2710 00 290 
Ex.2710 00 320 
Ex.2710 00 340 Ex.2710 00 360 
Ex.2710 00 390 Petrol for cars  Tone 1200 MDL 
 Gas oils   
27 100 061 For undergoing a specific process Tone 500 MDL 
2710 00 65 For undergoing chemical transformation by a process 
other than those specific in respect of subheading 
2710 00 61 Tone 500 MDL 
2710 00 66 With a sulphur content not  exceeding 0,05% by weigh Tone 500 MDL 
2710 00 67 With a sulphur content  exceeding 0,05% by weigh 
but not exceeding 0,2% by weight Tone 500 MDL  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 37 
 
 
 Code Description of goods Unit measure Amount 
2710 00 68 With a sulphur content exceeding 0,2% by weight Tone 500 MDL 
3303 00 10 Perfumes value in 
MDL 10% 
Ex.4303 Articles of apparel, clothing accessories and other 
articles of fur skin value in 
MDL 25% 
Ex. 7113 Articles of jewelry and parts thereof, of precious metal 
or of metal clad with precious metal. Value in 
MDL 10% 
Ex. 8520 Magnetic tape recorders and other sound recording 
apparatus, whether or not incorporating a sound reproducing device. MDL 15% 
Ex. 8521 Video recording or reproducing apparatus, whether or 
not incorporating a video tuner. Piece 10 EURO 
Ex. 8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-telephony, radio-
telegraphy, radio-broadcasting or television, whether 
or not incorporating recep tion apparatus or sound 
recording or reproducing apparatus; television 
cameras; still image video cameras and other video 
cam Piece 30 EURO 
8528 Reception apparatus for television, whether or not 
incorporating radi o-broadcast receivers or sound or 
video recording or reproducing apparatus; video 
monitors and video projectors.   
852812520 Not over 42 cm Piece 20 EURO 
852812540 More 42 cm, but not over 52 cm Piece 30 EURO 
852812560 More 52 cm, but not over 72 cm Piece 40 EURO 
852812580 More 72 cm Piece 50 EURO 
8703 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally 
designed for the transport of persons, including station 
wagons and racing cars.   
8703 21  - of a cylinder capacity not exceeding 1,000 cc cm3 0,15 EURO 
8703 22 - of a cylinder capacity  exceeding 1,000 cc but not 
exceeding 1,500 cc cm3 0,20 EURO 
8703 23 - of a cylinder capacity  exceeding 1,500 cc but not 
exceeding 3,000 cc cm3 0,30 EURO 
8703 24 - of a cylinder capacity exceeding 3,000 cc cm3 0,80 EURO 
 Other vehicles, with compression-ignition internal 
combustible piston engine (diesel or semi-diesel)   
8703 31 - of a cylinder capacity  not exceeding 1,500 cc cm3 0,20 EURO 
8703 32  - of a cylinder capac ity exceeding 1,500 cc but not 
exceeding 2,500 cc cm3 0,50 EURO 
8703 33 - of a cylinder capacity exceeding 2,500  cm3 cm3 0,80 EURO 
 
Notes:  
1. Indicated excise tax rates were applicable to importation and production of goods subject of excises, 
regardless of the country of origin, set out for dale in the home market and in the CIS countries with the 
which the Republic of Moldova did not enter into or ratified agreement on principles of indirect 
taxation of imports and exports of the goods (works, services). Spirits, wine in bulk and non fermented 
bulk and non-fermented tobacco sold to business which have fiscal relations with national budgetary system and have licensed operation aimed at productio n of excise taxable merchandise, are not liable to 
excise tax. 
2. If merchandise (production) liable to excise tax are sold in shapes which do not comply with measure 
units set forth for excise rates, taxation (application of excise stamps) shall be done based on approved WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 38  
 
 rates after recalculation of the amounts into approved measure units. Recalculation of excise tax for 
alcohol related to contents of absolute alcohol shall be done in a similar way. 
3. In cases when merchandise liable to excise taxation, which have to be marked with excise stamps are 
sold (imported) in a shape which does not comply with measure units approved for excise rates, only 
one excise stamp is applied, however, its value subjected to taxation shall be determined at the moment of delivery, based on approved rates r ecalculated in the necessary measure units; 
4. Costume jewelry articles made of the customer's raw material are not liable to excise taxation, except 
cases of buy and sell transactions with the above mentioned articles. 
5. Amounts of excise taxes paid in the budget for the alcohol bought and used in medicine, pharmacology 
and veterinary are used for se ttlement of budget accounts; 
6. Rates approved for groups of merchandise (products) apply to all products included in the relevant 
group, according to the Moldovan Commodity Classification. 
7. The rate approved for imported cigarettes with filter shall be applied from the date of 1 October 2000. 
Before this date the rate of excise  tax for imported cigarettes with f ilter shall be 2 USD for 1000 pieces.  
8. The fuel that subsequent to any specific processes is transformed and used as petrol or gas is subject to 
the normal rate of excise tax. 
 
68. Referring to the table above, some members of th e Working Party asked Moldova to ensure that 
the exemption from excise tax for spirits used in phar macology and veterinary pr oducts did not create an 
incentive for abuse of the exemption. In response the representative of Moldova stated that manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or veterinary products were  granted exemptions from excise taxes for 
imported spirits on a bona fide  basis if they declared that the im ported spirits would be used for the 
production of pharmaceut icals or veterinary products. However, exemptions from excise taxes were 
being monitored and unusual supplies, which coul d not be explained, would give rise to an 
investigation.  
69. Some members of the Working Party request ed information on how the Government of 
Moldova intended to amend the Budget Law to bring the VAT and excise tax regimes into conformity 
with WTO requirements. The fiscal  policy reflected in the Budget La w 2000 is based on the following: 
(i) general application of the prin ciple of destination for VAT purpos es; (ii) no discriminatory VAT 
exemptions for domestic products; (iii)  general application of the princi ple of destination for excise tax 
purposes; (iv) no discriminato ry excise tax rates. The general applic ation of the principle of destination 
for VAT purposes is also stipulat ed in the new Law on VAT.   
70. Some members of the Working Party stated that th ey were of the view that the excise taxation 
regime on alcoholic beverages was inconsistent with the requirements of Article III of the GATT 1994 
in light of recent WTO Dispute Settlement proceed ings. Those members asked how Moldova planned to 
ensure conformity of its excise taxation of alcohol ic beverages with the GATT 1994. In response, the 
representative of Moldova stated that the Budget  Law for 2000 had removed all inconsistencies as 
regards the excise taxation regime on alcoholic beverages.  
71. Concerning the application of the excise tax es, the representative of Moldova said that 
Moldova had signed bilateral agreem ents with Belarus, Kazakstan,  Uzbekistan and Armenia that  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 39 
 
 
 provided for the implementation of destination of excise taxes as well. Starting with the Law on 
Budget 2000 the application of excise taxes was brought fully into conformity with WTO provisions 
with all countries.  
72. The representative of Moldova confirmed that, from the date of accession, Moldova would 
apply its domestic taxes, including those on products  listed in paragraphs 65-71 in strict compliance 
with Article III of the GATT 1994 and in a non-di scriminatory manner to imports regardless of 
country of origin. The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Quantitative import restrictions 
73. Some members of the Working Party requested  information concerning those provisions in 
Moldovan Law that authorized the Executive to a pply quantitative restrict ions. In response, the 
representative of Moldova explained that under Article 13 of the Law “On Foreign Economic Activity” 
the Government could restrict the export and impo rt of goods and services or to suspend foreign 
economic transactions for balance-of-payments reasons or under other economic and political 
conditions. However, such temporary measures had to respect the provisions of in ternational treaties and 
agreements to which Moldova was a party (Article  3, Law “On Foreign Economic Activity”). There 
were no specific rules on the duration of such te mporary measures. Moldova did not maintain import 
prohibitions although import prohibitions could be imposed under this Law. He added that Moldova 
would only apply import restrictions, quotas and rest rictive import licensing in conformity with the 
relevant WTO provisions. 
74. Some members of the Working Party noted that Article 12 of the Law “On Foreign Trade 
Activity” appeared to authorize, as a rule, the setti ng of quantitative restrictions, awarding of quotas 
and issuing of licenses "through holding a tender or an  auction" and that "distribution of quotas and 
issue of licenses are conducted by an authorized body of public administration, with preference given 
to manufacturing organizations". Those members asked whether the auctioning of quotas, licenses and 
other quantitative restrictions was compatible with  the provisions of Articles II, XI, and XIII. In 
response, the representative of Moldova stated th at Article 10 of the Law “On Foreign Economic 
Activity” provided that importation and exportation was not subject to any quantitative restrictions. 
The Government of the Republic of Moldova coul d only introduce quantitative restrictions on import 
and export in the exceptional cases foreseen in the new draft law. These exceptional cases were 
stipulated in Article 11 of the Law “On Foreign Economic Activity” and were in compliance with 
Articles XX and XXI of GATT 1994. Governmental Decisions concerning the introduction of quantitative restrictions on import a nd export were required to  be published at least 30 days before the 
entry into force of these restrictions. In the case of  establishment of any quantitative restrictions, the WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 40  
 
 authorized public body effected the administration and distribution of quotas and the issue of licenses. 
He further noted that Article 3 of the this Law th at provided that the supremacy of that Law over any 
international agreements to whic h the Republic of Moldova is part , the consistency with the WTO 
Agreements is assured, including as re gards Articles IX and XIII of GATT 1994. 
75. Some members of the Working Party asked how preferential treatment in the distribution of 
licenses was compatible with the provisions of Artic le III and XI. In response, the representative of 
Moldova stated that Article 12 of the Law “On Foreign Economic Activity” had been amended to 
delete all references to preferences.  
76. The representative of Moldova said that at the present time Moldova had no quantitative 
import restrictions in place. He confirmed that from the date of accession, the Republic of Moldova 
would not introduce or apply quantitative restrict ions on imports and other restrictions having 
equivalent effect that could not be justifie d under the provisions of the WTO Agreements.  
- Import licensing procedures 
77. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the products subject to import 
licensing, the justifications thereof, the author ities involved, the cost and procedures, and the 
documentation requirements. In response, the represe ntative of Moldova confirmed that only a limited 
number of products were subject to licensing. The product groups subject to li censing are listed in the 
following paragraph. Lottery-type i nventions, equipment for different types of lottery, slot machines, 
fortune games, and industri al waste subject to international contro l were also subject to import licensing. 
The import licensing system applied to imports irrespective of their origin, including imports from CIS 
countries and other countries with  which Moldova had a preferential trade agreement. In order to 
provide the Working Party with further information,  the representative of Moldova presented further 
information on import licensing in document WT/ACC/MOL/8/Add.1; which was revised and 
supplemented in document WT/ACC/MOL/15.  
78. Some members of the Working Party asked to wh om an application for import license should be 
made. The representative of Moldova said that the institutions and the product  groups covere d, as well 
as the reason for each licensing re quirement and WTO justification are listed in the tables 10-13, below:  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 41 
 
 
 Table 10 
Special Governmental Committee  
Product Group 
 HS-Code Reason for 
licensing GATT Reference 
Weapons, ammunitions, military 
equipment, kits to produce such 
equipment, works and services in the field of technical-m ilitary cooperation 93.00 National security Art. XXI (b) (ii) 
Explosive substances 36.01-36.04 National security Art. XXI (b) (ii) 
Nuclear materials, technologies, 
equipment and installations to produce 
such materials 2844, 8401 National security Art. XXI (b) (ii) 
 
 
Table 11 
Ministry of Health  
 
Product Group 
 HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT 
reference 
Pharmaceutical products  1204, 12 07, 1211, 
2924, 2935-2938, 
2941, 3001-3006, 370110, 4014, 4015, 
481840, 481890, 7017 Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
Medical and optical equipment, 
parts and accessories, bio-media 
for the development of 
microorganisms 9001-9004, 9018-
9022, 3821 Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
Diagnostic tests and chemical 
reactive 3822, 38084 Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
Drugs, substances with 
psychotropic effects; materials to produce such substances 1302, 2921, 2922, 
2926, 2929, 2932, 2939, 280610, 2807, 
28416, 290231, 
290911, 291411, 291412, 29143, 
291524, 291633, 
29242950, 29329073-29329071, 293332, 
29394, 29396. Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health ART. XX (B) 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 42  
 
 Table 12 
 
Ministry of Agriculture and Processing Industry
 
 
Product Group 
 HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT 
reference 
Poisons 280480, 280540, 
2837, 2838, 284160, 2904, 2907, 2908, 
291521,  Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
Chemical and biological products 
for plant protection and stimulation of plant growing. 31, 3808 Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
Tools and devices for vet services 9018-9022 Protection of human, animal 
or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
 
Table 13 
 
Ministry of Finance  
 
Product Group 
 HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT 
reference 
Precious metals (silver and gold), 
objects made thereof, alloys, semifabricates, wastes containing 
precious metals (except electronic 
articles containing precious metals), 7106, 7108, 7113, 
7114, 7115, 7118, 711210 Special role of gold and 
silver Art. XX (c) 
Petrol and diesel Ex.2710 Protection of human, 
animal or plant life or health Art. XX (b) 
 
79. The representative of Moldova added that alt hough imports of medications, drugs and medical 
equipment had previously been subject to prior author ization by the Ministry of Health, that requirement 
had now been eliminated following the Decision of the Constitutional Court No.14 of 19 May 1998.  
80. The representative of Moldova noted that there were no fees related to the issuing of import 
licenses. Licenses were automatic. A license was require d to be issued within five days after the 
complete set of documents had been submitted. Impor t licenses were valid for the period requested by 
the importer. Import licenses could be extende d upon the request of the importer.  
81. The representative of Moldova confirmed that from the date of accession, Moldova would not 
introduce, re-introduce or apply other non-tariff meas ures such as licensing, quotas, prohibitions, bans 
and other restrictions having equiva lent effect that could not be justified under the provisions of the 
WTO Agreements. If balance-of-payment measures were ever necessary in the future, Moldova 
would impose them in a manner consistent with th e relevant WTO provisions, including Article XII  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 43 
 
 
 of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on Bala nce-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994. 
The Working Party took no te of these commitments.  
- Customs valuation 
82. Some members of the Working Party noted that Governmental Decision No. 99 of 
27 February 1996 “On Customs Valuation” did not implement the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement and, in many cases, was in conflict w ith the Agreement. The regulations set forth in 
Decision No. 99 concerning the methods of valuation would need to be modified to conform to the 
Agreement, or revoked. Specific questions were raised w ith regard to Articles 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 
15 and 16, the Interpretative Notes, the Decision on the Treatment of Interest Charges and the 
Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software etc. The representative of Moldova stated that the Law 
on Customs Tariff of 20 November 1997 superseded Government Decision Nr.99. However, changes 
in that Law were required to ensure full confor mity with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. 
83. Some members of the Working Party posed many questions related to the apparent lack of 
conformity of the Draft amendments to the Law on  the Customs Tariff with the requirements of the 
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation. The represen tative of Moldova noted that most of the 
inconsistencies identified by members of the Worki ng Party had been remedied in the final draft of 
the legislation. The Draft Law is presently before Parlia ment and has been approved in a second 
reading and will be enacted by the end of October 2000.   The Draft: Law is expected to be 
approved by the Government and the Parliament by the end of July 2000.   
84. Some members of the Working Party asked  whether the Customs Law satisfied the 
requirements of Article 11 of the WTO Valuation Agreement. In response, the representative of 
Moldova stated that final version of the Article 7 (Rights and responsibilities of declarant) of the 
enacted Law provided importers with the right of appeal according to the procedures established by 
the Code of Civil Procedure, which stipulated in Chapter II the procedure to be followed while 
lodging a complaint in the economic courts and or dinary appeal procedure in its Chapter III. In 
addition, the Customs Code in its Chapter 16, Article  96 gave to the importer the initial right of appeal 
to an authority within the customs administration or to an independent body. The amended Law on  Customs Tariff  introduced language for the right of  appeal without penalty. The new Customs Code 
also provides for the right of appeal acco rding to the WTO Valuation Agreement.  
85. In response to questions from members of th e Working Party, the representative of Moldova 
noted that Article 10 of the Law on Customs Tariffs  (Methods of determination of the customs value 
of the goods) provided for the sequential application of valuation methods and stipulated that the WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 44  
 
 deductive and computed value methods could be a pplied in reverse order at the request of the 
importer.  
86. Some members inquired whether Moldova applied minimum pricing or reference pricing. In 
response, the representative of Moldova stated that  Governmental Decision No. 1092 of 29 October 
1998 had introduced reference prices. The represen tative of Moldova confirmed that upon accession 
to WTO the import reference prices and othe r minimum import valuation schemes would be 
eliminated. Thus, the Governmental Decision No.1 092 of 29 October 1997 “On the obligatory control 
of customs valuation for some imports goods” was valid until 31 December 1999. The representative 
of Moldova confirmed that Decision no. 1092 expire d on 1 January 2000 and that there were presently 
no legal requirements related to  reference prices. After accession Moldova assumed the obligation to 
respect all WTO provisions in this respect.  
87. At a later stage and in responses to the above  questions, in document WT/ACC/MOL/14 the 
representative of Moldova provided detailed informa tion cross-referencing the provisions of the 
Customs Valuation Agreement with the Articles of the Customs Tariff Law.  
88. The representative of Moldova confirmed that, from the date of accession, Moldova would 
apply fully the WTO provisions concerning customs va luation, including in addition to the Agreement 
on the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 , the provisions on the Treatment of Interest 
Charges in Customs Value of Imported Goods a nd for the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing 
Software for Data Processing Equipment. In accord ance with these latter provisions, only the cost of 
the carrier medium itself would be accounted for in the customs value. He added that, as an 
international agreement, the provisions of the WT O Agreement on the Implem entation of Article VII 
of the GATT 1994 would supersede domestic law af ter accession. The Working Party took note of 
these commitments. 
- Rules of origin 
89. Some members of the Working Party asked for confirmation that Moldova would adopt legal 
provisions for rules of origin that conform fully to  the requirements of the WT O Agreement on Rules of 
Origin. The representative of Moldova stated th at the Customs Tariff Law of November 1997 
established Moldova's rules of origin. 
90. In response to questions the representative of Mo ldova said that rules of origin were required 
only for goods imported from countries covere d by a preferential trade agreement and from 
least-developed countries. The rules of origin und er the Free Trade Agreements signed with CIS  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 45 
 
 
 countries and Romania, as well as under preferences in the framework of the GSP, were included in 
respective agreements. A valid, official certificate of  origin constituted the proof of origin. He further 
added that the country of origin was ascertained by verifying whether the certificate of origin which was 
submitted coincided with the merchandise to be imported. 
91. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would adopt legal provisions for rules 
of origin that comply fully with the require ments of the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin. 
92. The representative of Moldova confirmed th at from the date of accession Moldova’s 
preferential and non-preferential rules of origin would comply fully with the WTO Agreement on 
Rules of Origin, and that the requirements of Ar ticle 2(h) and Annex II, paragraph 3(d) of the 
Agreement, which require provision upon request of an assessment of the origin of the import and 
outline the terms under which it will be provided, wo uld be established in Mo ldova's legal framework 
prior to accession. The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Pre-shipment inspection 
93. In response to questions from some members of the Working Party, the representative of 
Moldova said that, in order to implement the Budget Law 2000 and the Law “On State 
Regulation of the Foreign Trade Activity” and in order to implement provisions of the Law on 
Customs Tariff No 1380 – XIII of 20 November 1997 (Monitorul Oficial, 1998, No 40 -41), and to 
improve the mechanism for customs valuation of goods, and for collection of statistics, and to 
enhance the quality and conformity verification of  imported goods, the Government of the Republic 
of Moldova had approved a Governmental Order “On Pre-shipment inspection of imported 
goods”. Decision No.747 of 3 August 1999 “On introduction of the pre -shipment inspection for 
imported goods”.  This Order was applied to all pre-ship ment inspection activities carried out on the 
territory of the Republic of Moldova contracted or mandated by the government or any government 
body. The Republic of Moldova would ensure that pre-shipment inspection activities were carried out 
in a non-discriminatory manner, and that the procedur es and criteria employed in the conduct of these 
activities were objective and applied on an equal basis to all importers affected by such activities.  
94. The representative of Moldova confirmed that in utilising pre-shipment inspection service 
providers, Moldova would ensure that the require ments of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection 
were implemented in full. Moldova  would take full responsibility to ensure that the enterprises 
operating on its behalf complied with the provi sions of WTO Agreements. Decisions by the 
enterprises could be appealed by importers in the same way as administrative decisions taken by the 
Moldovan Government. Moldova confirmed that its  pre-shipment inspection regime would be WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 46  
 
 temporary and would only operate until such time as the Moldovan Customs authorities were able to 
carry out the functions presently performed by pre-shipment inspection service providers. The 
Working Party took note of these commitments. 
- Anti-Dumping, countervailing and safeguards 
95. Some members of the Working Party requested that the Government of Moldova undertake a 
commitment that any anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguards measures would only be taken in 
conformity with the WTO Agreements on Anti-Du mping, Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and 
Safeguards. In response, the representative of Moldova stated that the Government of Moldova was preparing a law on anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, which would comply with the 
respective WTO regulations.  
96. The representative of Moldova confirmed that  Moldova would not apply any anti-dumping, 
countervailing or safeguard measure until it had no tified and implemented appropriate laws in 
conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agre ements on the Implementation of Article VI, on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and on Safe guards. In the elaboration of any legislation 
concerning such anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures Moldova would ensure their 
full conformity with the relevant WTO provisions , including Articles VI and XIX of the GATT 1994 
and the Agreements on the Implementation of Article VI, the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures and the Agreement on Safeguard s. After such legislation was implemented, 
Moldova would also only apply any anti-dumpi ng duties, countervailing duties and safeguard 
measures in full conformity with the relevant WT O provisions. The Working Party took note of these 
commitments.  
- Export Regulation 
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges and internal taxes applied to exports 
97. Some members of the Working Party asked Mol dova to explain the justifications of export 
licensing requirements and the registration of export contracts. They expressed concern that the 
current customs user fee of a 0.25 per cent was in consistent with Article VIII of GATT 1994 and asked 
Moldova to bring its system into line with WTO rules.  
98. The representative of Moldova said that there we re no export licensing requirements and that the 
registration of export contracts had been abolis hed by Government Decision No. 777 of 1997.  He 
confirmed that Government Decision No. 716 of 30 June 1998 had modified Go vernment Decision No. 
777 of 1997 and abolished the licence fee of 0.1 per cent.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 47 
 
 
 - Export restrictions 
99. In response to questions, the representativ e of Moldova said that Moldova no longer 
maintained the temporary export restriction on un bottled wine intended to promote the quality image 
of Moldovan wine. Because the restriction had proved ineffective to achieve this objective it had been 
removed. The representative of Moldova said that if any of these policy instruments were introduced 
in the future, they would be fully consis tent with the relevant WTO provisions.  
- Export licensing 
100. The representative of Moldova informed member s of the Working Party that export licenses 
were required for "goods with a special character" and that, in accordance w ith Government Decision 
No. 777 of 13 August 1997, the list of products was the same as the list of products subject to import 
licensing reproduced in paragraph [78] above. It included weapons, ammunition, military equipment, 
kits to produce such equipment; explosives; nuclear materials, technologies, eq uipment and installations 
to produce such materials; ionic radiation sour ces; drugs, psychotropic effect substances and 
preparations, materials to  produce such substances and prepara tions, poisons; lottery-type inventions, 
means and equipment for different types of lottery; slot machines, fortune games; chemical substances 
(including fertilizers and plant-protection substances ) and industrial waste subject to international 
control; medicines, medical applian ces and equipment. The list also included precious metals: gold and 
silver. 
101. In response to questions from some members of the Working Party, the representative of 
Moldova confirmed that the registration requireme nt for export contracts had been abolished by 
Government Decision No. 777 of 13 August 1997 “On Improving the Mechanisms of Regulating 
Foreign Trade”. The export license f ee had also been abolished too. 
- Export subsidies 
102. In response to requests for information, the representative of Moldova said that Moldova did 
not maintain export subsidies, special promotion or financing policies. If Moldova decided to 
introduce such measures in the future, they woul d be fully consistent with the relevant WTO 
provisions. 
103. The representative of Moldova stated that from the date of accession Moldova would not 
maintain any subsidies, includi ng export subsidies, which met a definition of a prohibited subsidy 
within the meaning of Article 3 of the Agreem ent on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 48  
 
 would not introduce such prohibited subsidies fro m the day of accession. The Working Party took 
note of this commitment. 
- Internal Policies Affecting Trade in Goods 
- Industrial policy, including subsidies 
104. In response to requests for information, the representative of Mol dova stated that the 
Government had a general policy to create a br oad-based market economy and to privatize all 
government-owned commercial enterp rises and assets. The Government also had a general policy to 
attract foreign investment into the country and to involve, as far as possib le, foreign investors and 
technology in all sectors of the economy for the purpo se of furthering the creation of a market economy 
and the privatization of government-owned commercial enterprises and assets. In dustry continued to be 
an important element in the development of the nati onal economy and, as part of its economic policy 
Moldova had identified priority development sectors. Tax incentives and relief were granted to sectors 
such as energy, transport, road building and tele communications in the form of priority loans and 
technical assistance provi ded by international organizations or bilateral co-operati on programmes. No 
subsidies were granted to domest ic industrial production. In the year 2000, Moldova accords the 
following tax exemptions: 
(i)  Exemptions from payment of the income tax to the budget applied to: 
a) medical labour shops administrated by the psychiatric hospitals of the Ministry of 
Health in which disabled labour is used; 
b) Republican Experimental Center for Pr osthetic Appliances, Orthopedics, and 
Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection, and Family; 
c) enterprises of the Society of Blind People, Society of Deaf People, Society of 
Invalids; 
d) enterprises of penitentiary institutions;  
e) territorial cadastre authorities – with resp ect to the part of income calculated and 
aimed at establishment and operation of  the Guarantee Fund instituted by the 
National Cadastre Agency, Financial Resources and Geodesy, as well as with respect to the part calculated and aimed at accu mulation of funds to cover expenditures for 
the service and repayment of foreign loans granted to implement the First Cadatre 
Project; 
f) income resulting from interest on state secur ities issued in 2000 irrespective of the 
term of their redemption; 
 (ii)  income tax exemptions are also applied to: 
a) military men, members of the command body,  of the penitentiary system, troops of 
the internal affairs bodies and of the Fire and Rescue Service of the Department for  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 49 
 
 
 Civil Protection and Emergencies - on incomes received from these jobs. Personal 
exemption cannot be transferred to spouses;  
b) individuals, on material assistance received from the reserves of the Government and 
local public administration authorities, and labour unions funds in conformity with 
provisions on such assistance; 
c) sportsmen and coaches, on financial aid provided by the International Olympic 
Committee as well as on bonuses received in  international sport competitions ; 
d) National Olympic Committee and national s ports federations – on financial assistance 
granted by the International Olympic Comm ittee, European Sports federations and 
other international sports organizations; 
e) “Apa-Canal-Chisinau”  - on income intended for and transferred to the special fund 
for interest payment and repayment of th e loan obtained from the European Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development.  
 
(iii)  from land tax: 
a) institutions funded from budgets of all levels, except for land plots used for business 
activity or leased; 
b) enterprises of the Society of Blind People, Society of Deaf People, and the Society of 
Invalids.  
c) enterprises of penitentiary institutions; 
d)  the Republican Stadium and the Athletic Manege from Chisinau 
e) for land plots under dwellings, for land pl ots adjacent to dwellings, within the 
established limits when those land plots are owned by:  
- Individuals aged 61 for males and 56  for females, invalids of the I and II 
categories, infant invalids, other indi viduals unfit for work, invalids of III 
category (participants in military actions for the defense of territorial integrity 
and independence of the Republic of Moldova, participants in military 
actions in Afghanistan, participants in  liquidation of Chernobyl’s catastrophe 
aftermath). The above-mentioned categori es of individuals (except invalids of 
the I and II categories and infant invalids) are tax exempt on the condition 
that they do not reside with family members able for work. For the purpose of 
granting this tax privilege, the category “other individuals unfit for work” includes children up to 16 years of age in clusive, individuals on compulsory  
military service, pupils and students of educational institution (full time) with 
the duration of studies over one year; 
 
- Families and dependants of participants  deceased in the military actions for 
the defense of territorial integrity and independence of the Republic of Moldova; 
 
- Families and dependants of participants  deceased in the military actions in 
Afghanistan; 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 50  
 
 - Families and dependants of individuals who died as a consequence of 
diseases caused by their participation in the liquidation of Chernobyl’s catastrophe aftermath; 
 - Families with invalid children  under 18 years; 
 
- Individuals that suffered from earth s lides. The respective decision is adopted 
by the local council.  
 
This year other legislative also remains in fo rce acts granting allowances and privileges on 
land tax to individuals. In cases where the i ndividual is subject to a number of fiscal 
privileges, he/she is granted only one  of them, the most beneficial.  
 (iv)  from real estate tax:  
a) institutions financed from pub lic budgets of any level; 
b) organizations and enterprises of the Society of Blind People, Society of Deaf People 
and Society of Invalids; 
c) the Experimental Republican Center for Pr osthesis, Orthopedics and Rehabilitation of 
the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family 
d) enterprises of the penitentiary institutions; 
e) civil protection entities; 
f) diplomatic missions for real estate put at their disposal on a reciprocal basis, with no 
rental payment; 
g) religious organizations for real estate designated for religious services; 
h) within the limit of real estate value of up to lei 30 thousand for permanent dwellings 
inhabited by: 
 
- Individuals aged 61 for males and 56  for females, invalids of the I and II 
categories, infant invalids, other indi viduals unfit for work, invalids of III 
category (participants in military actions for the defense of territorial integrity 
and independence of the Republic of Moldova, participants in military 
actions in Afghanistan, participants in  liquidation of Chernobyl’s catastrophe 
aftermath). The above-mentioned categori es of individuals (except invalids of 
the I and II categories and infant invalids) are tax exempt on the condition that they do not reside with family members able for work. For the purpose of 
granting this tax privilege, the category “other individuals unfit for work” 
includes children up to 16 years of age in clusive, individuals on compulsory  
military service, pupils and students of educational institution (full time) with 
the duration of studies over one year; 
 
- Families and dependants of participants  deceased in the military actions for 
the defense of territorial integrity and independence of the Republic of 
Moldova; 
 - Families and dependants of participants  deceased in the military actions in 
Afghanistan; 
 
- Families and dependants of individuals who died as a consequence of 
diseases caused by their participation in the liquidation of Chernobyl’s catastrophe aftermath; 
 - Families with invalid children under 18 years;  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 51 
 
 
  
- Individuals that suffered from earth s lides. The respective decision is adopted 
by the local council. 
 
In case the above-mentioned categories have at thei r disposal real estate, the value of which 
exceeds Lei 30 thousand, the real estate tax should be imposed on the difference between the 
real estate value and Lei 30 thousand.  
(v)  from water fees: 
 
a) underground water extracted concomitantly with ore or extracted for preventing its 
damaging effects; 
b) water used for anti-fire purposes; c) water used by the enterprises of the Society of Blind People, Society of Deaf People 
and Society of Invalids; 
d) water collected by the population from surface and underground sources (springs) for 
drinking water and household needs; 
 (vi) from value added tax, customs duty and fee for customs procedures – goods and services 
imported or purchased on the territory of the Republic of Moldova on account of loans and 
grants offered to the Government of the Republic of Moldova or offered under state guarantee, on account of loans granted by intern ational financial organizations (including on 
account of the share of the Government of th e Republic of Moldova) designated for fulfilment 
of respective projects, according to th e list approved by the Government; 
 (vii) from value added tax and customs duty – import and sale on the domestic market of vehicles 
(cars); 
 
(viii) from value added tax and customs duty – import and sale on the domestic market of  filter 
cigarettes. After six months after publication of  this law, the value added tax on the above-
mention products should be imposed according to general principles; 
 (ix) from value added tax and customs duty –impor t and sale on the domestic market of potato 
seeds of first reproduction; 
 (x) till 1 of July 2000, from value added tax and cu stoms duties for equipment and other goods 
imported for production purposes by the “Redeco” Ltd, USA Company for exploration of natural resources according to the terms of the concession Agreement on prospecting and 
exploration of oil and gas resources; 
 (xi) from value added tax and customs duties for import of equipment and supplies received as 
donation from the International Olympic Committee for training of the national team for participation at the Olympic Games in Sydney – the National Olympic Committee; 
 
(xii) from customs duties for import of goods included in the statutory capital, received as donation 
from the Council of Europe – the Information and Documentation Center of the Council of 
Europe in the Republic of Moldova; 
 (xiii) from value added tax on produced goods and provided services, as well as from fee for use of 
mineral resources – enterprises of penitentiary institutions; 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 52  
 
 (xiv) from transfer to the budget of the income tax, value added tax and fee for extraction of inert 
construction materials – the joint stock company “Chisinau Mine”, on condition that it utilizes these amounts for prevention measures against flooding of mining excavations; 
 (xv) from transfer to the budget of value added ta x, calculated on delivered goods and provided 
services – organizations and enterprises of the Society of Blind People, Society of Deaf 
People and Society of Invalids; 
 (xvi) from transfer to the budget of up to 50% of the calculated value added tax amount – economic 
agents carrying out the restructuring process through the Council of Creditors, on condition of 
further utilization of the respective amount fo r covering additional e xpenditures related to 
restructuring and fulfilment of measures envisaged in the memorandum-agreement; 
(xvii)  from transfer to the budget of value added tax – proceeds from sale of capital assets and other 
material goods of economic agents, on which the economic court has initiated a bankruptcy 
case (liquidation procedure) according to the Law N 786-XIII as of March 26, 1996, “On 
bankruptcy”, on condition that respective funds be used for covering debt to creditors; 
 (xviii)  from transfer to budget of taxes and fees (excep t for income tax, customs duties, fee for 
customs procedures, value added tax and ex cises on import) -–enterprises of the State 
Forestry Service, on condition that respective f unds be used for regene ration and protection of 
forests. The results of these transactions shoul d be reflected in the report on cash execution of 
the state budget, based on the monthly reports submitted by the State Forestry Service;  
 (xix) from payment of the fee for registration of state securities to the National Committee for 
Movable Assets – the Ministry of Finance; 
 
105. In response to questions from members of the Working Party concerning the mechanisms and 
policies used to enable the development programm es for the agricultural sector, the representative of 
Moldova stated that the development of the agricu ltural sector was supported by the Government with 
the following measures:  
− privatization of land and of State-owned agricultural enterprises, e.g., state farms;  
− restructuring of privatized farms suppor ted by international aid agencies and 
establishment of an Agency for Assistance to Farms in Restructuring (ARA);  
− support to agricultural research in the framewor k of a major loan of an international aid 
agency; 
− improving the availability of credit at market rates to small farmers and preparation of a 
credit line for the agriculture sector as a whole which would be financed by an 
international aid agency;  
− financial support programmes;  
− improving the legislative framework. Mo ldova was redrafting the Law on the 
Normative Price of Land and was preparing a Law on the Sale of Land. Although the  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 53 
 
 
 necessary legislation to regulate the tradi ng of land was not yet in place, efficient 
allocation of land and agricultural machinery was facilitated through leasing and renting 
arrangements. 
106. Some members of the Working Party asked for information on Government aid to investment 
projects. In response, the representative of Moldova stat ed that Government aid to  investment projects in 
the private sector was granted in the framework of: (i) concessions, in accordance with Article 46, Law 
“On Foreign Investment”; (ii) free enterprise zones, in accordance with Article 46 of that Law and the 
provisions governing such zones; (iii) agreements with the BERD, including technical assistance and 
exemptions from VAT. The followi ng investment projects launched by the private sector had received 
Government aid: REDECO accordi ng to the terms of the concessi onal agreement on prospecting and 
exploitation of oil and gas (Artic le 26, 1999 Budget Law); modernization of Thermocomenergo carried 
out by ROCARO. He stated that th e Government support measures for concessions were negotiated on 
an individual basis. They were not part of a G overnment investment support  program. There were no 
administrative procedures for applying for a nd receiving this govern mental assistance.  
107. The representative of Moldova stated that  any subsidy programmes provided by his 
Government after accession would be administered  in conformity with the Agreement on Subsidies 
and Countervailing Measures and that all necessary information on notifiable programmes would be 
notified to the Committee on Subsidies and Counterva iling Measures according to Article 25 of the 
Agreement upon entry into force of Moldova's Protoc ol of Accession. The Working Party took note of 
these commitments.  
- Technical Barriers to Trade  
108. Some members of the Working Party asked Mo ldova to submit information on the measures 
being taken to meet the requirements of the TBT Agreement. Steps undertaken to ensure fulfillment 
of the TBT Agreement requirements included the analysis of nonconformity and the adoption of 
measures for its removal, pursuing a technical policy directed to applying international standards (or 
their drafts) while national standard s were being elaborated. The ela boration of national standards was 
carried out by technical committees on standardizati on that consisted of specialists from interested 
parties. Moreover, newly develope d standards were being harmonized with relevant international or 
European standards. All standards were revised every five years.  
109. The representative of Moldova added that at pr esent there were in fo rce normative documents 
on standardization for the following pro ducts or product groups in Moldova: WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 54  
 
 Table 13 
The normative acts of standardization relating to Different Products/Product Areas
 
Normative documents on standardization Products/Product Groups 
Medico-biological requirements to ensure that food products are safe 
and meet minimum nutritional value requirements, issued by the 
Ministry of Health Food products  
Safety requirements as part of product standards Broad range of non-food products 
Norms and rules in construction  Construction and building activity 
Norms and rules on labour safety Se rvices provided at the work place 
Environmental protection norms, including radiation safety General 
 
Of 20,000 regional GOST standards, available on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, Moldova 
actually applied approximately 8,000 standards, of  which approximately 2,000 are mandatory. The 
amendments to the Law on Standardization and dr aft Law on TBT stipulated that from 1 January 
2002 the application of national standards would b ecome voluntary. The application of a national 
standard will remain mandatory only if a refere nce in a Technical Regulation is provided. An 
authorized public authority may adopt a techni cal regulation only in accordance with legitimate 
objectives listed in the TBT Agreement. By 1 Ja nuary 2002 the authorities of the Republic of 
Moldova will develop and make known the technical  regulations, derived from the present mandatory 
standards. 
110. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would intr oduce voluntary standards to 
prepare for its accession to the WTO. Against a background of a di fficult economic situation, the 
absence of other obligatory technical requirements,  Moldova considered mand atory standards the only 
practical way to keep out poor quality or danger ous products. The newly de veloped standards were 
being harmonized with ISO standards and the existing standards would be harmonized over time 
through a process of periodic revisions. The follow ing publications contained information on technical 
regulations, standard s and procedures: 
- "Buletinul Standartisarii” (published in Moldova every two months in the Romanian 
and Russian languages); 
- "Monitorul Oficial” (published in Moldova monthly); - "Buletinul Standardizarii” (published mont hly in Romania in the Romanian language); 
- “Informationnii Ucazateli Standartov” (publis hed monthly in Russia n Federation in the 
Russian language). 
111. Some members of the Working Party request ed information concerning certification 
procedures. In response, the representative of Mold ova stated that product and service certification in 
the Republic of Moldova was carried out in the fra mework of the National Certification System, on  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 55 
 
 
 the basis of the Law on Certification, Law on Consumer Protection Rights of the Republic of 
Moldova, Law on Standardization, in concordance with ISO, ISO/CEI Guides, normative documents 
of National Standardization and Certification Syst ems, harmonized with the above. In conformity 
with General Procedure PG-01-05- 92 mandatory and voluntary certification is carried out in the 
Republic of Moldova. Certification had a mandatory character only for products or services that can 
affect life, health, consumer’s property and envi ronment. These products or services were introduced 
in to the Nomenclature of products and services subj ect to mandatory certification, approved by the 
Department of Standards, Metr ology and Technical Supervision. The certification procedures for 
specific classes of products were spelled out by each accredited body and approved by the Department 
of Standards, Metrology and Technical Supervisio n in conformity with the Moldovan Standard SM 
45-2 “National Certification System of the Repu blic of Moldova Product certification”. On 3 
February 2000 a new Law on Certification came into force. 
112. The representative of Moldova said those certification procedures, testing methods and 
certification activities are for domestic and imported products, independent of the product’s origin and 
type of business organization of the applican t. Free access to all normative documents on 
standardization and certification procedures was guaranteed for all applicants for certification from 
the Republic of Moldova and other countries. Single form certificates, protected with special signs 
were issued by the National Certification System  of the Republic of Moldova. Moldova recognized 
certificates of conformity, issued by certifica tion bodies with which bilateral or multilateral 
agreements of recognition had been signed.  
113. The representative of Moldova said that currently , the certification regime in the Republic of 
Moldova was carried out by 22 certification bodies and 71 testing laboratories, accredited within the 
National Certification System of the Republic of Moldova by Accreditation Centers in conformity 
with provisions of EN 45000 Standard. The Nome nclature of products subject to mandatory 
certification include: foodstuffs; electronics; products  and technologies with a high level of danger; 
goods for children; cosmetics products; construc tion materials; machines and equipment; and 
furniture. The services subject to mandatory certification included hotels, dry cleaning, motor-repair, audio and video repair and household electrical appliances repair services. 
114. He further added that through their participa tion in the technical committees, domestic 
producers were being made aware of the contents of drafts on standards. Besides the national standards 
Moldova applied international standards (ISO, IEC) , regional standards (GOST, EN) and Romanian 
standards (STAS, SR). Moldova resp ects International Conventions re gulating the safety of chemical, 
toxic, inflammable, explosive and other substances. In Moldova, there were no specific regulations or WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 56  
 
 requirements covering elec trical safety, telecommunications eq uipment, medical devices and other 
classes of equipment. Product cert ification in the Republic of Moldova  is carried out according to the 
provisions of the TBT Agreement regarding the as sessment of conformity. Moldova did not apply 
specific certificate classes, excluding hygienic certif icates introduced by the Ministry of Health, as 
component part of certificates of conformity. Th e requirements related to hygienic certificates are 
specified in the technical regulations of the Ministry of Health. The State Inspections for Consumers' 
Rights Protection and products quality control perfo rms quality control during the production process, 
storing and commercializati on. Domestic products were  subject to the same standards as foreign goods.  
115. In response to additional questions concerning ce rtification procedures, the representative of 
Moldova said that only certificates  from certification bodies in the CIS countries and Romania were 
recognized currently in Moldova. Recognition by certif ication bodies of Moldova of the certificates 
issued in CIS countries and Roma nia was based under the bilateral agreements signed with these 
countries. Moldova was ready to st art negotiation with othe r countries for recognition of certification 
procedures and conformity certificates. The representative of Moldova said that Article 4.4 of the Law on Standardization of 22 Septembe r 1995 expressly provided that Mol dovan standards had to be based 
on modern scientific research, t echniques and technology, on internat ional and regional standards and on 
advanced standards of other countri es. Also Article 18 of the Law stip ulated as the main objective of 
international co-operation between Moldova and other countries of achievement of the harmonization of 
national standards with international and regional st andards and with advanced national standards of 
other countries. 
116. In response to requests for information concer ning the compatibility of the draft legislation 
with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on T echnical Barriers to Trade, the representative of 
Moldova provided the requested information in the document WT/ACC/MOL/16 and 19. Remaining measures to be taken by Moldova to bring legisla tion into conformity with WTO provisions, and their 
timeframe, are described below.  
Table 14 
Timeframe for bringing national legislation into conformity with WTO provisions
 
 
Measure Description of measures Implementation period 
Adoption of Draft law 
amending the law on 
standardization  Provides rules for publication of the program for 
developing standards;  
Provides for the consid eration of appropriate 
international standards, guidelines and recommendations 
as a  basis for technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures.  Adopted Law no. 919-
XIV of  12 April 2000.  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 57 
 
 
 Measure Description of measures Implementation period 
Adoption of Draft law 
on certification  provides for development and application conformity 
assessment procedures;  
provides for the acceptance  of the results of conformity 
assessment procedures conducted by bodies in an 
exporting Member country in case that Moldova signed 
bilateral agreement on mutual recognition or in case of 
accession to specialized regional or international 
organizations;  
provides for non -discrimination with respect to the 
treatment of products and cost -based fee structure.  Adopted Law no. 652-
XIV of 28 October 1999.  
Adoption of Draft law 
on TBT  Provides for compliance with the provisions of the Code 
of Good Practice for dev elopment and application of 
technical regulations, standards and conformity 
assessment procedures;  
stipulates the avoidance of  unnecessary obstacles to 
international trade and the consideration of less trade 
restrictive alternatives to fulfilling legitimat e objectives;  
provides for implementation and administration of the 
TBT Agreement;  
provides for identification of the authority responsible 
for making notifications to WTO under TBT Agreement;  
Provides for a reasonable period of time between the 
final publ ication of technical regulations and their entry 
into force so that supplier can adapt.  Adopted Law no.866-
XIV of 10 March 2000. 
Adoption of the new Law on Protection of 
Consumers' Rights insures the right of each consumer to instruction 
regarding his rights; 
to be assured that goods purchased do not present a 
danger to his life and health or to the environment; to secure compensation for quality-defective products 
and to compensation for any damages to his life and 
health resulting from such products. December 2000 
Setting up and full 
operation of the inquiry 
point to be able to answer enqu iries from WTO Members and 
interested parties as well as to provide the relevant 
documents regarding: technical regulations, standards and 
conformity assessment procedure; is responsible for legal or administrative reasons for 
notification procedures required by the WTO Agreement. October , 2000 
Accepting and 
Implementation of Code of Good Practice Implementation of the terms and definitions for the 
purpose of TBT Agreement; to ensure the ongoing compliance with provisions of the 
agreement concerning: 
Non-discrimination with respect to the treatment of products; 
the prohibition of unn ecessary obstacles to international 
trade; the consideration of appropri ate international standards, 
guides and recommendations as a basis for a standards; 
non-discriminatory and cost -based fee structure. January, 2001 
Implementation of the 
Plan on development of 
voluntary standards Provides for transformation from the mandatory 
standards into the Technical Regulation and Voluntary 
Standards, based on review that they are appropriate to 
achieve the desired legitimate objective; Development of legal documents for covering the 
regulated area.  2000-2003 
 
 
 During 2001 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 58  
 
 Measure Description of measures Implementation period 
Schedule of recognition 
of conformity assessment procedures   Schedule provides for intention of Moldova to sign 
bilateral agreements on mutual recognition or acceptation of the results of conformity assessment 
procedures.  2000-2001 
 
 
117. In response to questions from members of the Working Party the representative of Moldova 
noted that an inquiry point had been created wi thin the National Center for Standardization and 
Certification. The address was: 
28, Coca street, Chisinau  
Republic of Moldova 
Tel: (373-2) 75-09-81 
Fax: (373-2) 75-05-81 E-mail: Moldovastandard@standart.mldnet.com Director: Mr. Lupascu Vasile 
118. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would implement the WTO 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade from the date of accession in accordance with the Schedule 
contained in Table no.14 and without recourse to any transition period.  
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures 
119. Some members of the Working Party requested detailed information concerning agricultural 
products, in particular how Moldovan standards and regulations compared with those of the Codex 
Alimentarius (Codex), Organization of International Epizootics, and the European Plant Protection 
Organization. In response, the repr esentative of Moldova said that Moldovan standards and regulations 
fully complied with the regulations of the Codex Alimentarius. Moldova was a member of the 
Organization of International Epizootics and was us ing its regulations. Moldova was not a member of 
the European Plant Protection Organization. 
120. In response to requests for info rmation, the representative of Moldova said that the following 
products required a hygienic certif icate from the State Sanitary-Epidemi ological Service: raw materials, 
machines and equipment the use of which may constit ute a source of danger for human health; goods for 
children; materials and equipment used in drinking water systems; cosmetics and perfume; soap and detergents; textiles. The certif icate for domestic goods was issu ed on the basis of relevant 
documentation, including the results of hygienic test s. For foreign products, the certificate was issued 
based on a safety certif icate of the exporting country an d additional tests in Moldova.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 59 
 
 
 121. Concerning the veterinary inspection and quaran tine requirements that applied to livestock, 
animal products, fish, veterinary drugs and animal feed, the representative of Moldova said that the 
Moldovan Law on Veterinary Activity obliged holders of livestock to: (i) respect the veterinary, sanitary 
and zoo-hygienic rules regarding the maintenance, f eeding reproduction and explo itation of animals; (ii) 
take the necessary actions to prevent infectious dise ases and, to eradicate sources of infections and 
prevent their spreading; (iii) ensure systematic medical examination of pe rsonnel and prohibiting the 
employment of sick persons; (iv) notify without delay the veterinary authorities about the existence or 
suspicion of existence of a disease which could re quire the imposition of qua rantine measures, isolate 
the sick or dead animals, and prevent the use or sa le of their meat; (v) notify within 24 hours the local 
veterinary authorities of the acquisition of animal s from other areas of the country and keep these 
animals separate from the existing stock; (vi) provide to the veterinary authorities access to the animals 
for inspection purposes; (vii) sell animals, products a nd meat only with the authorization of the local 
veterinary service; (viii) keep the facilities (stables, pastures, wa ter supply) in clean condition, in 
accordance with veterinary regulations. The impor tation into Moldova of livestock for breeding was 
only permitted if: (i) no infectious diseases had occurred, in conform ity with the requirements of the 
Republic of Moldova; (ii) an insp ection had been carried out in the country of exportation by a 
recognized agency, at least 30 days prior to importatio n; (iii) the livestock to be imported into Moldova 
did not have any disease; (iv) and the radioactivity of the livestock did not exceed 360 bk/kg. He further 
added that the importation into Moldova of livestoc k for slaughtering was only permitted if: (i) no 
dangerous infectious diseases had oc curred during the last 30 days prio r to importation in the country of 
exportation; (ii) it was in good condition; (iii) and th e radioactivity of the livestock did not exceed 360 
bk/kg. The conditions for the importation of fish an d seafood products were de termined on a case by 
case basis. No specific requireme nts existed for the importation of veterinary drugs and animal feed. 
122. The representative of Moldova pr esented the following table, co ntaining an overview of the 
regulations, the goods concerned and the competent authority: 
Table 15 
Overview of Sanitary and Phytosani tary regulations, goods concerned  
and the competent authorities  
 
Rules Goods/Objects Competent Authority Certificate 
Issued 
Medico-Biological 
Requirements No.5061-89 
Food safety 
requirements (harmonized with the 
Codex Alimentarius) food products State Sanitary-Epidemiological 
Service (Ministry of Health) Hygiene 
Certificate WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 60  
 
 Rules Goods/Objects Competent Authority Certificate 
Issued 
Sanitary requirements as part of product 
standards 
 raw-materials, machines and 
equipment the use of which may 
constitute a source of danger for 
human health; goods for children; 
materials and equipment used in 
drinking water systems; cosmetics and perfume; 
soap and detergents; 
- textiles State Sanitary-Epidemiological 
Service (Ministry of Health) Hygiene 
Certificate 
Phytosanitary requirements 
(harmonized with the  
European Plant Protection 
Organization) products, materials or objects which 
could contribute directly or 
indirectly to the spreading of pest, 
diseases or objects under phytosanitary quarantine Chief State Inspectorate for the 
Phytosanitary Quarantine 
(Ministry of Agriculture) Import Permit, 
Phytosanitary 
Certificate (for 
export) 
Veterinary requirements  (harmonized with 
International 
Epizootics Organization) live animals of all kinds; 
meat and meat products; milk and milk products; 
poultry, eggs and egg products; 
fish and sea-food-products and raw materials of animal origin; 
products of animal origin for animal 
feeding; - goods for veterinary use. State Veterinary Inspectorate 
(Ministry of Agriculture)  Sanitary Avis, 
Authorization, Veterinary 
Health 
Certificate 
Veterinary 
requirements  
(harmonized with International 
Epizootics 
Organization) live animals of all kinds; 
meat and meat products; 
milk and milk products; poultry, eggs and egg products; 
fish and sea-food-products and raw 
materials of animal origin; products of animal origin for animal 
feeding; 
- goods for veterinary use. State Veterinary Inspectorate 
(Ministry of Agriculture) 
 Sanitary Avis, 
Authorization, 
Veterinary Health 
Certificate 
Notes : 
The competent authority prep ared the relevant technical requirements jointly with Moldovastandard. Testing and 
certification for SPS purposes is the competence of the body i ndicated in Column 3. For testing, these bodies may 
engage the services of accredited State laboratories. 
For product standards that are composed of SPS and ot her non-SPS components, Moldovastandard on the basis of 
the hygiene certificate (for the SPS components) and additional testi ng (for the non-SPS components) does 
certification for conformity with the relevant  product standard (conformity certificate). 
Hygiene Certificate of the State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service: Domestic producers are issued a hygiene 
certificate with a validity of up to three years on condition that their production method does not change. Importers receive a certificate valid only for the shipment concerne d. Imported goods are inspected  at the customs office of 
the district where the importer is registered. Importers of perishable goods may conclude an agreement by which 
the foreign production site is issued with a hygiene certif icate of up to three years’ validity and the goods are 
stamped with a special stamp i ndicating that the goods have been  produced according to Moldovan SPS 
requirements. In all cases the issuance of  the hygiene certificate is subject to ex amination, either of the shipment or 
of the production facilities (including the products) and subject to the same sanitary requirements. 
Import Permit of the Chief State Inspec torate for the Phytosanitary Quarantine
: This document is only required for 
imported goods. Importers must present the following documents: phytosanitary certificate from country of origin; laboratory analysis (in some cases); certificate about disinfestation or disinfection treatment.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 61 
 
 
 Phytosanitary Certificate of the Chief State Inspectorate for the Phytosanitary Quarantine : This document is only 
required for goods to be exported. Exporters must su bmit the following information: description of the 
consignment; laboratory analysis (in some cases); indication of possible disinfestation or disinfection treatment. 
Veterinary Certificates : Domestic producers are issued an authorizati on with a validity of up to three years on 
condition that their production method does not change. The facilities are inspected in random intervals during this period. For imported products, every lot imported was inspected. Upon importation the importer must present the 
sanitary avis, stamped by the veterinary authorities of all transit countries, the veterinary certificate of the exporting 
country and a quality certificate issued by the producer. Th e State Veterinary Inspectorate inspects the lot and, if 
cleared, a veterinary health certificate was issued. 
123. In response to additional questions, the representa tive of Moldova said that hygiene certificates 
issued by competent instit utions were recognized. Moldova recogn ized company hygien e certificates if 
the company had concluded an agr eement with the relevant Moldovan body. There were no additional 
tests conducted on foreign goods by the Government of  Moldova if hygiene certificates issued by 
recognized foreign bodies accompanied them. 
124. Some members of the Working Party requested more information concerning the structure of 
the relationship between Moldovastandard and the Ministry of Agriculture with respect to the 
development of standards for agricult ural products. The representative of  Moldova said that the relevant 
departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Moldovasta ndard created joint committees, which 
determined product standards for ag ricultural goods. The standards were  the same for imported and for 
domestically produced goods.  
125. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the inspection procedures that 
took place at the border for import ed products and during the produc tion process for domestic products. 
The representative of Moldova said that sanitary and phytosanitary re quirements were enforced through 
inspections and testing. 
Sanitary Requirements : Domestic producers and foreign producers which had concluded a special 
agreement were inspected by a team of experts fr om the State Sanitary-Epi demiological Service and 
Moldovastandard once before the hygi ene certificate was issued  and then at regular intervals, by taking 
samples and carrying out tests on these samples of inspected imported goods.  
Phytosanitary Requirements : Prior to shipment, the foreign exporte r had to send a request to the Chief 
State Inspectorate for the Phytosan itary Quarantine indicating the goods to  be shipped. The Inspectorate 
would issue a preliminary import perm it which stipulated specific p hytosanitary requirements which the 
goods to be shipped had to satisfy. Upon arrival th e goods would be inspected. If they satisfied the 
requirements the preliminary import permit would be stamped, becoming definitive.  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 62  
 
 Veterinary Requirements
: Prior to shipment, the foreign exporte r had to send a request to the State 
Veterinary Inspectorate indicating the goods to be sh ipped. The Inspectorate would issue a preliminary 
import permit, the sanitary avis, which had to be st amped by the veterinary authorities of all transit 
countries. Upon arrival, every lot was inspected, samp les taken, and tests carri ed out on these samples. 
When goods subject to veterinary requirements were  unloaded (importation) or loaded (exportation) a 
representative of the State Veterinary  Inspectorate had to be present. 
126. In response to additional questions, the representa tive of Moldova said that an importer wishing 
to appeal a decision of Moldova standard would have, in the fi rst instance, to write to the 
Director-General of Moldovastandard. Appeals agains t decisions of the Chief State Inspectorate for the 
Phytosanitary Quarantine, State Veterinary Inspecto rate and Sate Sanitary-e pidemiological Service 
should be addressed, in the first instance, to the h ead of the organization. In the second instance, the 
importer could file a laws uit in the economic courts. 
127. Some members of the Working Party said that there were areas where Moldova’s SPS regime 
was not fully compatible with the SPS Agreemen t, and asked Moldova to provide information on 
measures and the timeframe for bringing them in to conformity. The representative of Moldova 
presented the Working Party with further information on the SPS regime in the documents 
WT/ACC/MOL/17 and 20. Moldova’s schedule for impl ementing further measures is contained in the 
following table: 
Table 16 
Measure Description of measures Implementation 
period 
The Republic of Moldova has amended its measures regu lating internal activities regarding plant, animal and 
human life protection in order to bring them into full co mpliance with the provisions of the SPS agreement. In 
the row below, the three gove rnmental decisions that were subject to amendments are identified in the left-
hand column. The nature of the amendments is descri bed in the middle column, and the time frame for action 
in the right-hand column. The second row refers to the convention on plant protection. 
 Gov. Decision no. 378 
establishing the statute of the 
state veterinary service  
The amendments cover the following aspects: 
Establishes the single inquiry point, which is setting 
up within ministry of health, responsible for supplying answers to all reasonable questions of 
WTO members, as well as to supply appropriate 
documents on: any phytosanitary regulation adopted or proposed on its territory; the procedures of 
determining the risk and the corresponding level of 
the phytosanitary protection; Introduction of new standards, animal health 
regulations and food safety regulations in conformity 
with SPS agreement principles; Measures are applied only to  the extent necessary to 
protect human, animal or plant health; 
Identification of authority responsible for making 
notifications to the WTO an d ensuring transparency  
September, 2000  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 63 
 
 
 Measure Description of measures Implementation 
period 
obligations are met on an ongoing basis; Establish guidance or law requiring publication of 
proposed measures at an early stage for comment; 
Provision for a reasonable period of time for comment from members and the public and 
establishment of a process to take comments into 
account without discrimination; Regulations governing animal and plant health and 
food safety shall based on scientific evidence; 
Follow up the international standards, guidelines, and recommendations in establishing SPS measures; 
Recognition of different measures that achieve the 
same level of protection; Developing scientific evidence and conducting risk 
assessments to ensure that measures are based on 
science and applied only to the extent necessary to 
protect health; 
Measures take into account the regional characteristics both of the areas from which products 
originate and the areas for which they are destined; 
Measures do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between different members or between 
domestic and foreign suppliers; 
Implements the SPS provisions regarding control, inspection and approval procedures. 
Accession to the Convention 
on Plant Protection  Adoption and ratification of the international plant 
protection convention at Rome on 6th of December 
1951 which came into force on the 3rd of April 1952; 
Accepting and implementation of the new revised 
text of the convention, as approved by resolution 
12/97 of the twenty-ninth session of the FAO conference in November 1997. December, 2000 
 
128. The representative of Moldova stated that Mold ova would ensure the implementation of the 
SPS Agreement prior to accession and would apply in ternal legislation in conformity with the 
provisions of the WTO Agreement on SPS. In the el aboration of any legislation concerning such 
measures Moldova would ensure their full confor mity with the relevant WTO provisions. The 
Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) 
129. The representative of Moldova stated that in Moldova there were no trade-related investment 
measures of the kind covered by the TRIMS Agr eement. Moldovan legislation did not contain an 
authority to apply TRIMs, either at the central or su b-central level. He stated that the Government of 
Moldova would ensure that any trade related invest ment measures introduced in the future would be WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 64  
 
 fully in conformity with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on TRIMs.  The Working Party took 
note of this commitment. 
- State trading practices  
130. Some members of the Working Party asked for a list of the enterprises included in the State 
Register of companies which were  major producers in the domest ic market and they asked for 
information on what each of thes e companies produced. In response, th e representative of Moldova said 
that at the beginning of the transition process large Former State companies were automatically 
considered monopolies because they were the only Mol dovan suppliers in their domains. In reality, they 
had a small share of the market as more and more  foreign products were imported. Against this 
background the Government no longer compiled this list. 
131. Some members of the Working Party asked fo r confirmation that Moldova had no fully or 
partially State-owned enterprises which received any exclusive or special rights or privileges, and that 
the enterprises in the energy s ector listed in document WT/ACC /MOL/2/Add.2 did not correspond to 
the definition in the Understanding on the Interpretati on of Article XVII of the GATT 1994. In response, 
the representative of Moldova conf irmed that there were no State-tr ading enterprises covered by the 
provisions of Article XV II of the GATT 1994.  
132. In response to further questions  concerning the large enterprise s that had at least 25 per cent 
State equity ownership and engaged in international trade, the representative of Moldova said that in 
Moldova every enterprise irrespective of ownership had the right to engage in foreign trade. He 
submitted a list of enterprises that had at least 25  per cent State equity ow nership that engage in 
international trade.  
133. Some members of the Working Party noted that  Article 14 of the Law “On Foreign Economic 
Activity” appeared to grant a state monopoly on the import and exportation of certain types of goods. Those members asked whether Moldova intended to preserve a state monopoly in the trade of any 
product. In response, the representative of Mold ova stated that currently Moldova had no state 
monopoly in the trade of any product and did not intend to exercise any. In reply, some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova intend ed to notify its state trading enterprises under 
Article XVII of the GATT 1994.  
134. The representative of Moldova stated that if Moldova were to introduce state trading as 
defined by the Understanding on Interpretation of  Article XVII of the GATT 1994, it would ensure 
that all relevant regulations were  in conformity with the requirements of Article XVII of the GATT  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 65 
 
 
 1994 and the Understanding on Interp retation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994, including those 
provisions requiring the application of "commercial considerations" in the sale and purchase of state 
traded commodities. He confirmed that Moldova w ould observe the provisions of Article XVII of the 
GATT 1994, the WTO Understanding on that Article, and Article VIII of the GATS regarding State 
trading.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
- Free Zones, Free Economic Zones 
135. The representative of Moldova said that the Moldovan legislation relating to free zones was 
Law No. 1415-XII of 25 May 1993 “On Free Enterprise Zones”. They would be fully subject to future 
WTO commitments of Moldova. He provided the following table: 
 
Table 17 
Location Type STATUS 
Chisinau free zone Operational 
Tvarditsa free economic zone Operational 
Giurgiulesti/Danube free zone Planned 
Ungheni free zone Planned 
Taraklia free zone Planned 
Vulcanesti free zone Planned 
 
136. So far, only two of these zones were operational - Expo-Business-Chisinau and "Tvardita". 
The Parliament and the Government of the Re public of Moldova established the “Expo-Business-
Chisinau” Free Enterprise Zone (FEZ) (Law No.625-XIII of 3 November 1995). The legislation 
provides incentives, guarantees, and privileges for bus inesses established in the FEZ. The residents of 
FEZ may be foreign natural and le gal persons as well as Moldova n legal entities established with 
foreign investment. The Administration of the FEZ registers the residents of FEZ on a competitive 
basis, taking into account the size and the kind of investment, type of activity and its compliance with the FEZ development directives. The competitions were announced at the Administration’s initiative 
and on the basis of applicants projects. Current ac tivities in Expo-Business-Chisinau zone were split 
approximately in the following way (data are for the first half of 1997 and 1998 respectively): 57,5 
per cent and 42.2 per cent trade, 14.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent industrial production and 27.5 per cent 
and 45.9 per cent services. Imports generated by the free trade zone accounts for 4 per cent of the total 
imports of Moldova. The portion of re-export from this zone in total e xports 1.2 per cent. He said that 
normal customs formalities, taxes and tariffs applie d to goods entering the rest of Moldova from the 
free economic zone and from the free zone. He added that there were no special eligibility criteria. All 
enterprises - domestic, joint ventures, foreign and fore ign-owned – were allowed to operate in the free 
economic zones and to take full adva ntage of the available incentives. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 66  
 
 137. In response to questions concerning the advantag es offered by the zones, the representative of 
Moldova said that Moldovan legislation offered guarantees and privileges to the residents. The Free 
Enterprise Zone was open for the following licensed types of activities: organization of fairs and 
exhibitions, information and adver tising, leasing, banking and insurance, tourism and hotel business, 
trading and storage business, public catering services,  and environment-friendl y production. Residents 
enjoyed exclusive customs and tax regimes. In part icular, they were exempt from customs duties for 
goods and items imported in to the FEZ for fina l consumption; goods originated from FEZ and 
exported to the customs territory of Moldova; g oods produced in the FEZ and exported outside the 
territory of the Moldova. The income tax had been se t up to 20 per cent (elsewhere in the republic it 
was 32 per cent). Goods and services manufactured and rented in the FEZ were exempt form VAT. 
Residents who invested US$250,000 and more in the zone's development were relieved from paying 
income tax for five years. Residents retained the rights accorded by legisla tion for ten years. There 
were no requirements that the output produced in th e zones be exported, and there were no domestic 
content requirements. Be nefits were not conditi oned on export performance or import substitution 
requirements. 
138. The representative of Moldova confirmed that in the administration of the free zones 
established within its territory, the free zones would be fully subject to the coverage of Moldova's 
commitments taken in its Protocol of Accession to the WTO Agreement, and that Moldova would 
ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in those free zones.  In addition, goods produced in the 
free zones under tax and tariff provisions that exem pted imports and imported inputs from tariffs and 
certain taxes would be subject to normal custom s formalities when entering the rest of Moldova,  
including the application of tariffs and taxes.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
- Government procurement 
139. The representative of Moldova said that the Law on Government Procurement No. 1166-XII 
had been adopted on 30 April 1997. The Moldovan Government did not collect statistics on 
government procurement. There were  three domains of public procurement: procurement in connection 
with loans from international aid agencies such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; procurement for s ecurity and defense purpose s; and other government 
procurement. There was no breakdown of the public  sector procurement market by product type 
available. The estimated overall value of ce ntral government purchasing in 1999 had been 
approximately MDL 477 million. 
140. The representative of Moldova stated that in accordance with the Moldovan procurement law 
(Article 5 of the Law on Government  Procurement) the following institutions were involved in the  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 67 
 
 
 procurement process: the National Agency for Government Procuremen t (NAPP) and procuring entities, 
engaged in the acquisition of goods, constructio n and services. The NAPP was supervising and 
monitoring procuring entities in the conduct of procurement and oversaw their compliance with the 
provisions of the procurement law and other legislat ive requirements such as regulations, rulings, and 
orders of general application in this area. Concerning advertising , the representative of Moldova said 
that a procuring entity had to soli cit tenders by publishing an invitati on to tender or an invitation for 
preliminary qualification in the Romanian and/or Russ ian languages in the Public Procurement Bulletin 
(PPB) issued by the NAPP. In particular situations, th e invitation to tender also had to be published in 
the English language in mass media of wide internati onal circulation (Article 18 and Article 26 of the 
Law on Government Procurement). The invitation to tender contained, inter alia , specifications of the 
goods, construction and services to be supplied in term s of nature, quantity, place and time, the criteria 
and procedures to be used for evaluating the qualifications of suppliers, place and deadline for the 
submission of tenders, means and place of obtaining  the solicitation documents. The procuring entity 
could engage in pre-qualification proceedings with a view towards identifying qualified suppliers prior 
to the submission of tenders. Only suppliers that had been pre-qualified were entitled to participate 
further in the procurement proceedings. Further de tails were included in Article 7 of the Law on 
Government Procurement. A procuring entity should e ngage in procurement of goods or construction by 
means of open competitive tendering proceedings as the preferred method of procurement. Under 
special conditions, a procuring entity could use the following methods of procurement (Article 19 of the 
Law on Government Procurement) : two-stage tendering (Article 20 of the Law on Government 
Procurement); restricted tenderi ng (Article 21 of the Law on Gove rnment Procurement; specialized 
restricted tendering (Article 22 of the Law on Government Proc urement); request for quotations 
(Article 23 of the Law on Governme nt Procurement); and single-source  procurement (Art icle 24 of the 
Law on Government Procurement). 
141. In response to questions, the representative of  Moldova said that once a procuring entity had 
been approved by the NAPP, it acquired the right to grant a margin of prefer ence for the benefit of 
tenders for construction by domestic contractors or for the benefit of tenders  for domestically produced 
goods. The margin of preference could not exceed 10  per cent (Article 38 pa ragraph 6 of the Law on 
Government Procurement). A system of electronic tendering for public procurement had not been set up 
in Moldova yet, but the establishment of a database  system for availability of data/information on 
tendering was foreseen. The procuring entity had no right to establish any criterion, requirement or 
procedure with respect to the qualif ications of suppliers that discrimi nated against or among suppliers or 
against categories thereof on the basis of nationality  (Article 6 the Law on Gove rnment Procurement).   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 68  
 
 142. Some members of the Working Party ask ed whether Moldova would accept the WTO 
Agreement on Government Procurement at the time of accession. The representative of Moldova 
confirmed that upon accession to the WTO, Moldova w ould become an observer to the Agreement on 
Government Procurement and woul d initiate negotiations for membership in the Agreement by 
tabling an entity offer immediately after accession. He also confirmed that, if the results of the 
negotiations were satisfactory to the interests of Moldova and the other members of the Agreement, 
Moldova would complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement in one year after date of 
accession.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.  
- Government-mandated co unter-trade and barter 
143. The representative of Moldova stated that in or der to obtain essential products such as energy, 
metals, machinery and spare parts, from its trading pa rtners, with economies in transition, the Moldovan 
Government occasionally entered into  negotiations with these partners to pay for such supplies with 
agricultural products purchased by the Mo ldovan Government on the domestic market. 
- Trade in civil aircraft  
144. Some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova would accept the WTO 
Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft at the time  of accession. In response, the representative of 
Moldova stated that his Government would initiate  negotiations for membership in the Plurilateral 
Trade Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft imme diately after accession to the WTO. He further 
confirmed that the Schedule of Con cessions on Goods that is reproduced  in Part I of the Annex to the 
Protocol of Accession establishes duty free treatment fo r products used in civil aircraft. The Working 
Party took note of this commitment. 
- Transit 
145. The representative of Moldova stated that, at present, transit of commodities thr ough the 
territory of Moldova was free from the levy of fees and customs duties. In relation to VAT and excise 
tax, Moldova granted freedom of transit through its te rritory to the trade of WTO members as prescribed 
by Article V of the GATT. The only charges le vied were those for transportation and those 
commensurate with administrative expenses or with the cost of services rendered. He added that Moldova was party to a multilater al agreement on transit trade with in the framework of the CIS. 
Moldova had also signed transit agreements w ith Romania, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 69 
 
 
 - Policies Affecting trade in Agricultural Products 
- Imports – description of the types of border protection maintained 
146. The representative of Moldova said that agricu ltural products could be imported freely into 
Moldova without quantitative restrictions. Duties appl icable to individual produ cts were to be found in 
Moldova's customs tariff. 
147. Some members of the Working Party asked whether the customs clearance procedures followed 
by the Republic of Moldova reduced to a minimum delays  in clearing import shipments of dairy or other 
perishable agricultural products. In response, the re presentative of Moldova stat ed that the waiting time 
for imports from all countries at the border with Roma nia and Ukraine, on average, did not exceed 30 
minutes. The actual customs clearance took place at the regional customs office of the place where the importing firm was located. The decentralized nature  of this system had kept the time required for 
customs clearance to a minimum.  
- Exports  
148. The representative of Moldova said that Mol dova granted no export credits, export credit 
guarantees, export credit insurance or other financial support or assi stance to agricultural exports. 
Moldova did not grant any export subsidies to agri cultural products. The representative of Moldova 
confirmed that Moldova would bind agricultural expor t subsidies at zero in its Goods Schedule. The 
Working Party took note of this commitment. 
149. The agriculture country schedule of  Moldova, circulated in document 
WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/1/Rev.7, has been incorporat ed in the corresponding section of the Goods 
Schedule of Moldova (WT/AC C/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.2).  
- Textiles regime 
150. The representative of Moldova said that there w as no special regime for textiles and clothing. 
Moldova permits duty-free import from the European Un ion of raw materials for textile and clothing 
products, provided the finished products are subseq uently exported to the European Union (inward 
processing). This regime applied to all countries. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 70  
 
 VI.   TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME  
 1.   General 
a)   Intellectual property policy 
151. The representative of Moldova said that since th e declaration of its independence, Moldova 
had been following a policy of developing mutually advantageous relations w ith all countries of the 
world. The national legislation had been transformed to adjust to international standards. The policy 
of transition to a market economy had largely determ ined the approach to intellectual property and the 
extension of the owners’ rights. Intellectual propert y rights have become rights of legal persons and 
individuals. The main directions of the policy are:  (i) enactment of special national legislation on 
intellectual property rights; (ii) establishment of publ ic authorities responsible for intellectual property 
rights; (iii) membership in international conventions  and treaties on trade-related intellectual property 
rights. In 1993 the Government implemented the protection of industrial property, the rights of 
owners of titles of protection and inventors on th e basis of the Provisional Regulations No. 456 "On 
the Protection of Industrial Property in the Republic  of Moldova" adopted by the government in 1993. 
There are the following titles of protection in the Rep ublic of Moldova: patents for inventions; patents 
for plant varieties; certificates of registration of utility models
 industrial designs, trademarks  and 
service marks,  appellations of origin of goods /utility models, and of  topographies of integrated 
circuits. The Official Bulletin of Industrial Propert y (BOPI) provides information on inventions, plant 
varieties, utility models, designs, trad emarks, appellations of origin of goods, topographies of 
integrated circuits claimed and  designs and trademarks claimed  and registered in Moldova, on 
oppositions to these registrations, transfer of rights to  these industrial property objects, as well as 
legislative and normative acts  as well as on legal acts and regulations  related to intellectual 
property. 
152. Further The representative of Moldova presented to the Working Party further  
information on the TRIPS regime is provided in document WT/ACC/MOL/18. 
153. The representative of Moldova stated that th e documents of accession to the following 
international  conventions had been submitted to  the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova for 
consideration :  
- Madrid Agreement for the Repression of  False or Deceptive Indications of 
Sources of Goods; 
- Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of  Appellations of Origin and their 
International Registration;  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 71 
 
 
 - New Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registrations of 
Designs; 
- Patent Law Treaty.  
154. Some members of the Working Group  said that the TRIPS Agreement is a fundamental 
component of the obligations undertaken by all WTO Members. These members expected Moldova to 
implement the WTO TRIPS Agreement fully as of the date of accession, without recourse to any transitional arrangements. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova was prepared to 
implement the TRIPS Agreement from the date of accession. As a result of the judicial system 
reforms, all the conditions for implementation of the TRIPS provisions had been created. Document 
WT/ACC/MOL/21/ Rev.1  presents in tabular form a Checklist of TRIPS Requirements and of 
Compliance by the Republic of Moldova. 
b) Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation 
155. The representative of Moldova stated that the policy and strategy in the field of intellectual 
property protection was elaborated by the State Ag ency on Industrial Property Protection (AGEPI), 
established on May 25, 1992 by Decree of the President of Moldova No. 120, and by the State Agency on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights established on 25 November 1991 by Decree of the 
President of Moldova.  
c) Membership of international intellectual property conventions 
156. The Republic of Moldova is party to the following conventions and treaties: 
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; 
- Convention Establishing the World Inte llectual Property Organization (WIPO); 
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT); 
- Madrid Agreement concerning Intern ational Registration of Marks; 
- Hague Agreement concerning the Interna tional Deposit of Industrial Designs; 
- Budapest Treaty on the International Re cognition of the Depos it of Microorganisms 
for the Purposes of Patent Procedure; 
- Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol;  
- Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and 
Broadcasting Organizations; 
- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; 
- Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreemen t Concerning the International Registration 
of Marks (1989); 
- Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification; 
- Vienna Agreement Establishing an Interna tional Classification for Industrial Designs; 
- Nice Agreement Concerning the Internationa l Classification of Goods and Services 
for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks; 
- Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial 
Designs; 
- Trademark Law Treaty (TLT); WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 72  
 
 - Eurasian Patent Convention; 
- International Convention for the Protecti on of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV); 
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty; 
- WIPO Copyright Treaty; 
- European Patents Convention. 
157. The representative of Moldova stated that  in 1993 the Republic of Moldova became a 
member of the Standing Committee on Informati on Technologies (SCIT) and Permanent Committee 
on Intellectual Property Cooperation for Developmen t (PCIPD). The representatives of the State 
Agency on Industrial Property Protection  actively participate in the works of the WIPO Standing 
Committee on the Law of Patents and Standing Co mmittee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial 
Designs and Geographical Indications. The Repub lic of Moldova is a member of the WIPO 
Coordination Committee. In addition, AGEPI has c oncluded cooperation agre ements with 35 Patent 
Offices throughout the world. 
158. He 
The representative  further added that in the future the Republic of Moldova intended to 
become party to the following international Agreements: 
- Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Sources 
on Goods; 
- Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appella tions of Origin and their International 
Registration (1958), 
- New Act of the Hague Agreement concerni ng international registration of designs 
(Geneva, 1999); 
- Patent Law Treaty (PLT); 
- On 10 February 2000, the Parliament of  the Republic of Moldova ratified the 
Convention on the protection of the interests of producers of phonograms against unauthorised reproduction of their phonogram s and its instruments of accession were 
presented to the United Nations Organisation, New York). 
d) Application of National and MFN treatment for foreign nationals 
159. The representative  of Moldova stated that Moldova applied  the principle of national 
treatment applies with respect 
with regard  to intellectual property. The exceptions stipulated in 
Article 19 of the Constitution referred to the ri ghts to vote and to be elected, military service 
and related issues.  
e)  Fees and taxes 
160. Fees for patents for inventions , patents for plant varieties, certificates for registration of utility 
models, industrial designs, trademar ks, appellations of origin of goods  and topographies of integrated 
circuits are paid to the State Agency on Industrial Property Protection of the Republic of Moldova. 
General terms and amounts are regulated by Gove rnmental Decision No. 774 of 13 August 1997.  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 73 
 
 
 Supplementary terms and amounts are stipulated by order No. 80 of August 28, 1997 of the Director 
General of the AGEPI. The fees for the management of intellectual property rights are listed in Annex 
I of document WT/ACC/MOL/4.  
2.  Substantive standards of protection, in cluding procedures for the acquisition and 
maintenance of intellectual property rights 
-  Copyright and related rights, including rights of performers, producers of phonograms 
and broadcasting organisations 
161. The representative of Moldova said stated  that Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights 
No. 293-XII of November 23, 1994 governing copy right and neighbouring rights had entered into 
force on March 1, 1995. This Law provided protecti on for intellectual property rights related to 
literary, artistic and scientific works, expressed in  a form that allows them to be reproduced, 
irrespective of the form, destination and value of each  work, and of the proce dure of its reproduction. 
The creator shall enjoy rights of economic and moral nature. The most important is the exclusive right 
to his works. According to art. 9 of Law no. 293, the author shall enjoy the following moral rights: (i) 
the right of authorship; (ii) the right to be named; ( iii) the right of respect for the integrity of his work; 
(iv) the right to respect for his reputation; (v) the ri ght to disclose his work or to authorise or prohibit 
disclosure in any form whatsoever, including the righ t to reconsider or the right of withdrawal. As 
regards economic rights, the holder of the copyright enjoys the exclusive right to exploit his work in any form and by any procedure, which means the right to perform, authorise or prohibit the following 
acts: (a) reproduction of the work; (b) distribution of c opies of the work by sale, rental or in any other 
way; (c) importing of copies of the work for the purpose of distribution, including copies made with 
the authorisation of the author or other holder of  the copyright; (d) presentation of the work in public; 
(e) public performance of the work; (f) communication of  the work to the public; (g) translation of the 
work; (h) transformation, adaptation, arrangement or any like modification of the work. Copyright 
owners are entitled to prevent the rental of a copy of  a work even after that particular copy has been 
sold and sound recording producers have a similar ri ght to prevent the rental of copies of the sound 
recordings, even after those copies have been sold.  
162. He further added that audio-visual, materials, computer programs, databases, works fixed on 
phonograms or musical works and compilations of da ta were protected by the same Law (Articles 6 
and 10). The Law entitles the holder of a copyright to the exclusive right to exploit his work in any 
form and by any means. The rights to an audio-visual  work are conferred to: the author of the scenario 
(scriptwriter); the film director; the composer of any musical work; the cameraman; the artistic WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 director. The author of a pre-existing work that  has been incorporated, after transformation or 
unchanged, in to an audio-visual work shall also be  deemed a joint author of such audio-visual work. 
163. He noted that a phonogram owner enjoyed the excl usive right to exploit his phonogram in any 
form, including the right to remuneration for each type of use of the phonogram including  the right of 
reproduction, distribution of copies, modification  or change, and the importation of copies of 
the phonogram for the propose of broadcasting. The exclusive right to exploit the phonogram 
means the right to authorise or prohibit the rep roduction of the phonogram; the distribution of 
copies of the phonogram (by sale, rental, etc.); the adaptation or any other transformation of the phonogram; and the importation for the purposes of distribution of copies of the 
phonogram, including copies made with the au thorisation of the phonogram producer. A 
phonogram producer may transfer the exclusive righ ts to other persons by contract (Article 28) .  
Copyright may be transferred by means of a cont ract (Article 28). The performer of a phonogram 
enjoys the exclusive right to authorise or prohib it the following acts: recording of a performance not 
previously recorded, reproduction of the recording of a performance, broadcasting of the performance 
over the air or by cable or making any other comm unication, renting of a published phonogram, as 
well as the right to defend the performance against any disfigurement or contortion or undermining of 
the reputation of the performer, and to transfer the right by means of a contract to another person (Article 27). Broadcasting organisations have the exclusive right to exploit phonograms in any form 
(Article 29). Foreign natio nals enjoy national treatment under the said Law. 
164. He further added that the Law of the Repub lic of Moldova on Copyright and Neighbouring 
Rights is in compliance with the Provisions of Ar ticles 1 to 21 of the Berne Convention (1971) and 
the Appendix thereto as required by Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
165. As to restrictions on the exclusive rights of copyright owners of neighbouring rights, the 
representative of Moldova stated that the legislati on of the Republic of Mo ldova contained detailed 
amendments on restrictions on the exclusive rights of copyright owners or owners of neighbouring 
rights related to: reproduction of works for personal use; reproduction by libraries; free use of works; 
reproduction of computer programs and computer databases (Chapter III, Articles 20-23). The Law on 
Copyright and Neighbouring Rights provides protecti on of copyright and neighbouring rights for a 
term of 50 years. The moral rights of authors are protect ed without time limits under Articles 
17(9) and 33 of this Law. 
166. In response to questions the representative of Moldova stated that under Article 8(4) of the 
Copyright Law, in the event of a dispute, the ce rtificate of registration constituted a presumption of 
authorship for the court in the ab sence of proof to the contrary.   WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 167. The representative of Moldova noted that under the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, 
copyright protection can not be restored for works th at were in the public domain in Moldova prior to 
31 December 1994. For works the period of pr otection of which was due to expire on 
31 December 1994, the following adjustments were ma de: if the term of protection of the work of a 
foreign author used in the Republic of Moldova, is l onger, under the laws of the country of the author, 
than the term under the present Article, the term of protection stipulated by this Law shall apply; if it 
is shorter, the term of protection stipulated by the la ws of the country of the author shall apply (Article 
17 (12), Copyright Law). 
168. He further noted that on 28 January 1998, th e Republic of Moldova ratified the WIPO 
Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and P honograms Treaty adopted on December 20, 1996 by 
the Diplomatic Conference. By the Decision of th e Government of the Republic of Moldova No. 524 
of 24 July 1995, a four-year period was established for the transition from the administrative system 
to a system of collective management of patrim onial rights of authors and owners of neighbouring 
rights. According to this Decision, a Council on the protection of the rights of authors and holders 
of neighbouring rights  was set up under the State Agency on Copyrights of the Republic of Moldova 
which establishes the level of author remunera tion, adopts samples for contracts and licenses 
regarding turning account of works, interpreta tions, phonograms etc., establishes the level of 
commission for services related to the collection, distribution and paying of authors’ remuneration 
services and controls the activity of the Agency for paying the remuneration. Organisational measures 
are undertaken for setting up a non-governmental orga nisation to administer the patrimonial rights of 
the owners of authors’ and neighbouring rights on the basis of collective principles. 
- Trademarks, including service marks 
169. The representative of Moldova stated that unde r the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of 
Origin of Goods no. 588-XIII of 22 September 1995, a trademark was defined as a sign serving to 
distinguish the products or services of an enterprise,  or of legal or natural persons, from the similar 
products or services of other enterprises, or lega l or natural persons. There were two kinds of 
trademarks: collective marks and individual marks. A trademark may be: a) verbal, i.e. consisting of 
words, including forenames and surnames, of letters or of figures; b) figurative marks in a plane or 
three dimensions; c) mixed marks, consisting of  verbal and figurative elements. A trademark may be 
registered in black and white or in colour. The cer tificate of registration is the title of protection of 
trademarks in the Republic of Moldova. The registra tion procedure is compliant with the provisions of 
international conventions. An application for the registration of a trademark and the enclosures was 
required to be filed with the State Agency on In dustrial Property Protection of the Republic of WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 76  
 
 Moldova. The actual use of a trademark was not a c ondition for filing an application for registration 
or to maintain a registration of a trademark in the name of the user. In conformity with Article 
2(1) of the Law no. 588/1995, the definition of trademark included product marks as well as 
service marks .  According to the Article 2(1) of the Law no.588/1995, the enclosures of the 
application may be filed in any language other than the national la nguage, under the condition that a 
translation into the national language shall be f iled within two months from the filing date. The 
registration of a trademark is valid for 10 years from th e date of the regular national filing. The date of 
the regular national filing shall be the date on whic h the application and the proof of payment have 
been filed with the AGEPI, pursuant to the above-m entioned law. Foreign le gal and natural persons 
enjoy the same treatment as legal and natural pers ons resident in the Republic of Moldova, under the 
provisions of international conven tions and treaties to which the Republic of Moldova was party. 
170. He further noted that according to the legisl ation of the Republic of Moldova, individual 
colours as such are not recognised as trademarks, but a colour or a combination of colours in a word mark or a figurative mark were protected as part of a trademark (Articles 4 and 5). A colour as part of 
a trademark is deemed identical to a colour as part of another trademark if through a series of tests it 
is found similar to the point of confusion. 
171. The representative of Moldova stated that accord ing to Article 17 (1), any person may oppose 
the registration of a trademark or of an appellation of origin before the Appeals Board of the State 
Agency on Industrial Property Protection (AGEPI), and where not satisfied by the decision of this 
Appeals Board, before a higher judicial authority. Cancellation of registration of a trademark may be 
required under Article 26 of the Law. The registra tion of a trademark may be cancelled at any time 
during its term of validity if it has been affected  by one infringement of this Law. Any person may 
submit to the Appeals Board of the Agency a request  for cancellation of a registration, for which this 
Law does not prescribe any time limits. 
- Geographical Indications, including Appellations of Origin 
172. In response to questions, the representativ e of Moldova stated that under the Law on 
Trademarks and Appellation of Origin of Goods of the Republic of Moldova, appellations of origin 
were the designations - current or historical - of a country, a region or a locality used to designate a 
product whose natural proprieties derive essentially or  exclusively from the natural or human factors 
specific to that geographical area. The appellation of origin may also be a word derived from the 
name of a country or an administrative or territorial-subdivision of such country. The certificate of registration is the title of protecti on of appellations of origin in th e Republic of Moldova. The right to 
receive titles of protection for the appellations of or igin belongs to natural or legal persons conducting  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 77 
 
 
 business activities in the corresponding geographical ar ea. The application for the registration of an 
appellation of origin shall be filed in the nati onal language. All parties conducting business activities 
in connection with the product associ ated with the appellation of origin shall apply separately for the 
certificate. The registration of an appellation of or igin is valid for an unlim ited term. An application 
for registration of an appellation of origin shall be  filed with the State Agency on Industrial Property 
Protection of the Republic of Moldova.  
173. He noted that the use of a registered geogra phical indication was prohibited for any person 
who was not the holder of the registration certificate. The use of products of the same type, of similar 
designation liable to mislead consumers as to the place of origin and special properties of the products was also prohibited (Article 22 (2)) of the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of Origin). Article 
7 (2), (a) of this Law stipulates the grounds for refu sal to register a trademark or an appellation of 
origin in case if they are deceitful or liable to misl ead the consumer. The legisl ation of the Republic of 
Moldova provides additional protection for wines a nd spirits. In addition, special procedures for 
registering wines and spirits are provided for by the Governmental Decision No. 760 of 10 November 1995. 
174. He also noted that under the legislation of th e Republic of Moldova, geographical indications 
which are not literally true as to the territory, regi on or locality in which the goods originate, and 
falsely represent that goods originate in another territory shall be excluded from registration under 
Article 7(2), (a) of the Law on Trademarks and Appe llations of Origin of the Republic of Moldova. 
175. With reference to the introduction of specific provisions for the protection of geographical 
indications for wines and spirits, compliant w ith Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement, the 
representative of Moldova stated that the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of Origin and the 
Governmental Decision no. 760 of 10 November 1995,  were consistent with Article 23 of the TRIPS 
Agreement. However, the Law on Trademarks w ould be provided with special provisions on the 
protection of geographical indications for wines and spirits.  
- Industrial designs 
176. In response to questions from Members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova 
stated that under the Law on Protection of Indus trial Designs No. 991 of 1996, the novel outward 
appearance of an article with a utilitarian functio n may be registered as an industrial design. To 
register an industrial design an application shall be  filed with the State Agency on Industrial property 
protection of the Republic of Moldova. Foreign resi dents, both legal and na tural persons, shall act 
through a patent attorney in matters related to the protection of their industrial design. The attorney's WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 rights shall be confirmed by a power of attorney issued  by the applicant. After filing, the application is 
subject to formal examination and publication a nd substantive examination, if requested. If no 
opposition has been filed against the decision to regi ster the industrial design, or if any opposition 
filed had been rejected, the industrial design shall be  subject to registration and grant of the certificate 
of registration. The registration of an industrial design may be effected either without substantive 
examination, under applicant's responsibilit y, or after substantive examination. 
177. The representative of Moldova further added that  the criteria for protection of an industrial 
design included the independent creation of an indus trial design as well as the condition of being new 
and original. In order to be protected industrial designs should be different  from known designs or 
combinations of known design features (Articles 4 a nd 6(1) of the Law on the Protection of Industrial 
Designs). Textile designs enjoyed the same protec tion as industrial designs i.e., they could be 
registered as a design or industrial model if  they possessed a new appearance and a utilitarian 
function.  
178. He added that under the Law on the Protection of  Industrial Designs, the title of protection of 
the industrial design in the Republic of Moldova was the certificate of registration. The certificate of 
registration entitled the owner to the exclusive right to  exploit the industrial design on the territory of 
Moldova as well as to the right to allow or to prohi bit third parties to carry out without authorisation 
the following activities: manufacture, use, importa tion, exportation, offering for sale and any other 
form of marketing or holding for that purpose of an article produced using the registered industrial 
design. Protection is valid for five years from the date  of the filing of application with the Agency and 
may be renewed four times for consecutive periods of  five years, against payment of the prescribed 
fee in the fifth year of the current period of validity. 
- Patents 
179. The representative of Moldova informed members of the Working Party that according to the 
Law on Patents for Inventions no. 461-XII of May 18, 1995, a patent may be granted for an invention 
of a new product or process or for the use of a known product or process for new purposes. For the 
purpose of the Patent Law, "product" shall mean equipment, substances, and micro-organisms. At 
present, in the Republic of Moldova new animal breeds are protected under the Law on Breed 
Protection no. 412-XIV/1999. 
180. The representative of Moldova noted that the following shall be deemed patentable 
inventions :  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 - scientific theories and mathematical methods;  
- conventional signs, timetables and rules;  
- methods for performing mental acts;  
- organisational methods for doing business;  
- algorithms and computer programs;  
- projects and plans for buildings and constructions and for territorial planning; 
- projects of an aesthetic nature (designs);  
- topographies of integrated circuits;  
- plant or animal varieties.  
- Patents shall not be issued for inventions , which are contrary to public policy and 
morality. 
181. The priority date of the inventions is determin ed by the filing date of the application. An 
application shall contain the following documents: 
- a request for the grant of a patent, including identification of the inventor or 
inventors, of the applicant or applicants or of the person or persons on whose behalf 
the patent is sought; 
- a description of the invention disclosing it in a manner sufficiently clear and complete 
for it to be carried out;  
- one or more claims defining the subject ma tter of the invention and entirely supported 
by the description;  
- drawings and other elements, where necessary to understand the subject matter of the 
invention. 
 He added that applications were  required to be accompanied by:  
- an abstract;  
- proof of payment of the prescribed fee or of circumstances justifying exemption from 
the fee or a reduction in the fee;  
- an authorisation, if the application is  filed by a professional representative;  
- any document necessary to prove the priority of the invention.  
182. He further noted that with the exception of the request, which should  be filed in the national 
language the application documents may be filed in  one of the following international languages of 
communication: English, French, German and Russian.  In such cases, a translation into the national 
language should be filed with the Agency within  two months following the filing date of the 
application. AGEPI is authorised to grant pa tents without substantive examination under the 
applicant's responsibility. Applicants have the pos sibility to request the substantive examination, 
provided that the respective fees are paid during the validity of the period of the patent. In Moldova 
the patent for invention is valid for 20 years. Th e owner shall pay an annual fee for maintenance in 
force of his patent during all at the period of validit y of the patent. The extent of the legal protection 
conferred by the patent shall be determined by th e terms of the claims. The description and drawings 
shall serve solely to interpret the claims.  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 183. The representative of Moldova stated that the pa tent owner enjoyed an exclusive right in the 
invention protected by the patent, including the exploitation of the invention, insofar as such 
exploitation did not prejudice the rights of other patent  owners, the right to dispose of the patent and 
the right to prohibit others from exploiting the invention protected by the patent without his 
authorisation (Article 22 (1), Law on Patents for Inve ntion). Under the legislation of the Republic of 
Moldova there are no conditions regarding the compulso ry working of a patent.  In civil infringement 
proceedings involving process patents, TRIPS Article 34 provides that judicial authorities have the 
authority to order the defendant to prove that th e process to obtain an identical product is different 
from the patented process. 
184. He added that in the event of failure to work an invention or to work it sufficiently by the 
patent owner during the three years that follow the da te of grant of the patent, any person wishing to 
exploit the invention and prepared to do so may, if  the patent owner has refused to conclude with him 
a licensing contract, submit to a court or arbitration tribunal a request for the grant of a non-exclusive compulsory license. In the interest of national secu rity, the Government may authorise exploitation of 
an invention by another person without the consent of the patent owner against payment to the latter 
of an appropriate monetary compensation. In th e event of disagreement as to the amount of the 
monetary compensation, the patent owner may instit ute legal proceedings (Article 33 (1), (4)). Under 
the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, processes enjoy the same protection as products. 
Necessary amendments to the laws in the field of industrial property protection have been elaborated, 
in compliance with the provisions of Article 31 of  the TRIPS Agreement, to permit issuing of a 
compulsory license in certain narrowly defined circ umstances. If such a license is issued, the Agency 
is required to take steps to inform the patent holder of the decision concerning the grant of a non-exclusive compulsory license; the Ag ency is also required to enter the decision in the National Patent 
Register, notify the issuance of the license in the Offi cial Bulletin within 3 months following the date 
on which it has been entered in the National Pa tent Register. If the holder of a non-exclusive 
compulsory license fails to use the license within th e year following the granting of the license, the 
non-exclusive compulsory license may be cancelled.  Importation shall be considered as use for the 
purposes of determining whether the invention ha d been used when appl ying the provisions on 
compulsory licensing and government use. 
185. The representative of Moldova stated that the le gislation of the Republic of Moldova did not 
contain any provisions corresponding to Article 34 of  TRIPS, however, certain amendments are being 
prepared to adjust the legislation prior Moldova’s accession to WTO. Article 23 paragraph 1(c) of the 
Law on Patents for Inventions and the Law for amending various Laws are harmonised with the 
provisions of Article 34 of the TRIPS, and na mely: "When assessing cases of infringement of the  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 rights of the owner, if the subject matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product, the judicial 
authority shall require the defendant to prove th at the process to obtain an identical product is 
different form the patented process; any identical  product when produced without the consent of the 
patent owner shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been obtained by the 
patented process; if the product obtained by the pate nted process is new or if there is a substantial 
likelihood that the identical product was made by the process and the owner of the patent has been 
unable through reasonable efforts to de termine the process actually used."  
- Plant Variety Protection 
186. In response to questions from Members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova 
stated that the protection of plant varieties was c overed by the Law on Plant Varieties, in force from 
28 November 1996. Simultaneously, the "Provisional Statute of Industrial Property Protection in 
Moldova" was abrogated.  The Law provides special protection for plant varieties. Protection is 
granted on the basis of certificates issued by th e State Commission for Variety Testing of the 
Republic of Moldova and the patent granted by th e State Agency on Industrial Property Protection. 
The term of protection is 25 years for trees, fruit trees and grapevines and 20 years for plant varieties 
and other species, with the possible extension fo r another ten years.  The Law provides for the 
exclusive rights of exploitation to the patentee, wh ich are listed in Article 13 (Law on Plant Variety 
Protection). Moldova has also become a member of UPOV.  
- Topographies of Integrated Circuits 
187. The representative of Moldova noted that pursuan t to the Law on the Protection of Integrated 
Circuits No. 655/1999, protection was granted only for genuine topographies and not for ideas, 
processes, systems, technology or coded inform ation which may be embodied in topographies. 
Registration is made without substa ntive examination. The certificate is valid for ten years. This Law 
came into force on 6 January 2000.  
- Requirements on undisclosed information,  including trade secrets and test data 
188. The representative of Moldova stated that trad e secrets were protected under the Law on the 
Protection of the Trade Secret, No. 171 enacted on 6 June 1994. Any information is considered a 
commercial secret if: (i) it has real or potential value to the economic agen t; (ii) access to it is 
restricted; (iii) it is marked, by stamp or otherw ise as confidential; (iv) it is not covered by the 
provisions of copyright or patents. Special provisi ons are applied for state secrets and matters of WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 national interest. Trade secrets are protected as long as they meet the above mentioned criteria. This 
Law contains no limitations on the protecti on and no compulsory licensing provisions. 
189. He further added that although the Law on Trade Secret also protected unrecorded 
undisclosed information, Moldovan authorities res ponsible for licensing intellectual property would 
generally require that confidential information submitted in connection with the application for 
licenses, registration certificates, etc., be r ecorded and marked for purposes of clarity. 
190. He noted that the marketing of pharmaceutical , agricultural and chemical products, which 
utilise new chemical entities without registration of intellectual property rights, are only subject to approval by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agriculture, respectively. Moldovan legislation does not require the submission of undisclosed test  or other data as a condition of approving the 
marketing of products in question, but if the impor ter requires protection of undisclosed information, 
the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agricu lture shall provide such protection according to the 
legislation in force. In order to import and sell ag ricultural chemicals in Moldova, an importer has to 
obtain an import license and a certificate of hygienic conformity. For the importation of 
pharmaceuticals, Moldovan legislation requires an  import license. The National Pharmaceutical 
Institute of the Ministry of Health  has issued an information leaflet for foreign producers describing in 
detail the registration procedures.  
- Other categories of Intellectual Property 
191. The representative of Moldova stated that Mold ovan law recognised utility models if they 
concern the constructive execution of means of produ ction and of consumer goods or their component 
parts and if they are novel and are susceptible of indu strial application. The certificate of registration 
is the title of protection of a utility model. The utilit y model application shall be filed with the AGEPI 
and it shall contain the following documents: a requ est with information concerning the applicant 
(inventor), or his successor in title; description; cl aims; drawing and graphics, if necessary. These 
documents ensure the priority rights of the applicat ion from the date of filing of the application with 
the AGEPI. 
192. He added that if it was refused, a patent app lication could be converted into a utility model 
application with the initial priority date. In this  case, the applicant shall, after 3 months from the 
decision of refusal, but not later than 4 years from the filing date of the application, file a request for 
utility model registration for the same object with th e AGEPI with the priority request of the initial 
filing date. The transformation of a utility model appli cation into a patent application for the invention  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 is possible up to the decision to the utility model registra tion. In this case the priority date shall be the 
date of the initial deposit. The certificate is valid for five years from the regular national filing date.  
3.  Measures to Control Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights 
193. In response to questions, the representative of  Moldova stated that national legislation 
provides for measures on the enforcement of intellect ual property rights which allow effective action 
against infringement of intellectual property rights.  The initiative for action against infringement is up 
to the holder of the property right. The Customs C ontrol Service is empowered to hold back copies of 
works and phonograms introduced or taken out without license. Provisions for special measures by customs concerning the infringement of intellectua l property rights are included as a separate chapter 
in the new Customs Code, which has been adopted by the Parliame nt and will be come into force 
in the nearest future.  
4.  Enforcement 
- Civil judicial procedures and remedies  
194. The representative of Moldova informed members of the Working Party that legislation in 
force provided for the possibility to pursue infringe ments of intellectual property rights and regulates 
the procedures therefore. The principles of co mpetition and guilt are applied. The Republic of 
Moldova has a Court system in which the competence of tribunals depends on th e type of dispute to 
be considered. Contesting parties have the possibilit y to resolve disputes by recourse to the services of 
arbiters, and one is permanen tly available with the AGEPI. 
195. He noted that whilst the civil legislation of  the Republic of Moldova contained general 
provisions on intellectual property rights, specific pr ovisions relating to the protection of intellectual 
property rights were contained in the laws in the field of intellectual property rights. 
196. He further noted that Intellectual property right s litigation and disputes were resolved in the 
Republic of Moldova, depending on particular cases,  in the following judicial bodies: (i) ordinary 
courts, whose decisions may be appealed in the C ourt of Appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court 
of the Republic of Moldova; (ii) the Economic Court, where appeals may be submitted to the Economic Appeals Court and ultimately in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova. 
197. The representative of Moldova stated that when a right-holder considered that his intellectual 
property rights had been injured he may initiate a ci vil, penal or administrative suit in the court. In 
cases of fraud or similar cases the public prosecuto r may also initiate a separate case under the Penal WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 Code of Moldova. The same rules of evidence governing civil litigation in Moldova apply to 
intellectual property right cases. The infringer ma y be ordered to pay a fine, damages or 
compensation. Eventually, the right holder may also request that the goods or the equipment used to 
produce the goods concerned be destroyed or rendere d incapable of the use which infringed his rights 
(see Article 25, Trademark Law).  
198. At the request of the injured party, the equipment and material used unlawfully to reproduce 
and affix the trademark or appellation of origin concerned shall be prohibited from use for that 
purpose. Stocks of infringing signs reproducing the trademark or appellation of origin shall be 
destroyed and trademarks or appellations unlawfully affi xed to products shall be removed, even if that 
leads to the destruction of the products. In accordan ce with Article 25 (2) of the Law on Trademarks 
and Appellations of Origin, if the simple remova l of the mark does not exclude the possibility of 
misleading the consumers, the products shall be d estroyed. The representative of Moldova added that 
for copyright piracy such measures included the sei zure of infringing copies of works or phonograms 
or the materials and the equipment used for their manufacture and reproduction. Article 51(3) of the 
Code on Administrative Contravention provides fi nes of 10-75 times the minimum salary and 
confiscation of goods illegally acquired. In addition,  Article 38(8) of the Copyright Law provides for 
confiscation of the goods involved. The present legislation establishes measures of criminal 
responsibility for the international infringement of copyrights and related rights, which caused 
considerable material damages. The judicial aut horities, at the request of the rights holders will 
undertake measures immediately after customs clearan ce of such goods according to Article 51 of the 
Administrative Contravention Code an d Article 141 of the Criminal Code. 
- Provisional Measures 
199. The representative of Moldova informed member s of the Working Party that according to 
present legislation, respectively Chapter 13, Articles 135-142 of the Civil Procedure Code, the judicial 
authority may undertake measures to issue an injuncti on, if the participants in the dispute so request. 
The issue of an injunction is permitted at any st age of the process. The infringement of rights is 
sanctioned with a penalty of ten to twenty five mini mum salaries. The plaintiff has the right to ask the 
redress of damages caused by the n eed to issue the injunction. App eals may be launched regarding all 
the decisions related to the issuing of the injunctio n. In conformity with Article 142, the redress of 
damages caused by the issuance of the injunction is permitted. 
200. He also noted that provisional measures were obtained by written application by the injured 
party or the public prosecutor requesting such measures from the court or the arbitration body. 
Provisional measures include: (i) order to the infri nging party to stop the manufacture, reproduction,  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
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 sale, rental, import, etc. of infringing objects until the court or the arbitration body has decided the 
case; (ii) seizure of infringing objects; (iii) seizure  of materials and equipment used to produce the 
infringing objects; (iv) seizure of accounts and ot her documentation that may be used as evidence in 
the inquiry.  
- Any Administrative Procedures and Remedies  
201. In response to questions from members of the Working Party, representative of Moldova 
stated that Article 51(3) of the Code on Admini strative Contravention provides for fines of 10-75 
minimum salaries and confiscation of goods in cases of  violation of an exclusive industrial right. 
Article 152(2) of the same Code provides for a fine  of 15 to 25 minimum salaries and confiscation of 
goods in cases of false utilisation of trademarks. 
 - Special Border Measures 
202. The representative of Moldova stated that adopt ion of appropriate standards was foreseen 
concerning the procedures allowing the right holder to request the competent customs authorities to 
withhold the release into circulation of material s, which infringe intellectual property rights.  
203. In response to requests for more information,  the representative of Moldova stated that these 
special measures are included in the new Customs Code (Chapter XII) which reflect fully Part 
III Section 4 of TRIPS. The new Customs Code, which has been adopte d by Parliament, will 
come into force in the nearest future.   
- Criminal Procedures 204. The representative of Moldova added that Ar ticles 34 and 35 of the Law on Patents for 
Invention define the acts that are subject to Penal a nd Civil Code in the form of imprisonment of up to 
two years (Article 34) with an alternative punishment  in the form of a penalty, or the penalty only 
(Article 35). They also prescribe compensation for damages caused to the right holder for lost profit 
and for the liquidation of the goods or transfer of  them to the patent owner. Other measures are 
provided by the Law on the Protection of Consumer Right no. 1453 of May 25, 1993 as well as by the 
following Articles of the Penal Code: 
- 122 - misappropriation of the owner's property by swindle;; 
- 141 - infringement of inventor's rights; 
- 141 - copyright infringement; 
- 141 - infringement of the rights of the owner related to industrial property objects;  
- 158 - counterfeiting. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 86  
 
 205. Some members of the Working Party asked fo r information on the criminal procedures and 
penalties applicable to the unlawful utilisation of trademarks.  In cases of criminal procedures and 
penalties applicable to the unlawful utilisation of trademarks, as provided by Article 158 of the 
Criminal Code, the procedures in these cases are the same as for ordinary criminal offences. 
206. Pursuant to Article 38(12) of the Copyright Law, a person committing a deliberate 
infringement of a copyright or neighbouring rights for gain and having caused considerable prejudice 
to the holder of the right is liable to a term of im prisonment of one to three years or/and to a fine of 
100 - 1000 times the minimum salary.  
207. The representative of Moldova stated that Mol dova would comply with all the provisions of 
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intelle ctual Property Rights from the date of accession to 
the WTO without recourse to any transitional period. The Working Party took note of this 
commitment.  
VII.  POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES 
208. The Government of the Republic of Moldova prov ided a description of the service regime in 
the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime ci rculated in document WT/ACC/MOL/2. Moldova 
entered into bilateral nego tiations on market access in  services, on the basis of  the offer circulated to 
Working Party in document WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/5/Rev.1. The result of these negotiations is reproduced in the Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services contained in Part II of the Annex to 
the Protocol of Accession of the Republic of Moldova.  
209. In response to requests for in formation, the representative of Moldova said that only limited 
data were available on Moldova's services sector and on its trade in services. Many services had 
remained largely unregulated, particularly in relati on to any distinction betw een domestic and foreign 
supply. He said that the new Law No. 332 of  26 March 1999 “On Certain Types of Activities” 
authorized the following bodies specified in Annex no. 1 to this Report to issue licenses for engaging in 
certain types of activities. These licenses were issu ed only for engaging in the activities listed and did 
not establish any limitations on the quantities of products. 
210. He said that more generally Moldovan laws  and regulations did not, for the most part, 
distinguish between trade in goods and services. The banking sector was open to foreign banks, which 
were allowed to set up subsidiaries, branches or representative offices. Every bank, domestic or 
foreign-owned, which was licensed in Moldova was allo wed to engage in financ ial leasing (A rticle 26, 
Law on Financial Institutions No. 550-XIII of 21 July 1995).  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 87 
 
 
 211. In response to requests for information, the re presentative of Moldova explained that although 
initially, the open competition for the supply of insu rance services was permitted, the amendment to the 
Law “On Insurance” of 20 June 1996, stipulated th at foreign insurance companies were allowed to 
operate in Moldova only as a joint venture with Mo ldovan partners. The foreign share in such a joint 
venture is not limited. Every company supplying insura nce services had to obtain a license issued by the 
Ministry of Finance. The detailed rules governing the licensing requirements for insurance companies 
were contained in the Regulation "On the Issu e of Licenses for Insurance Services" from 
17 November 1995. 
212. The representative of Moldova stated that the Law "On Financial Institutions” had defined the 
banking system of Moldova as including the Natio nal Bank of Moldova, co mmercial banks and other 
credit institutions. The notion of credit institutions covers legal persons and individuals that were 
involved in banking transactions. In 1991 a two-tier  banking system was estab lished with the National 
Bank of Moldova serving as the central bank. The ac tivity of the National Bank had been regulated by 
the Law "On the National Bank" No. 599-XII of 11 June 1991 (with ame ndments) and had been 
controlled by Parliament. Commercial banks duly licensed by the National Bank could open branches 
and regional offices throughout Moldova. The banki ng sector was open to foreign banks, which were 
allowed to set up subsidiaries, bran ches or representative offices. In  banking joint ventures, the foreign 
partner had to be a bank that contribut ed its capital in foreign currency. 
VII.  INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH 
THIRD COUNTRIES 
213. The representative of the Republic of Moldova st ated that Moldova had concluded a number of 
bilateral and multilateral agreements, which provide d the legal framework for the development of trade 
and economic relations between Mo ldova and its partners. These ag reements aimed at promoting, 
facilitating and developing commercial exchange s and economic cooperation, were based on the 
principles of equality and reciprocal  advantage and related to foreign trade in goods and/or services. The 
Free Trade Agreement between the republics of Azer baijan, Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Georgia, 
Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Kazakstan, the Russian  Federation, Ukraine, Republic of Uzbekistan, 
Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Moldova was signed on 15 April 1994. From the date of 
signature, all Parties to the Agreement applie d the Agreement on a provisional basis until the 
ratification procedures had been concluded. The Agreement entered into force with respect to: 
Moldova, Kazakstan and Uzbekistan on 30 December 1994; the Kyrgyz Republic on 28 December 1995; the Republic of Azerbaijan on 18 December 1996;  and Tajikistan on 7 May 1997.  On 2 April 
1999, the Parties to the Agreement signed the Prot ocol on Amendments and Supplements to the WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 88  
 
 Agreement on the Creation of a Free-Trade Area of  15 April 1994. This Protocol was subject to 
ratification by the Parties and would come into fo rce on the date on which the third notification of 
ratification was submitted to the Depositary. For a party that completes its ratification procedures 
later, the Protocol would enter into force on the da y when its notification is submitted. The free trade 
agreement contained provisions relating to trade in goods that are of relevance to the Members of the 
WTO. A Free Trade Agreement has also been signed with Romania. All agreem ents are in accordance 
with Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and the Unders tanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV. 
Duties and other restrictive regulations of commerc e had been eliminated on substantially all trade 
between the signatories.  
214. In response to requests for information, th e representative of Moldova said that the 
basic framework agreement, Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA), between the 
European Union and Moldova was signed on 28 November 1994 and came into force on 1 July 
1998. It sets out both the general principles and detailed provisions that will govern future relationships between the European Communities, the Member States (EU) and the Republic of 
Moldova. The main objectives of the PCA are: to provide an appropriate framework for 
political dialogue; to promote trade and inv estment and harmonious economic relations; to 
provide a basis for legislative, economic, social , financial and cultural cooperation between the 
Parties; to support efforts of the Republic of  Moldova to consolidate its democracy and to 
develop its economy and to complete the tran sition into a market economy. The PCA has 
created three new 'institutions': the Co-operati on Council, the Co-operation Committee and the 
Parliamentary Co-operation Committee. Econ omic links will be strengthened through 
improving conditions for trade and investment, a nd by assisting Moldova in all aspects of the 
economic reform process. Moldova and the EU have  granted each other Most Favoured Nation 
status with regard to trade in goods. They  also undertook to liberalise progressively cross 
border supply of services, with the aim developi ng a market-oriented service sector. As far as 
investment is concerned, the PCA contains im portant provisions that aim to improve the 
environment for the establishment and operation of Moldovan companies, subsidiaries and branches operating in the EU and vice v ersa. The Agreement basically provides GATT 
principles and its interpretations in economic ar eas. This Agreement represents an evolutionary 
legal framework. With regard to trade, further developments include the setting up of a free 
trade zone, as foreseen in the PCA. As a majority  of Moldavian political parties have achieved 
an internal consensus on the strategic objective of European integration with respect to internal 
and external policies, and have signed a common declaration, a national strategy on 
association/accession should shortly be adopted.  The Republic of Moldova aims to initiate, as 
soon as possible, negotiations for the conclusi on of a stability and association agreement with  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 89 
 
 
 EU. To this end, full implementation of the PCA, and incorporation into Moldovan basic 
procedures of the EU’s “acquis communautaire” are of major importance, with particular 
attention to harmonisation with EU standa rds (harmonisation of laws, normative and 
administrative acts and methods of work). 
215. Some members of the Working Pa rty recalled that Article XXIV  of the GATT 1994 permitted 
exceptions to Article I in the case of economic inte gration agreements provided that the conditions of 
Article XXIV and the respective Understanding were met. The members of the Working Party asked 
Moldova to ensure that a framewor k agreement towards the creation of  a custom union with several CIS 
countries would be consistent with  the WTO Agreement. In response,  the representative of Moldova 
stated that the Government of Moldova supporte d economic integration within the CIS. It was 
Moldova's intention to ensure that the customs union and the steps leading to it would be in conformity 
with the provisions of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994. Moldova woul d provide information 
concerning all its agreements in the format used by the WTO Committee on RTAs. 
216. Some members of the Working Party requested  information on the scope of the duty free 
treatment accorded in each agre ement; exceptions to the elimination of tariffs; and any special 
provisions concerning trade in services, investment, or movement of persons. In response the 
representative of Moldova stated that informati on on the free trade agreements signed with CIS 
countries and Romania was circulated to the members of the Working Group in the document WT/ACC/MOL/28. Some members of the Working Pa rty also requested a schedule describing the 
state of all preferential agreements presently held  by Moldova, and a descrip tion of their compatibility 
with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement.  
217. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova would observe all WTO provisions, 
including those of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Article V of the GATS in the trade agreements, and would ensure that the provisi ons of these WTO Agreements for notification, 
consultation and other requireme nts concerning free trade areas and customs unions of which 
Moldova was a member were met from the date of  accession. He confirmed that Moldova would, 
within 6 months after accession, submit notifications and copies of its Free Trade Area and Customs Union Agreements to the Committee on Regional Trad e Agreements (CRTAs). He further confirmed 
that these Agreements would be consistent with the provisions of the WTO and would, in any case, be 
notified to the CRTA during its examination of the same. The Working Party took note of this commitment. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 90  
 
 - Transparency 
- Publication of Information on Trade in goods and services 218. Some members of the Working Party requested information concerning the special information 
facility outlined in Article 21 of the Law “On Forei gn Trade Activity”. In response the representative of 
Moldova stated that the sp ecial trade information faci lity outlined in Article 21 of the Law “On Foreign 
Trade Activity” had been activated within the Ministry of Economy and Reforms.  
219. The representative of Moldova said that Mo ldova would implement the transparency 
requirements of Article X of the GATT 1994. All the relevant laws and regula tions as described in 
Article X of the GATT 1994 would be published pr omptly in "Monitorul Oficial al Republicii 
Moldova" which was the main publication for this pur pose. Other decisions or regulations in specific 
areas were published in specialized newspapers or magazines. According to Article 76 of Moldova’s 
Constitution “laws shall be published in the “Monitoru l Oficial” of the Republic of Moldova and shall 
come into force either on its publication date or on the date mentioned in its original text. Unless 
published, the law is nonexistent.” 
220. Some members of the Working Party requested information on how Moldova would be able 
to fully apply the transparency requirements of the GATS, including GATS Article III. In response, 
the representative of Moldova stated that Governmental Decision No. 1104 of 28 November 1997 provided that all laws, governmental decisions and other legal documents would enter into force only 
after their publication thus ensuring compliance wi th Article III (1) of GATS. The information center 
that would be established at the Ministry of Economy and Reforms could serve as a central GATS 
inquiry point. Other similar inquiry points woul d be established in other governmental institutions, 
such as the Ministry of Finance, National Bank, Ministry of Transport and Communications thus 
ensuring compliance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of Artic le III of GATS. In addition the representative of 
Moldova confirmed that it would undertake all necessar y measures to ensure full application of other 
transparency requirements of the GATS, including GATS Article III.  
-  Notifications 
221. The representative of Moldova stated that a sche dule of notifications required by Agreements 
constituting part of the WTO Agreement had been submitted in document 
WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/6/Rev.1 with information abou t deadlines for all notifications required upon 
accession and immediately after accession.  Any regu lations subsequently enacted by Moldova which 
gave effect to the laws enacted to implement an y Agreement constituting part of the WTO Agreement  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 91 
 
 
 would also conform to the requirements of that Ag reement.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment.  
- Conclusions  
222. The Working Party took note of the explanations and statements of Moldova concerning its 
foreign trade regime, as reflected in this report.  The Working Party took note of the commitments 
given by Moldova in relation to certain specific ma tters, which are reproduced in paragraphs 28, 31, 
45, 51, 61, 63, 72, 81, 88, 92, 94, 96, 103, 107, 128, 129, 134, 138, 142, 144, 148, 207, 217 and 221 of 
this Report. The Working Party took note that  these commitments had b een incorporated in 
paragraph 2 of the Protocol of Accession of Moldova to the WTO. 
223. Having carried out the examination of the foreign trade regime of Moldova and in the light of 
the explanations, commitments and concessions made  by the representative of Moldova, the Working 
Party reached the conclusion that Moldova be invited to accede to the Marrakech Agreement 
Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Article XII. For this purpose, the Working Party has prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Accessi on reproduced in the Appendix to this report, and 
takes note of Moldova's Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (document 
WT/ACC/MOL/…/Add.1) and its Schedule of C oncessions and Commitments on Goods (document 
WT/ACC/MOL/…/Add.2) that are annexed to the Prot ocol. It is proposed that the General Council 
adopt these texts when it adopts the Report. When the Decision is adopted, the Protocol of Accession 
would be open for acceptance by Moldova, which woul d become a Member thirty days after it accepts 
the said Protocol. The Working Party agreed, therefor e, that it had completed its work concerning the 
negotiations for the accession of Moldova to th e Marrakech Agreement Establishing the WTO. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 92  
 
 ANNEX I 
Type of activities, needing license authorization
 
 
Ministry of Economy and Reforms:  
- organization of external tourism; 
- collection of technical remnants, containing non-ferrous materials; 
- organization of stock exchange trade; 
- the exercise of functions of administrato r of contesting procedure and administrator 
of re-organizing procedure. 
 
The Treasury:  
- audit activity; 
- activity in the field of insurance; 
- Lombard functioning; 
- organization and undertaking lotteries; 
- maintaining casinos, exploitation of game m achines with money gains, staking in 
sports and other types of contests; 
- activity, linked to state marking of articl es, made of precious metals and precious 
jewels and activity with precious  metals and precious jewels; 
- import and wholesale commercialization of spirits; 
- import and wholesale commercialization of tobacco items; 
- import and wholesale commercialization of fuel and petrol; 
- activity of economy and citizens’ loaning associations; 
- activity of customs free deposits. 
 
The Ministry of Industry and Trade:  
- fabrication of chemical products, chemical  articles and products of house usage. 
- the wholesale trade with goods of large usage; 
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Processing Industry: 
- production and commercialization with repr oduction, planting, backiferous and 
vineyard materials;  
- production and commercialization with vege table seeds, pumpkin crops, potatoes and 
plain crops; 
- projecting the fruit-growing, backiferous plantations and vineyard; 
- production for the commercialization of bi ologic material of bovine, pork, sheep, 
chicken, horses and fish; 
- up-bringing of reproduction bovine, destined to commercialization; 
- importation and commercialization of chemical and biological substances, as well as 
of stimulators of plants growth; 
- fabrication of biological substances, as well as of stimulators of plants growth; 
- production, stocking and wholesale commercia lization or just only stocking and 
wholesale commercialization with spirits, including ethyl drinks and beer; 
- processing of tobacco, production of tobacco items, wholesale commercialization, 
including tobacco export. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 93 
 
 
 The Ministry of Transports and Communications: 
 
- exploitation of auto transport for passenge r traffics (with the exception of routes 
within the city radius); 
- exploitation of specialized auto transport, destined to the transportation of toxic, 
explosive, and flammable substances (after  a coordination with the Department of 
Standards, Metrology and Technical Assi stance and the Department of Civil 
Protection and Emergency Cases, and in some cases, with the institutions on sanitary control); 
- elaboration, assembly, installation, technical  maintenance of television networks by a 
cable or posts (stations) of radio diffusion  and television by a radio-electric way; 
- functioning of television networks by a cable  or posts (stations) of radio diffusion and 
television by a radio-electric way (technical licenses); 
- offering express postal services regarding registered parcels; 
- commercialization and exploitation of tel ecommunication, postal and informatics 
equipment (type-authorizations). 
 
The Ministry of Labour, Social and Family Protection:  
- organization of provisional abroad employment of citizens of the Republic of 
Moldova, as well as the placement in the s phere of labour of citizens within the 
territory of the Republic of Moldova. 
 The Ministry of Health:  
- the development of pharmaceutics activity; 
- supplying technical assistance (with the exception of some activities, practiced 
exclusively by state enterprises, organizations and institutions); 
- researches, applied in the field of genetics and microbiology; 
- fabrication, commercialization, purchase and custody of radioactive substances, 
applied in medicine; 
- fabrication, commercialization, technical assistance, repairs and verification of 
technical and optic medicine articles; 
- usage of potentially toxic substances, of chemical and biological ones, applied in 
medicine. 
 The Ministry of Education and Science: 
 
- the establishment of educational instituti ons, of re-qualification and improvement 
institutions and courses. 
 The Ministry of Culture:  
- organization of archeological projecting research works; 
- elaboration of projects and the execution of conserving, restoring and valuation works 
concerning historical monuments; 
- commercialization with goods with artistic  value and with antiquarian things. 
 
The Ministry of Justice: 
 
- supplying juridical assistance; 
-
 undertaking judiciary expertise; 
- Notary activity. WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 94  
 
  
The Ministry of Home Affairs:  
- the use of explosive substances, explosive and pyrotechnic means; 
- repairs of sports and hunting weapons; 
- private detective activity; 
- instruction on different types and sorts of  body-to-body wrestling, including on martial 
arts; 
- commercialization of different types of wea pons and equipment (exclusive licensing of 
state enterprises); 
- instruction and re-cycling of drivers of auto transport means; 
- security insurance and protection activity; 
- seals fabrication; 
- import, export and re-export of w eapons and respective equipment. 
 
The Ministry of National Security: 
 
- elaboration, production and commercializati on of ciphering technology, technical and 
prophylactic assistance of ciphering means and of other special means for the custody, 
processing, transmission, interception and re gistration of the information, for the 
insurance of its authenticity, and offering ciphering services; 
- the cryptographic and technical-engineering protection of information, cryptoalgorithms 
and cryptographic analysis; 
- special revisions of technical means and equipment aiming at the protection against the 
drain of information by technical channels; 
- elaboration of ciphers; 
- preparation of specialists in the field of cryptography. 
 The Ministry of Environment:  
- the usage and processing of remnants (except the technical remnants, containing non-
ferrous metals, the collection of which is licensed by the Ministry of Economy and 
Reforms); 
- the usage of natural resources (the collec tion and commercialization of spontaneous 
plants, including medical plants, animal chase, except hunting fauna, acquisition of animals, not constituting hunting and fishing objects (snails, snakes, frogs etc., the 
industrial fishing in natural water pools); 
- undertaking evaluative study of the impact upon the environment and the ecological audit 
undertaking; 
- the practice of technologies of separating the components of the atmospheric air; 
- hydro-meteorological observations. 
 The Ministry of Territory, Buildings and Communal Farms Development:  
 
- works on projecting all categories of constr uctions, including rec onstruction, general 
repairs, consolidating, mode rnization and restoration; 
- execution of works of constructing-assembling, rebuilding, general repairs, modernization 
and restoration for all categories of construc tions, including technical networks and those 
of public utility; 
- activity concerning the production of materials and building items. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 95 
 
 
 The Department of Standards, Metrology and Technical Assistance: 
 
- construction, assembly (incl uding regulation), exploitati on and repairs of objects from 
mining industries, from the sectors with flammable and deflagration dangers, of objects to be deposed and the manipulation within them with substances, able to create deflagrant 
messes of dust and air or of steam, of gas alimentation systems, of lifting installations, of 
boilers, recipients, functioning under pressure  as well as of steam and hot water conducts 
(in case of necessity, there will be a coordinati on with the Department of Civil Protection 
and Emergency Cases); 
- fabrication, assembly (including regulation) and repairs of the chemical, mineral, anti-
deflagrant and electric/thermal/energetic equipment; 
- custody and usage of explosive industrial materials (in common agreement with the 
Minister of Home Affaires); 
- exploitation of useful mineral resources (with the exception of those of large extension); 
- the expertise of industrial products’(objects’) security, including the underground and 
electric/thermal/energetic works; 
- fabrication, repairs, verification, calib ration, experimentation, exploitation and 
commercialization of measuring means; 
- the usage of underground with other purposes than the extraction of useful mineral 
resources; 
- execution of drilling works (except the technical building prospects); 
- exploitation of sources and the bottlin g of mineral and potable waters; 
- import, usage, deposit, commercialization of chemical reagents, liquid gases and of 
chemically toxic substances (materials) and those, dange rous of being deflagarant; 
- deposit of fuel and lubricant materials (after a coordination with the Department of Civil 
Protection and Emergency Cases); 
- exploitation of petrol and gas alimentation stations (after a coordination with the 
Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Cases); 
- import, export, produc tion and internal consume of s ubstances, destroying the ozone 
stratum, regulated by the Montreal Protocol, as well as of products, containing the regulated substances; 
- import, custody, exploitation and usage of ioni zed radiation sources of reagent materials. 
 
The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Cases:  
- functioning of buildings, cons tructions, production establishments, the characteristics of 
which can generate fires or explosi ons and of other congested objectives; 
- drafting, assembly, regulation and the technical assistance of automatic systems of fire 
prevention within the economical unites; 
- certification and research of flammable and fire stimulation properties of substances, 
materials, articles of equipment and buildings  in accordance with the rules of the national 
certification system; 
-
 creation of a department service of fire br igades within enterpri ses of civil protection 
services formations (military, militarized, specialized, territorial, etc.); 
- fabrication of techniques of emergency intervention in case of fire, of technical equipment 
for fire putting out, of fire protection means,  of means and equipment for undertaking of 
operative works of salvation – de-blocking; 
- transportation of regent materials; 
- implementation of techniques of prevention and intervention in emergency situations; 
- drafting and serving the systems of prevention and intervention of emergency situations, 
of establishments of civil protection and of systems of vital insurance; 
- instruction and briefness in the field of civil protection. 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 96  
 
 The State Commission for the Ma rket with Security Papers: 
 
- professional activity with security papers; 
- activity of the Security Market; 
- activity of investments funds. 
 
The District Executive Committees and the Municipal Mayoralties: 
 
- activity in the field of trade by detail and public alimentation; 
- commercialization by detail with alcoholic production; 
- commercialization by detail with tobacco items; 
- passengers transportation in urban traffic, including taximeters; 
- exploitation of useful mineral resources of large extension. 
 The National Agency for Survey, Land Resources and Geodesy: 
 
- topogeodesic and cartographic works upon the technical prospects of different types of 
activities and technical complex prospects in constructions; 
- activities linked to the field of the general la nd survey, the elaboration of organizational 
projects of the territory and the ground evaluation; 
- undertaking of equipment and estima tion works of the immobile goods. 
 
The Coordinating Council of the Audiovisual:  
- radio emissions; 
- TV programmes. 
 
The National Agency for the Regulation in Energetic:  
- production transportation, dispatch, distributi on and furnishing of electric energy in 
regulated and non-regulated tariffs; 
- production, distribution and furnishing of the thermal energy; 
- production, stocking, transpor tation, distribution and furnishing of natural gases of 
regulated and non-regulated tariffs. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 97 
 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
ACCESSION OF MOLDOVA 
 
Draft Decision  
 
 The General Council, 
 Having regard  to the results of the negotiations di rected towards the establishment of the 
terms of accession of the Republic of Moldova to  the Marrakech Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization and having prepared a Protocol for the Accession of Moldova, 
 Decides , in accordance with Article XII of the Ma rrakech Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization that the Republic of Mol dova may accede to the Marrakech Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization on the terms set out in the said Protocol. 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 98  
 
 Draft
 
 
PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF MOLDOVA 
TO THE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
 
 The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO"), pursuant to the 
approval of the General Council of the WTO accord ed under Article XII of the Marrakech Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization (hereina fter referred to as "WTO Agreement"), and the 
Republic of Moldova (hereinaft er referred to as "Moldova"),  
Taking note  of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of Moldova to the WTO in 
document WT/ACC/MOL/.... (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Party Report"), 
 Having regard  to the results of the negotiations on the accession of Moldova to the WTO, 
Agree  as follows: 
 
Part I - General  
1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol, Mo ldova accedes to the WTO Agreement pursuant to 
Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO. 
2. The WTO Agreement to which Moldova accedes shall be the WTO Agreement as rectified, 
amended or otherwise modified by such legal inst ruments as may have entered into force before the 
date of entry into force of this Protocol. This Protocol, which shall include the commitments referred 
to in paragraph 223 of the Working Party Report, sh all be an integral part of the WTO Agreement. 
3. Except as otherwise provided for in the paragr aphs referred to in paragraph 223 of the 
Working Party Report, those obligations in the Multilateral Trade Agreemen ts annexed to the WTO 
Agreement that are to be implemented over a period of  time starting with the entry into force of that 
Agreement shall be implemented by Moldova as if it had accepted that Agreement on the date of its 
entry into force. 
4. Moldova may maintain a measure inconsistent with paragraph 1 of Article II of the GATS 
provided that such a measure is recorded in the list of Article II Exemptions annexed to this Protocol 
and meets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on Article II Exemptions. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
 Page 99 
 
 
 Part II - Schedules  
5. The Schedules annexed to this Protocol sh all become the schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to 
as the "GATT 1994") and the Schedule of Specific Commitments annexed to the General Agreement 
on Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS") relating to Moldova. The staging of 
concessions and commitments listed in the Schedu les shall be implemented as specified in the 
relevant parts of the respective Schedules. 
6. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6( a) of Article II of the GATT 1994 to the date 
of that Agreement, the applicable date in resp ect of the Schedules of Concessions and Commitments 
annexed to this Protocol shall be the date  of entry into force of this Protocol. 
 
Part III - Final Provisions  
7.  This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by signature or otherwise, by Moldova 
until […………………….. ]. 
8. This Protocol shall enter into force on the th irtieth day following the day of its acceptance. 
9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Dir ector-General of the WTO. The Director-General 
of the WTO shall promptly furnish a certified copy of this Protocol and a notification of acceptance 
thereto pursuant to paragraph 7 to each member of the WTO and Moldova. 
10. This Protocol shall be registered in accord ance with the provisions of Article 102 of the 
Charter of the United Nations. 
 Done at Geneva this ... day of .... two thousand,  in a single copy in the English, French and 
Spanish languages each text being authentic, except th at a Schedule annexed hereto may specify that 
it is authentic in only one or more of these languages. 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/4/Rev.4 
Page 100  
 
 ANNEX 
SCHEDULE –  THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 
 
Part I - Goods 
[to be completed] 
 
Part II - Services 
[to be completed] 
 
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