RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/ACC/MOL/37
11 January 2001
(01-0151)
Working Party on the
Accession of Moldova
REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY
ON THE ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Government of the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter Moldova) applied for accession to
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1947) in November 1993. At its meeting on 17
December 1993, the GATT 1947 Council of Representatives established a Working Party to examine
the application of the Government of Moldova to accede to the General Agreement underArticle XXXIII and to submit to the Council recommendations which may include a draft Protocol of
Accession.  Membership of the Working Party was open to all contracting parties wishing to serve on
it.  Following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, Moldova requested accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization.  Having regard to the decision adopted by the General Council of the World TradeOrganization on 31 January 1995, the existing GATT 1947 Working Party on the Accession of
Moldova was transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party. The terms of reference and the
membership of the Working Party were re produced in document WT/ACC/MOL/7/Rev.6.
2. The Working Party met on 17 June 1997, 18 March 1998, 16 April, 19 July 1999 and
20 December 2000 under the chairmanship of Mr. M. Kumar (India).
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, A dd.1, Add.1/Corr.1 and Add.2; WT/ACC/MOL/4 and Add.1 and
Corr.1; WT/ACC/MOL/8 and A dd.1; WT/ACC/MOL/9 and Add.1 and Corr.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/MOL/29, WT/A CC/MOL/31-35 and
WT/ACC/MOL/36, Add.1 and A dd.2). The Government of Moldova made available to the Working
Party the documents listed in Annex I.
Introductory statements
4. In an introductory statement, the representative of Moldova said that since the declaration of
independence Moldova had been vigorously pursu ing free market reforms within a democratic
framework, notwithstanding political and economic difficulties. Considerable progress in transforming
a centrally planned economy to a market-based economy has been achieved. Fuller integration into the
world economy and the continuing di versification of Moldova’s economic relations with other countries
were central objectives of the Government’s reform  efforts. The Government of Moldova believed that
these objectives could only be attained through trad e policies that emphasized specialization on the basisWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 2
of international comparative advantage. It was for this reason that Moldova attached priority to its
accession to WTO and wished to complete negotiations for membership at the earliest opportunity.
5. The Constitution of Moldova adopted by the Pa rliament in July 1994 stated: "The economy of
the country is market and society oriented, base d on private and public property and free competition".
Article I states that Moldova is a democratic State regulated by Law. Article 9 ensures private propertyrights and Article 126 defines the general characteristi cs of the economy as socially oriented and based
on private and public property rights and free market  principles. The representative of Moldova noted
that Moldova continued to be a country in tr ansition whose economy was undergoing a process of
structural adjustment in order to correct an  excessive dependence on primary production. Initially
inflation had been brought down to an average m onthly 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
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  steadily to around MDL 12 per US dollar, before
recovering somewhat to around MDL 11 per US dollar 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 financial shock from the economic crisis in Russia and in the region had
continued to weigh heavily on the Moldovan economy, as evidenced by the collapse of exports by 35
per cent in the first half of 1999. Despite these diff iculties the authorities were convinced of the
appropriateness of a free, market-determined floating exchange rate regime, and remained committed tomaintaining current interna tional transactions free of any restrictions that could run counter to its
obligations under Article VIII, section 2, 3, and 4 of the IMF Articles of Agreement.
6. Members of the Working Party welcomed Moldova's application for accession to the WTO,
noting that Moldova had been pursuing economic reform 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. The Working Party
reviewed the economic policies and foreign trade regi me of Moldova and the possible terms of a draft
Protocol of Accession to the WTO.  The views e xpressed by members of the Working Party on the
various aspects of Moldova’s foreign trade regi me and on the terms and conditions of Moldova’s
accession to the WTO are summarized below in paragraphs 7 to 236.
II. ECONOMIC POLICES
- Monetary and fiscal policies
7. In response to requests for information, the representative 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 foreign participation had been rising quite fast. Figuresfor 1998 showed that the employment level had dropped 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, thetrade deficit had reached the amount of US$123,08 million compared to US$388.09 millions in 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$140 million and in 2000 restructured the loans provided by Russia and
the supplier credits provided by AKA, KFW etc., on favourable terms. This significantly improvedWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 3
Moldova’s debt profile. Presently, the Republic of Moldova is up to date on its external obligations
and has no arrears.  
8. The representative of Moldova added that the Government was no longer granting
commercial credits. However, the Government was providing loan guarantees, issued against a risk
premium of at least 5 per cent of the principal amount of the loan, which was paid into the Risk Fund.State guarantees could only be issued up to a total value not exceeding the amount in the Risk Fund
set up by the Law on State Debt and State Guarantees (No. 943-XIII of 18 July 1996). Contributions
to the Risk Fund were drawn from the Budget and from beneficiaries of State guarantees. In 1997 LEI
75 million had been issued as internal guarantees and US$ 5 million as external ones. In 1998 the
amount of LEI 100 million had been issued as intern al guarantees and the amount of US$39 million as
external guarantees for the EBRD loans. It was e xpected that with the ongoing privatisation of the
energy sector, the contributions of the Budget to the Risk Fund would be phased out.  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.
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 Moldovaneconomy.  Capital flight, a depreciating exchange rate, a significant decrease of international reserves,
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, largely because of the severe impact
on exports of the crisis in Russia. Both industrial and agricultural output dropped in 1998. At the same
time, final consumption constituted more than 102 per cent of GDP, with the trade deficit decreasingfrom 26,4 % per cent of GDP in 1998 to 14,82 per cent in 1999. In 1999 export and import volumes
registered a reduction, exports by 27,1 per cent and imports by 42,6 per cent as compared with 1998.
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 revisions. In the second half of1998, 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 per cent in 1998. Capital investment, by contrast,
had remained at a stagnant, low proportion of public expenditure. Both 1998 and 1999 wereconsidered 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 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).
11. In view of this difficult situation the Govern ment and the National Bank of Moldova (NBM)
sought to stabilise the economy and avoid an inflationary spiral and further depreciation of the
currency, continue restructuring and therefore resume growth, avoid a default on treasury bill
redemption, renegotiate as necessary external debt and any external debt arrears, and create a stable
and credible policy environment to restore confidence and growth. The 1999 budget that was
approved by Parliament in December 1998 called for spending cuts in all major areas.  The target ofthe 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, the monetary base to 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 bankWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 4
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. The 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 again with disbursement of $35 million from the World Bank.   Despite the fact that
the inflows arranged from multilateral financial institutions in 2000 did not occur, the National Bankof Moldova managed to consolidate its international reserves at a level sufficient to meet the country’s
external obligations and maintain them below US$200 million the level reached at the end of 1999.
The depreciation of Moldovan Leu in 1999 was less than in 1998. However, an absolute avoidance of
national currency depreciation was not possible. In 1999 the nominal depreciation of the Leu
exchange rate was 28,2 per cent as compared to 44 per cent in 1998. In real terms, due to the floating
of the exchange rate regime, the purchasing power parity between US dollar and Moldovan Leu was
maintained, the exchange rate neither depreciated nor appreciated. In 1999 the real exchange rate was100,5 per cent, indicating 0,5 per cent real appreciation, as compared to 35 per cent of real
depreciation in the previous year.
12. The representative of Moldova further noted that in 2000 external debts had reached US$ 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 theexternal arrears.   However, further external financing was essential, and Moldova was seeking
alternative sources of financing. The EU had made EUR 15 million available. It was anticipated that
the World Bank would provide up to US$60 million, including US$35 million from a structural
adjustment program suspended in 1997, and a further US$25 million through the International
Development Association. The Government 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 poverty reduction strategy paper.
- Foreign exchange and payments systems
13. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova became a member of the IMF on 12 August
1992 after the payment of its initial quota presentl y 123,2 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The
representative of Moldova noted that Moldova was a member of the IMF and had accepted the
obligations of Article VIII of the IMF Articles of Agreement. Moldova met the Fund standards of
current account convertibility and had received assist ance 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 theIMF's Articles of Agreement, or introduce or intensify any import restrictions for balance of payments
purposes.
14. The representative of Moldova said that on 30 June 1995 Moldova accepted the obligations of
Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the International Monetary Fund Articles of Agreement that allow
the liberalisation of current foreign exchange operations . De facto, this means the convertibility of the
national currency,  the Leu that permits legal entities to buy and sell freely currency for all current
international transactions and also for some capit al operations. However, due to the growing demand
for foreign exchange the National Bank 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 foreign exchange and transactions in foreign currencywere subject to the National Bank's foreign ex change regulations.  According to the Law “On
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 for the 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 strategicWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 5
goods; 180 days for other goods; 1 (one) year for goods exported in commission, as from the date of
goods delivery. There are no restrictions regarding the number of bank accounts owned by economic
agents in foreign currency as well as in MDL.  If  during 7 banking days, from the moment of foreign
currency purchase by resident legal entities, they did not utilize the purchased currency for settlements
with non-residents, such legal entities, except for au thorized banks, shall be obligated to offer it for
sale to one of the authorized banks. 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 only have the right to open accounts in Moldovan Leu with the permission of the Central
Bank of the corresponding state.
- 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 legal and institutional base,
and introduced incentives and guarantees for foreign in vestors. 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 29 July 1994 according to Article 126 of the Constitution, the
State guarantees the inviolability of investments of natural and juridical persons, including foreigners; b)
Law No. 998-XII of 1 April 1992 “On Foreign Investment”, which deals with the settlement and
protection of foreign investments, provides the le gal, structural and economic fundamentals for the
activities of foreign investors and economic agents in Moldova and offers tax and customs incentives
that are precisely defined.
16. The representative of Moldova said that besides the legislation concerning foreign investments,
companies with foreign capital and foreign investors were subject to legislation concerning relations
with local natural and juridical persons and to international conventions to which the Republic of
Moldova is a party, and to the law of other countries  related 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 anenterprise were tax exempt.  The right of enterprises with foreign capital to profit from customs
facilities was confirmed by Articles 35-37 of the Law “On Foreign Investments”. Legal action to
stimulate foreign investments included: a) assets in the form of goods that are part of and are used for
an increase of the company’s equity were exempted from customs duties; b) a company was exempted
from customs duties for those goods (raw materials, semi-finished goods) imported to be used in
export production; c) companies with foreign investments exceeding US$250 thousand and with over
50 per cent of the net income generated marketing their own products enjoyed a 50 per cent incometax 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 was invested in operational development; e) foreign investors were
guaranteed repatriation of their own profits and ca pital. These facilities covered investments made
prior to 1 January 2000. However, the application of these measures was hampered by the presenteconomic crisis.
17. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the basic provisions regulating
investment and any restrictions or registration 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 Article 9 of the Constitution, which provided for freeeconomic initiative, and fair competition. The criteria for registration of companies were set out in the
Law “On Enterprises and Entrepreneurship” of 3 January 1992. There were additional requirements
for certain type of business such as banking, insurance 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 Government of the Republic of Moldova, or itsWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 6
commercial and economic representatives and associations, carried out the registration of economic
agents with foreign investments (with the exception of banks, their branches and representations). The
registration of banks with foreign investments, their branches and representatives was carried out by
the National Bank of Moldova. The manner and terms of registration are set up in a similar way to
that envisioned for the registration of national economic agents (Article 13 of the Law “On ForeignInvestment”).
18. In response to additional questions the representative of Moldova said that establishment of
companies with a foreign equity participation exc eeding 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 Development of Competition”. There were no
differences in approval for foreign and domestic investors by the State Environmental ProtectionAgency and the Medical and Epidemiological Agency.
19. Some members of the Working Party asked whether 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 foreig n investments against expropriation (nationalization,
requisition or any other equivalent measure), except in cases where such expropriation was carried out
for an overriding public purpose, on a non-discrimina tory basis. In the event of expropriation of a
foreign investment, the Law on Foreign Investment re quires 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 Investment Law granted th e foreign investor the right to challenge in court
the lawfulness of the expropriation, nationalization or equivalent measure and the amount of the
compensation. The representative of Moldova said that  the Parliament and the Government of Moldova
had taken actions to attract foreign 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 b ilateral agreements on promotion and protection of
investment, that Moldova had signed with other countries, provided a protective foreign investment
regime. Since 9 June 1993 Moldova was a member of  the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(MIGA). A number of bilateral agreements on promo tion and protection of inve stment had been signed
with: Turkey, Poland, Germany, United States, China, Kuwait, Iran, Romania, Switzerland, Greece,
Holland, Luxembourg, Finland, Hungar y, Bulgaria, Great 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 economiccooperation to the mutual benefit, as well as en courage investment between parties, primarily by
guaranteeing national treatment, non-expropriation, and the unrestricte d 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 privatized, along w ith about 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 privatizati on, including the comprehensive privatization of state owned shares; an
increase in private property owners and in the impor tance of the private sector, restructuring of the
economy, development of capital markets and infrastru cture; as well as a new system of organizing
companies and other laws to protect owners rights. By 1996, this plan had achieved a number of
objectives – distribution of wealth accruing to priva tization, creation of a stock market and liberalization
of real estate ownership. At the end of this period the private sector prevailed in the economy,WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 7
accounting for 60 per cent of industrial production, 70 per cent of the services supplied in retail sales and
social services and 44 per cent of the bulk works in building and transports. Over 74 per cent of the total
number of enterprises have been privatized, in cluding 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 privatization, the citizens of the Republic of
Moldova had been given free access to privatization directly or by intermediary of investment funds, 53
fiduciary companies were created specially for this  purpose. Around 2/3 of stat e owned shares with a
value of more than MDL 1.2 billion had been privatiz ed through the activities of these institutions. Most
recently, a system for Republican-wide bidding fo r share subscription was established. The system
allowed citizens to have free access to shares  purchase ensuring equilibrium between supply and
demand, and securing a considerable saving of time and of financial resources for organizers andparticipants at bids. In this way around 1.1 thousand enterprises, which constituted 90 per cent of all
enterprises subject to privatization, 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 Program 1999-2000 covered,
with limited exceptions, all sectors and branches of the economy. Enterprises scheduled for totalprivatization were from the following industries: textiles and garments, electronics, machine building,
chemical and furniture manufacture, leather goods, foodstuff and package producing enterprises, as
well as hotels, shops, restaurants, stores, gas stations and cafeterias. The representative of Moldova
stated that there were no specific conditions for foreign investors concerning participation in the
privatization program other than those applied to domestic investors. Foreign natural and legal persons
were eligible to participate in the Privatization Program.  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 essential national assets. Other sectors not currently
subject to privatization included air and railway transportation, education and health systems.  He
noted, however, that the Government of Moldova might at a later date decide to subject these lattersectors to privatization.
23. In response to further questions concerning the 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, recreation halls, bakeries, were privatized separately
from the core parts of the state owned enterprise to which they had been attached.  The core activities
were then privatized separately.
24. In response to questions from members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova
stated that a special regime existed for the privatiz ation 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. Foreigners could purchase land exce pt that used for agriculture and forestry. The
Law “On normative price and procedure on sale and purchase of land covered: (a) sale and purchase
of land, including land associated with privatized objects or objects subject to privatization, as well as
of land associated with unfinished constructions; (b) setting the state fee for sale and purchase of land;
(c) exclusion of land in  agricultural and forestry categories, and land forming part of an agricultural
cycle and excluding the allocation of such land to  other categories; (d) compulsory purchase of land;
(e) lease relations, (f) establishing the prices for land mortgaging.
25. In response to further requests for information 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 989WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 8
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 had been
allocated titles of ownership. By end 2000 Moldova would have handled 989 farms, with at least 825
liquidated and individual titles issued representing 80 per cent of agricultural land.
26. In response to further questions regarding the privatization of energy, the representative of
Moldova said that the restructuring of the energy sector had started. The Law on the Concept of
privatization of enterprises in the energy sector no. 63-XIV of 25 June 1998 envisaged that
distribution companies would be privatized fi rst, 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 set out in Tables 1 and 2 below.
Table 1
Sectoral Privatisation Data Profile for 1993-1999
Sector Number of Objects
approved for
privatizationNumber of Objects
privatized as of
01.01.2000Percentage 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
Catering180 170 94.44
Consumer Services 402 365 90.80
Other sectors 467 420 89.94
TOTAL 6,515 6,039 92.70WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 9
Table 2
Sectoral Privatisation Data Profile by Privatisation Modes for 1993-1999
Sector Privatisation Mode Number of Privatized
Objects
Industry Sale through stated owned shares;
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;Privatized through individual projects;
Sale through investment tenders;
Combination of many methods.315
1,098
3
8
37
Agriculture Sale through stated owned shares;
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;Privatized through individual projects;Sale through investment tenders;
Combination of many methods.644
2,081
20
3
58
Construction Sale through stated owned shares;
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;Privatized through individual projects;Sale through investment tenders;Combination of many methods.90
299
0
2
17
Transport Sale through stated owned 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 PublicCateringSale through stated owned shares;
open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;
Privatized through individual projects;
Sale through investment tenders;Combination of many methods.44
122
0
04
Consumer Services Sale through stated owned shares;
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;Privatized through individual projects;
Sale through investment tenders;
Combination of many methods.78
275
0
0
12
Other sectors Sale through stated owned shares;
Open outcry auctions with lowering or raising the initialprice;Privatized through individual projects;Sale through investment tenders;
Combination of many methods.78
331
227
TOTAL 6039
Note: Subject to privatization: property of enterprises, institutions, entities, associations, their structural
subdivisions complex production units, objects from the Fund of uninhabitable buildings, unfinishedconstructions, dwellings, state-owned shares in co mpanies privatized and to be privatized, as well as
adjacent land of privatized and to be privatized companies, land plots of the garden cooperatives.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 10
28. Some members of the Working Party sought information on the position of Moldova’s output
and trade accounted for by unprivatized firms.  The representative of Moldova said that the majority
of non-privatized enterprises were reorganized and restructured in joint stock companies.  Presently,
644 state enterprises and 762 joint stock companies are being privatized and the share of the State is
presented in the following way:
No. of Enterprises Share of State Ownership
186 0% - 10%
96 10% - 30%
76 30% - 50%
404 50% - 100%
The share of whole and partially owned State enterprises in the national economy (in %)
Economic Ratios 1998 1999 9 months of 2000
In GDP 25.0 25.4 n.a.
In Industrial Output 29.8 30.2 25.0
In Agricultural Output 3.6 2.2 n.a.
In Retail Sales 7.4 7.1 5.3
In Total External Trade 23.7 19.2 16.3
29. He further added that the non-privatized enterprises were mostly in the energy sector and
water supply.  The enterprises for forestry service, protection of plants and land sector, public
alimentary sector and university institutions, auto and bus stations were not subject to privatization.
30. The representative of Moldova stated that Moldova would ensure the transparency of its
ongoing privatization program and would keep WTO Members informed of progress in the reform of
its economic and trade regimes. He stated that his Government would provide annual reports to WTO
Members on developments in its program of privatization as long as the privatization programmes
would be in existence, along the lines of that provid ed to the Working Party.  He also stated that his
Government would provide annual reports on other issues related to its economic reform as relevantto its obligations under the WTO.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
- Pricing policy
31. In response to further questions the representative of Moldova stated that before January 1998
the Government of Moldova had established the prices and tariffs 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 operated in accordance with legislation of the
Republic of Moldova. The prerogatives, obligations and rights of the NERA were stipulated in the
laws and governmental decisions on electric power and gas. According to paragraph 6 of
Governmental Decision No.767 of 11 August 199 7, NERA had the following functions; issue of
licenses for activities related to production, transportation, dispatching services, distribution,
supplying, import and export of electricity, thermal energy 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-
year period. The methodology was based on the estab lishment of the basic ta riffs as “ceiling prices”
with further adjustment of these tariffs, taking into account the imported prices of fuel, energy and
natural gas, inflation, depreciation of the national currency, modification of the supplied energy, asWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 11
well as other factors, which directly influence the tariffs. The most recent adjustment of the energy
tariff was on 21 March 2000 (NERA Decision No.20 of 21 March 2000).  This new tariff completely
cover the real cost of energy, which as approved by NERA had entered into force on 1 April 2000.
The tariffs for production, transportation, distribution 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 GovernmentalDecision No. 767 of 11 August 1997, Government al Decision No.547 of 4 August 1998 "On State
coordination and regulation of prices and tariffs" established the legal authority to apply state control
over the prices for a number 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 authorities Ministry of Economy and Reforms
Imported goods purchased for hard currency on the basis of
interstate agreementsMinistry 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’sterritoryMinistry of Economy and Reforms
Technical means for prophylaxis and rehabilitation of
invalidsMinistry of Economy and Reforms
Precious metals Ministry of Finance
Interurban and international road 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 energy 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 Ministry of Environment and Territory
Development
Aqueduct and sewerage services Local authorities
Sanitation services Local authorities
Funeral services Local authorities
Heating and water supply services Local authorities
Rent services Local authoritiesWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 12
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 anumber of goods (table 5), which for social reasons shall 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.
32. 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.
33. The representative of Moldova stated that a new Law on Prices had been drafted and was
currently before the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.  The draft law (WT/ACC/MOL/34)reaffirmed the right of private entities freely to establish prices for traded goods.  In comparison with
the exception of a list of goods and services the prices for which are controlled by the State.  In
comparison with the Government Decision on prices and tariffs (reflected in Tables 3-5), the draft law
would decrease the number of goods and services for which the prices are controlled by the State,
reducing in this way their incidence and granting more freedom to legal and natural persons whomarket goods and services.
34. 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
fashion, and would take account of the interests of exporting WTO Members as provided for in
Article III.9 of the GATT 1994. Moldova would publish an y list of goods and services subject to StateWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 13
pricing or price controls in the “Monitorul Oficial” of the Republic of Moldova, including any
changes in existing measures. He also stated that his Government would 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
35. The representative of Moldova stated that the legal framework for anti-monopoly regulation
was Law No.906-XII of 29 February 1992 "On the Limitation of Monopoly Activities and the
Development of Competition". This Law established the fundamental principles for regulating the
activity of enterprises having a de facto  monopoly and for supporting the development of competition.
36. The representative of Moldova added that as part of the implementation of the Law the
Governmental Decision No.619 of  5 October 1993 included several regulations dealing with
monopolies.   Annex 2 of this document regulates th e State Register of monopolies on the market of the
Republic of Moldova.  This regulation defines a “dominant position on the market” whereas a company
on the market can exercise unilateral influence and prevent the access of other companies or limit the
freedom of activity of other companies.  A company is not considered to have a dominant position if its
market share does not exceed 35 per cent.  The State Register controls the existence of monopolies and
the activity of such companies and sets state control on price setting, volume of production, the varietyof goods, and the quality of goods and services.  The State Register includes companies whose market
share exceeds 35 per cent and those whose actions or  inactions infringe the current anti-monopolist
legislation.  The State Register is compiled accordin g to the decision of the Ministry of Economy and
Reforms on market share based on statistical indices provided by the State Department on Statistics.
Market share is determined on the basis of:  (1) the volume of production for the main goods on the
market, (ii) the marketing of the goods and services, the export of goods and services and (iv) the import
of similar goods onto the domestic market.
37. 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 recourse foreign firms had 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 arrangements; 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 Antimonopoly and Competition. Businesses, regulatoryauthorities, consumers associations, trade union s or the Department of Antimonopoly and Competition
could initiate proceedings on their own initiative. Fore ign firms, like domestic firms, had the right to file
complaints at the Public Prosecuto r's Office. He further added that a unit in the Ministry of Economy to
which foreign firms had access checked competition. This unit in the Ministry of Economy and Reforms
is called the Department of Antimonopoly and Comp etition.  A new Law on Protection of Competition
was elaborated and approved in the second readin g by the Parliament in June 2000.  This Law will
replace the existing Law on antimonopoly.  According to the new Law an independent body, a new
National Agency for Protection of Competition, w ill be created. Moldovan Law allowed exclusive
dealerships if they did not contrave ne the provisions of Article 4(2). Existing exclusive dealerships did
not need to be registered and the Government did not keep a register of such arrangements.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 14
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING  AND ENFORCING POLICIES
- Powers of executive, legislative and judiciary, administration of policies on WTO-
related issues
38. The representative of Moldova stated that, in pursuance of the Constitution, the powers of the
State were divided among the executive, legislative and judicial branches, with the President being theHead of State. The President of the Republic of Moldova was the guarantor of national sovereignty,
independence, and of the unity and territorial integrity of the nation. The President of the Republic
was elected by freely expressed, universal, equal, direct and secret ballot, with universal suffrage.  His
term of office was four years.  Following consultation with the parliamentary majority, the President
designates a candidate for the office of Prime Minister 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 an inability to form a Government or when the passing of new legislation had been
deadlocked for three consecutive months. 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 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 administration.  Parliament was the supreme representativebody 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 Executive, which was accountable to Parliament.  The
Judiciary was independent of the Executive and the Legislature.  The Supreme Court of Justice, theCourt of Appeal, Tribunals (High Courts) and Co urts of Law (Magistrates and County Courts)
administered Justice. The President on the basis of a proposition from a special Commission
appointed judges, except for the Supreme Court. The members of the Supreme Court were appointed
by Parliament.
39. The representative of Moldova said that there were several governmental entities responsible
for making and implementing policies affecting foreign 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. Responsibility for economic policy as a whole rested with the Ministry of
Economy and Reforms and included the implementation of the economic reforms undertaken in the
framework of the transition to a market economy. The Department of Customs Control implemented
the Government's customs policy and ensured that customs legislation was observed. Parliament wasthe only competent body to set tariffs and taxes on imports and did so in the a nnual Budget Law up to
the year 2000.  Thereafter, tariffs and taxes on imports  would be established as Annexes to the Law on
Customs Tariff.
40. The representative of Moldova said that the National Bank defined state national monetary
policy and was responsible for the stability of the currency, regulated the money supply, set theexchange rate policy and supervised the activities of commercial banks and other credit institutions.
The National Bank issued licenses for the establishment of commercial banks, and organized and
monitored prudential requirements. The National Bank was independent 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 incommercial activities. The Department of Standards, Metrology and Technical Supervision ensured
that the requirements of standardization and certification were met. The Department provided
information to importers on products subject to certification and on conformity procedures. There was
also a State Agency for the Protection of Industrial Property (AGEPI), and a State Agency on
Copyrights.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 15
41. 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 (H igh 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 relations among natural and legal persons. The Economic Courts hadbeen established by Parliament and the President of the Republic of Moldova appointed judges and
the Supreme Council of Magistrates on the basis of recommendations made to him. The Law “On
Economic Courts” had established the following system for economic disputes: District Economic
Courts, the Economic Court of the Republic of Mold ova, and the Supreme Court. All disputes relating
to the subject matter of WTO Agreements involving legal persons were required to be heard by the
economic courts, whereas all disputes involving natural persons were required to be heard by the
ordinary courts. Within the structure of the Economic Court of the Republic of Moldova there weretwo Appellate Bodies.
42. In response to further questions the representative of Moldova stated that any administrative
decisions on issues covered by the WTO could be appealed. An appeal in the first instance could be
taken within the responsible governmental institution 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 theLaw “On Petitioning” permitted foreigners to address 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 between one week and one month. In special cases the
examination could take a maximum of two months.
43. The representative of Moldova also noted that appeals could be made to an independent
tribunal. When both parties at the trial were legal persons the economic courts 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 parties to the trial was a natural person, the issue was
brought before the ordinary court and other superior judicial institutions. Courts of first instance were
based in each administrative unit (former rayons), in total 40. Despite the creation of newadministrative 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 administrative 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.
44. In response to requests for information on the status of draft and implementing legislation
concerning the various WTO Agreements, the representative of Moldova presented in documentWT/ACC/MOL/22 and WT/ACC/MOL/32 a detailed tabl e entitled Analytic Note Listing Moldovan
Legislation, Decrees, Decisions and Regulations Rele vant to the WTO Legal Texts: Status of Draft
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 supersede any domestic laws and regulationsfound 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, and 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 contrary to
the Constitution shall be preceded by a revision of the latter.  Whenever international agreements towhich the Republic of Moldova is a party contain provisions in conflict with those contained in
Moldova’s laws and normative acts the provisions of the international agreements are to be applied.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 16
- Authority of sub-central governments
45. 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 territory with authority to safeguard the political, economic and cultural interests of itspopulation. The Popular Assembly had competence to ad opt local legislation in the following fields:
science, culture, education; household and town-planning; health care and sports; local budget;
financial and fiscal activity; economy and environment; labour and social assistance. The Gagauz-Yeri
region had no autonomous authority with respect to fo reign trade, did not issue or implement technical
standards, sanitary or phytosanitary measures and did not subsidize.
46. In response to further questions, the representative of Moldova stated that Law No. 344 of
23 December 1994 “On Special Judicial Statute of the Gagauz-Yeri” had established the autonomy ofthe "Gagauz-Yeri” region in economic matters mostly  concerning its autonomy in administrating its
own budget and running economic activity. This region had no authority regarding excise, stamp, or
sales taxes or any other taxes related to trade, or on establishing requirements for investment, e.g.,
trade related investment measures covered by the WTO Agreement on TRIMS. These were under the
exclusive authority of the Moldovan Parliament. No legal act adopted by the People's Assembly ofGagauz-Yeri region would 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.
47. In response to requests for information regarding the Agreement on the Transnistria region,
the representative of Moldova referred to the Memorandum on the Basis for Normalization ofRelations between the Republic of Moldova and Tr ansnistria signed in Moscow on 8 May 1997. The
Memorandum, and the Agreement on the Organizati onal Basis of Social-Economic Collaboration,
signed on 10 November 1997, were the legal bases for settling the conflict. Based on this Moldova
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 compliancewith Moldova’s external obligations. As regards issues related to foreign trade commitments,
Moldova succeeded in finding common ground with th e Transnistrian authorities. The representative
of Moldova stated that Moldova had signed a special protocol on customs cooperation with the
Transnistria region that foresaw mutual elaboration of customs policy, exchange of statistics and
facilitation of border measures.
48. The representative of Moldova confirmed that all fiscal, financial and budgetary activities
performed by local governments would be in compliance with Article III of the GATT 1994. The
representative of Moldova confirmed that sub-central entities had no autonomous authority over
issues of subsidies, taxation, trade policy or any other measures covered by WTO provisions. He
confirmed that the provisions of the WTO Agr eement, 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 traffic, special economic zones, and other areas wherespecial regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations are established. He added that when apprised of a
situation where WTO provisions were not being applied 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.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 17
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS
- Registration and right to trade
49. The representative of Moldova stated that the Law “On State Regulation of External Trade
Activity” No. 1031-XIV of 8 June 2000 establishes the legal basis for state regulation of external
trade. Nevertheless, pursuant to the Governmental Decision No. 777 of 13 August 1998 “OnImproving the Mechanism of Regulating External Trade (Import Licensing)”, there were no specific
registration requirements for engaging in importin g. The only requirement was that the import
activities should be mentioned in the statute of the enterprise.
50. Some members of the Working Party requested  further information on the meaning of the
"statute of the enterprise". In response, the representative of Moldova stated that the statute of the
enterprise was comparable to the articles of incorpor ation for corporations 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 types of organizations, e.g.,
banks, insurance and joint stock companies and coope ratives, special provisions existed in the relevant
laws. All types of enterprises, including those without legal personality, had to be registered and
required a statute. Statutes were not registered. Stat utes were submitted together with the application for
registration of the enterprises and a document confirming the payment of a registration fee. Therepresentative of Moldova added that all forms of business enterprise, including corporations,
partnerships and individual firms could engage in the business of importing and exporting. Individuals
could also engage in import and export activities of a commercial nature. The only requirement was that
individuals had to register their activities as a business. If the importation and exportation activities were
for the individual personal consumption, there were no requirements. However, natural persons were notallowed to import or export goods, subject to licensing. The same rules applied to foreigners and citizens
of Moldova.
51. Some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova could confirm that
Governmental Decision No. 859 had established "activity licensing" 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 for trade or storage of chemical
reagents, inflammable liquefied gas and toxic chemical substances; ozone depleting substances; and
ionic radiation sources and radioactive materials. In response, the representative of Moldova stated
that only Law No.332 of 26 March 1999 "On the issuing of licenses of certain types of activities"
established licensing requirements for some types of activities. Article 19 “Final Provisions” provided
that within two months' of the enactment of that law, the Government was required to adjust itsnormative acts in accordance with the present law. Annex 2 of that Law listed the types of activities
for which a licence was required and the responsible institutions for issuing such licensing. The list
was presented to members of the Working Party in document WT/ACC/MOL/13, and is reproduced
in Annex II of this Report.  The representative of Moldova further noted that Articles 6, 7, and 12 of
the Law “On the issuing of licenses for certain types of activities governed the procedures for issuingand granting licenses. Article 13 of the Law “On the issuing of licenses for certain types of activities”
provides for detailed procedures when an application for licence was refused. The applicant is
informed within 3 days about the refusal to issu e a licence following the date of adoption of such
decision, indicating the reasons of rejection. The reasons to refuse the issue of a licence under the
Article 13(2) are: (a) inauthentic or changed data, contained in the submitted documents; (b) irrelevantconditions or lack of conditions (technical, technological, sanitary-hygienic and ecological security of
technological processes) necessary for performing the concerned type of activity listed in the
application; (c) previous withdrawal of a licence for the same type of activity in cases of violations
listed in the art.16 (c), (d) and (e); and (d) other conditions according to the legislation. The applicantWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 18
may submit a new request when he has eliminated the causes, for the original refusal of the
application for the licence. Any licensing decision is open to legal challenges.
52. 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 those activities listed in Annex I of this Report, as
required by Annex 2 of Law "On the issuing of licenses for certain types of activities". The
importation or exportation of products covered by activity licenses was subject only to requirements
consistent with the WTO. The activity licenses enumerated in Annex 2 of Law "On the issuing of
licenses for certain types of activities" did not restrict foreign participation and applied equally to
foreign and domestic businesses. Activity licenses were administered for the purpose of ensuringnational security, product safety and the protection of human, animal or plant life or health. The
criteria for granting activity licenses are published in the ”Monitorul Oficial” of the Republic of
Moldova. The criteria for engaging in import and expo rt 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,production, or wholesale or retail trade in any produc t. The list provided in Annex 2 to the Law “On
the issuing of licenses for certain types of activities” was exhaustive and its expansion to other
activities would require additional legislation as stipulated in Article 2 (2) of that Law.
53. Some members of the Working Party noted that Annex 17 of the 1999 Budget Law provided
for the collection of discriminatory fees in relation to the licensing of storage or wholesaling ofimported 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 previous fees in relation to the licensing of storage or wholesaling of imported
alcoholic beverages were inconsistent with the requirements of Article III:4 of the GATT 1994. Therepresentative of Moldova confirmed that licensing fees did not depend on the value of the product
and said that the Budget Law 2001 would include the following fee structure for the manufacturing,
storage, wholesale and importation of alcoholic, tobacco, gasoline and diesel products. The 2000 and
2001 Budget Laws of the Republic of Moldova had brought all internal taxes and other internal
charges, in particular those applied in relation to the licensing of storage or wholesaling of imported
alcoholic beverages, into conformity with the requirements of the WTO.
Table 6
Licensing fees structure for gambling, manufacturing storage, wholesale
and importation of alcoholic, tobacco and gasoline and diesel products
Type of activity Licence fees
(in minimum wages)Equivalent in
MLD
1. Gambling
a) Operation of gambling machines with cash
winning200 per machine 3,600
b) Organisation of betting during sport and other
contents7% of total value of bets
received-
c) Organisation and holding of lotteries 7% of total cost of the
tickets for digital and
instant lotteries-
d) Operation of casino gambling tables with cash
winnings5,000 per table 90,000WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 19
Type of activity Licence fees
(in minimum wages)Equivalent in
MLD
2. Manufacturing and wholesale of alcohol products 1,000 18,000
3. Storage and wholesale of alcohol products 1,000 18,000
4. Import and wholesale of alcohol products 1,000 18,000
5. Processing of tobacco manufacturing and
wholesale of tobacco products1,000 18,000
6. Wholesale of tobacco products manufactured in the
country1,000 18,000
7. Import and wholesale of tobacco products 1,000 18,000
8. Import of gasoline and diesel fuel 10,000 180,000
9. Wholesale of gasoline and diesel fuel 10,000 180,000
10. Retail sale of gasoline and diesel fuel at the petrol
stations1,000 18,000
54. The representative of Moldova stated that the 2000 and 2001 Budget Laws of the Republic of
Moldova had brought all internal taxes and other internal charges, in particular those applied in
relation to the licensing of the activity of storage or wholesale of imported alcoholic beverages, intoconformity with the requirements of the WTO Agreement. He confirmed that from  the date of
accession Moldova would ensure that its laws and regulations relating to the right to trade in goods
and all fees, charges or taxes levied on such rights would be in full conformity with its WTO
obligations, including Articles VIII: I (a), XI: I and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994 and that it would
also implement such laws and regulations in full conformity with these obligations. He confirmed in
particular that activity licensing requirements would not abridge the right to import and export. The
Working Party took note of these commitments.
- Customs Tariff
- Ordinary customs duties
55. 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 Moldova 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.
56. In response to questions concerning the applied rates of the specific duties the representative of
Moldova provided the Working Party with the following tabulation:
Table 7
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
20091.32 EURO/l
220510 Vermouths and other wines flavored with herb or other aromatic substances
in containers holding 2litters or less1.32 EURO/l
2206 Other fermented drinks (e.g. apple or pear cider, hydromel); mixtures of
other fermented drinks and nonalcoholic drinks not mentioned in otheritems0.24 EURO/lWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 20
Code Description Bound Rate of
Duty
2207 Essential alcohol of 80 per cent or more; ethyl alcohol and other alcoholic
drinks, of any concentrations1. 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 administered according to the normal
rules of customs procedures.
57. The representative of Moldova provided the foll owing tabulation of the average customs tariff
rates:
Table  8
Description Year Percentage
Simple average 1995 9.5
Simple average 1996 n.a.*
Trade weighted average 1995 5.9
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 weighted average these could be ignored, as there had not been important
import volumes in these tariff lines.
58. Some members of the Working Party said that there was uncertainty concerning the previous
applied customs tariff schedule in Moldova. In response, the representative of Moldova submitted the
customs tariff for 1998, 1999 and 2000 in electronic format , which were parts of the  Budget Law. The
Government had proposed to the Parliament to modi fy this system through the adoption of a customs
tariff with base duty rates and applied rates as an annex to the Law on Customs Tariff.
- Tariff quotas, tariff exemptions
59. The representative of Moldova stated that in Moldova, at present, there were no tariff quotas.
In response to questions concerning tariff exemptions , the representative of Moldova stated that tariff
exemptions did not depend on the type  of product but on its use. He provided a list of imports, which
benefited from tariff exemptions. They included char itable donations from organizations and individuals
to recognized charity institutions, goods imported under "cooperation contracts", the GSP system,agreements of technical cooperation etc. Import duty exemptions applied to raw material imports from
all countries if the final product was subsequently 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 exemptions would onl y be granted to third countries in accordance with
the provisions of the WTO.
- Other duties and charges
60. The representative of the Republic of Moldova confirmed that the Republic of Moldova
levied no duties and charges on imports other than ordinary customs duties and charges for services
rendered. 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 isreproduced in Part I of the Annex to the Protocol of Accession.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 21
61. The representative of Moldova confirmed that the “consular charges” applied by the foreign
representatives and embassies of Moldova for performing consular actions and certifying or issuing
documents with judicial importance were only applied to legal and natural persons of the Republic of
Moldova.  These consular charges were not required for the authentication of documents necessary to
import goods into Moldova.
- Fees and charges for services rendered
62. Some members of the Working Party asked whether 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 introduced 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 such as statistical services would be taken intoconsideration, 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 Control activities on the basis of a expenditure-sheet
approved by the Government.
Table  9
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 10003
5
0.25% of customs value but not more
than 600 Euro
For the customs authorisation of imported or exported goods thatmust be returned to the country of origin
− For each customs declaration
− For each additional customs declaration sheet30
15
For the authorisation of goods in the case of transit
− For each customs declaration
− for each additional customs declaration sheet10
5
For the authorisation of goods to be transferred to/or from thebounded customs warehouse
− For each customs declaration
− for each additional customs declaration sheet30
15
For the authorisation of goods, that are outside of zones ofcustoms control (companies premises), or outside of establishedworking hours (per hour of one customs officers time)
− outside of customs control zones
− outside of office hours, Saturday, Sunday
− public holidays20
20
20
For the cancellation of ordered services, stipulated in point 5,which was not motivated in due time and written form20
To submit the certificate of transport registration of chassis and
engine toc, introduced on the territory of the Republic, as well astemporary, that must be registered in the Ministry of InternalAffairs5WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 22
Types of custom services Rate in Euro
For storage goods at customs warehouse, for one kilo per each
day
− For the first 10 days
− For each of the following days0.1
0.5
For the obligatory retention of goods to be left at custom, asmortgaged goods for each day of storage
− For the first 10 days
− for each of the following days0.5% of the total price of goods
0.1% of the total price of goods
To extend the valid period of the customs declarant certificate 100
Additional payment for issue of duplicate certificates by thedeclarant during the year10
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 theCustom declaration at the request of the company in the casesstipulated in the legislation1% 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 operationdid by companies10
For the customs authorisation of international mail sent by public
at designated offices0.4
63. 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 fee 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 provided to WTO Members upon request. The WorkingParty took note of these commitments.
- Import surcharge
64. 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
Law Moldova had introduced a special import 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 customs duty. When the MFN duty rate was zero, thesurcharge 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 trade agreements, the surcharge was applied only
to imports originating in the countries participatin g in the free trade agreements. He confirmed that
Moldova had eliminated the import surcharge on 1 May 2000.
65. The representative of Moldova confirmed that after accession all duties and charges applied
on imports other than ordinary customs duties and charges for services rendered would be in
accordance with the WTO provisions. The representative of Moldova confirmed that from the date ofWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 23
accession Moldova would ensure that all charges applied to imports were applied in a manner
consistent with the requirements of the Understa nding 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
66. 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 e qually to imports from all third countries, including
CIS countries. In response the representative of Mo ldova stated that 20 per cent VAT was imposed on
the majority of imported and domestically purchased goods. 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 conform ity with the relevant WTO provisions, without any
exceptions. The Budget Law 2000 had brought the appli cation of VAT into conformity with the relevant
WTO provisions through its Article 9(1), which st ates that VAT is levied on imported goods and
services according to the provisions of Title III of the Tax Code.  In addition, the general application of
the principle of destination for VAT purposes is also stipulated in Article 101(5) of Title III of the Tax
Code, which came into effect on 17 December 1997. VAT for domestically produced goods was paidtogether 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 goods had to be paid before the goods entered the
customs territory of the Republic of Moldova.
67. The representative of Moldova said that according to Budget Law 2000 (Article 25.1), VAT
exemptions are the following:
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 Enterprise “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) 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 and implementation of new technologies;
fruit-growing and viticultural material for planting, as well as breed stock and
poultry, premixes of proteins, vitamins and provitamines, antibiotics, veterinary
vaccines, liquid nitrogen, nutritive additives.
h) Raw materials, materials and spare pa rts 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, education, and science (except for those withWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 24
advertising, erotic or pornographic character), as well as importation and sales of
book products in the areas mentioned above and concerned periodical issues;
k) Reconstruction works in the tuberculosis sanatorium for children in Ciadir Lunga to
be funded with money granted by governments of Turkey and US as humanitarian
aid.
68. The exemption from VAT of products from 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 would be discontinued and
subsequently the Budget Law 2000 eliminated this exemption.
-E x c i s e  T a x
69. The representative of Moldova stated that the current system of excise taxation treated some
imported and domestic products differently. Some me mbers of the Working Party stated that although
they welcomed Moldova’s recognition that the current  excise tax system treated some domestic and
imported products differently, which was inconsistent with Article 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 ra tes included in the Budget Law 2000 and reproduced in
Table 10, are in compliance with the WTO requirement s. He confirmed that the producers of the goods
paid the excise tax on domestically produced goods  on a monthly basis. Producers 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 imported goods had to be paid before the goods entered the customs territory of the
Republic of Moldova. For this purpose importers purchased excise stamps and marked the goods withthe stamps.  The representative of Moldova stated th at the timing of the payments of the excise tax on
domestically produced goods and imports would be alig ned more closely in the Budget Law for the year
2001.
Table 10
List of Excisable Products in cluded 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 coffeein any proportion.value in
MDL10%
1604 20 101 other prepared or preserved fish of salmon (red caviar) value in
MDL20%
1604 30 Caviar and caviar substitutes value in
MDL25%
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 containersholding 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 strength by volume exceeding
13%vol:litre 1.20 MDLWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 25
Code Description of goods Unit measure Amount
2204 29 wine other than that referred to an subheading 2204
10, grape must with fermentation prevented orarrested by the addition of alcohol in containersexceeding 2 l other than position 2009:
-of an actual alcoholic strength by volume notexceeding 13%vol:litre 1.00 MDL
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding
13%vol:litre 1.20 MDL
2204 30 Musts other than positions 2204 21 and 2204 29 litre 1.00 MDL
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 inpharmaceutical industry and medicinealcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL/%
vol/litre
2207 20 000 Ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any
strengthalcohol litre
absolute0.09 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 MDL
%vol/litre
2208 30 Whisky alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL/%
vol/litre
2208 40 Rum and tafia alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL
%vol/litre
2208 50 Gin and Geneva alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL
%vol/litre
2208 60 Vodka alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL
%vol/litre
2208 70 Liqueurs alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL
%vol/litre
2208 90 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by
volume of less than 80 % vol.; spirits, liqueurs andother spirituous beverages, except those from 220820-220870)alcohol litre
absolute0.09 MDL
%vol/litre
2401 Un-manufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse. Tonne 2000 MDL
2402 10 000 Cigars, cheroots and cigarillos , containing tobacco 1,000 pieces 1000 MDL
2402 20 Cigarettes containing tobacco
- containing cloves 1,000 pieces 7 MDL
- others 1,000 pieces 3 MDL
2402 90 000 Other, containing substitu tes of tobacco 1,000 pieces 5 MDL
Ex.2710 00 270
Ex.2710 00 290Ex.2710 00 320Ex.2710 00 340Ex.2710 00 360
Ex.2710 00 390Petrol for cars Tonne 1200 MDLWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 26
Code Description of goods Unit measure Amount
Gas oils
27 100 061 For undergoing a specific process Tonne 500 MDL
2710 00 65 For undergoing chemical transformation by a process
other than those specific in respect of subheading2710 00 61Tonne 500 MDL
2710 00 66 With a sulphur content not exceeding 0,05% by weigh Tonne 500 MDL
2710 00 67 With a sulphur content  exceeding 0,05% by weigh
but not exceeding 0,2% by weightTonne 500 MDL
2710 00 68 With a sulphur content exceeding 0,2% by weight Tonne 500 MDL
3303 00 10 Perfumes value in
MDL10%
Ex.4303 Articles of apparel, cl othing accessories and other
articles of fur skinvalue in
MDL25%
Ex. 7113 Articles of jewelry and parts thereof, of precious metal
or of metal clad with precious metal.Value in
MDL10%
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, whetheror not incorporating reception apparatus or soundrecording or reproducing apparatus; televisioncameras; still image video cameras and other videocamPiece 30 EURO
8528 Reception apparatus for television, whether or not
incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or
video recording or reproducing apparatus; videomonitors 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 cccm3 0.20 EURO
8703 23 - of a cylinder capacity exceeding 1,500 cc but not
exceeding 3,000 cccm3 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 capacity exceeding 1,500 cc but not
exceeding 2,500 cccm3 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 sale in the home market and in the CIS countries with thewhich the Republic of Moldova did not enter into or ratified agreement on principles of indirecttaxation of imports and exports of the goods (works, services). Spirits, wine in bulk and non fermentedWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 27
bulk and non-fermented tobacco sold to business which have fiscal relations with national budgetary
system and have licensed operation aimed at production of excise taxable merchandise, are not liable toexcise 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 approvedrates after recalculation of the amounts into approved measure units. Recalculation of excise tax foralcohol 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 momentof delivery, based on approved rates recalculated 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 settlement 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 filter shall be 2 US$ 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.
70. Referring to the table above, some members of the Working Party asked Moldova to ensure that
the exemption from excise tax for spirits used in pharmacology and veterinary products did not create an
incentive for abuse of the exemption. In respons e 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 imported spirits would be used for the
production of pharmaceuticals 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.
71. Some members of the Working Party requested information on how the Government of
Moldova intended to amend the Budget Law to brin g the VAT and excise tax regimes into conformity
with WTO requirements. The representative of Moldov a said that fiscal policy reflected in the Budget
Law 2000 is based on the following: (i) the general ap plication of the principle of destination for VAT
purposes; (ii) no discriminatory VAT exemptions for domestic products; (iii) general application of the
principle of destination for excise tax purposes; (iv)  no discriminatory excise tax rates. The general
application of the principle of destination for VAT purposes is also stipulated in the new Law on VAT.
72. Some members of the Working Party referred to Note 1 of Table 10 and to the excise tax on
“divin” and stated that they were of the view that the excise taxation regime on alcoholic beverages wasinconsistent with the requirements of Article III of the GATT 1994 in light of recent WTO Dispute
Settlement proceedings. They asked how Moldova planne d to ensure conformity of its excise taxation of
alcoholic beverages with the GATT 1994. In response, the representative of Moldova stated that the
Budget Law for 2001 and the relevant legal acts on excise tax had removed all inconsistencies as regards
the excise taxation regime on alcoholic beverages including Note 1 of Table 10 and harmonised the
excise tax applied to products covered by tariff line 2208 by the date of accession of Moldova to the
WTO.
73. Concerning the application of the excise taxe s, the representative of Moldova said that
Moldova had signed bilateral agreements with Belarus, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Armenia that
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.
  through specific bilateral agreements and as provided for in Article 10(1) of theWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 28
Budget Law 2000 which states that the goods (products) produced on the territory of the Republic of
Moldova and the imported ones are subject to excise tax according to Annex 5 and its Note, and Title
IV (On Excise) of the Fiscal Code  which will be in force as of 1 January 2001.  The provisions of
Note 1 to Table 10 did not appear in the draft Budget Law 2001.  There would be no reference to
specific bilateral agreements in this law.
74. The representative of Moldova confirmed that, from the date of accession, Moldova would
apply its domestic taxes, including those on products listed in Table 10 and paragraphs 66-73 in strict
compliance with Article III of the GATT 1994 and in a non-discriminatory manner to imports
regardless of country of origin. The Working Party took note of this commitment.
- Quantitative import restrictions
75. Some members of the Working Party requested information concerning those provisions in
Moldovan Law that authorized the Executive to apply quantitative restrictions. In response, therepresentative of Moldova explained that under Article  11 of the Law “On State Regulation of
External Trade”, adopted on 8 June 2000 the Governme nt could restrict the export and import of goods
and services or suspend foreign economic transacti ons for balance-of-payments reasons or under other
economic and political conditions. However, such tem porary measures had to respect the provisions of
international treaties and agreements to which Moldova was a party (Article 11 of this  Law). Therewere no specific rules on the duration of such temporary 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.
76. Some members of the Working Party noted that Article 12 of the Law “On Foreign Trade
Activity” appeared to authorize, as a rule, the setting 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".  
In response, the representative of Moldova stated that the Law “On
Foreign Trade Activity” has been replaced by the Law “On State Regulation of External Trade” No.
1031-XIV of 8 June 2000.  Article 10 of the new Law “On the State Regulation of External Trade”
provides that the export from and import into the Republic of Moldova is not normally subject to
quantitative restrictions.  The Government of the Republic of Moldova may, however, in exceptional
cases establish quantitative restrictions on exports or imports in accordance with the present law and
international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.  Governmental decisions
concerning the introduction of quantitative restrictions on imports and exports are required to be
published at least 30 days before the entry into force of these restrictions. These exceptional cases
were stipulated in Article 11 of the new Law  a nd were in compliance with Articles XX and XXI of
GATT 1994. In the case of establishment of any quantitative restrictions, the authorized public body
responsible for administration and distribution of quotas and the issue of licenses will follow Article 3
of the Law which provides that “where international agreements to which the Republic of Moldova is
a party contain provisions different from those listed in the present Law and related normative acts,the provisions of the international agreements take precedence.
77. Some members of the Working Party asked how preferential treatment in the distribution of
licenses was compatible with the provisions of Article III and XI. In response, the representative of
Moldova stated that the Law on State Regulation of External Trade does not allow any preferential
treatment.   Article 12 of the Law had been amended to delete all references to preferences.  Article 8(1) of this Law provides that whenever State Policy regarding external trade is implemented through
non tariff regulation (especially by quota and licenses) of external trade this must be done in
accordance with this Law, other laws and international agreements to which Moldova is a party.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 29
78. 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, reintroduce or apply quantitative restrictions on imports or other non-tariff
measures such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization requirements, licensing
requirements and other restrictions having equivalent effect that could not be justified under theprovisions of the WTO Agreements.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
- Import licensing procedures
79. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the products subject to import
licensing, the justifications thereof, the authorities involved, the cost and procedures, and the
documentation requirements. In response, the representative of Moldova confirmed that only a limited
number of products were subject to licensing. The pr oduct groups subject to licensing are listed in the
following paragraph. Lottery-type inventions, equipmen t for different types of lottery, slot machines,
fortune games, and industrial waste subject to internat ional control were also subject to import licensing.
The import licensing system applied to imports irre spective of their origin, including imports from CIS
countries and other countries with which Mol dova had a preferential trade agreement. The
representative of Moldova presented the Working Pa rty with further information on import licensing in
document WT/ACC/MOL/8/Add.1;  which was revised and supplemented in document
WT/ACC/MOL/15/Rev.1.
80. Some members of the Working Party asked to whom an application for import licence should
be made. The representative of Moldova said that the relevant institutions and all products subject to
import licensing in Moldova, as well as the reason fo r each licensing requirement and WTO justification
are listed in Tables 11-14, below:
Table 11
Special Governmental Committee
Product Group HS-Code Reason for
licensingGATT Reference
Weapons, ammunitions, military
equipment, kits to produce suchequipment, works and services in thefield of technical-military cooperation93.00 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 producesuch materials2844, 8401 National security Art. XXI (b) (ii)
Table 12
Ministry of Health
Product Group HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT
reference
Pharmaceutical products 1204, 1207, 1211,
2924, 2935-2938,
2941, 3001-3006,370110, 4014, 4015,481840, 481890, 7017Protection of human, animal
or plant life or healthArt. XX (b)WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 30
Product Group HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT
reference
Medical and optical equipment,parts and accessories, bio-mediafor the development ofmicroorganisms9001-9004, 9018-
9022, 3821Protection of human, animal
or plant life or healthArt. XX (b)
Diagnostic tests and chemical
reactive3822, 38084 Protection of human, animal
or plant life or healthArt. XX (b)
Drugs, substances with
psychotropic effects; materials to
produce such substances1302, 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 healthART. XX (B)
Table 13
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 healthArt. XX (b)
Chemical and biological products
for plant protection andstimulation of plant growing.31, 3808 Protection of human, animal
or plant life or healthArt. XX (b)
Tools and devices for vet services 9018-9022 Protection of human, animal
or plant life or healthArt. XX (b)
Table 14
Ministry of Finance
Product Group HS-Code Reason for licensing GATT
reference
Precious metals (silver and gold),
objects made thereof, alloys,
semifabricates, wastes containingprecious metals (except electronicarticles containing precious metals),7106, 7108, 7113,
7114, 7115, 7118,
711210Special role of gold and
silverArt. XX (c)
Petrol and diesel Ex.2710 Protection of human,
animal or plant life orhealthArt. XX (b)
81. 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.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 31
82. The representative of Moldova noted that there were no fees related to the issuing of import
licenses. Licenses were automatic. A licence was required to be issued within five days after the
complete set of documents had been submitted. Import licenses were valid for the period requested by
the importer. Import licenses could be extended upon the request of the importer.
83. 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 equivalent 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 the relevant WTO provisions, including Article XII
of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994.
Any further amendments to the import licensing re gime after accession would be fully in accordance
with all relevant provisions of the WTO, incl uding the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.
He further confirmed that any discretionary authority permitting the Government of Moldova to
suspend imports or licensing requirements that could suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict the quantity
of trade would be applied from the date of accession in conformity with the requirements of the WTO,
in particular Articles XI, XIII, XIX, XX and XXI of the GATT 1994, and the Agreements on
Agriculture, Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import Licensing Procedures,Safeguards and Technical Barriers to Trade.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
- Customs valuation
84. 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 with the Agreement. The regulations set forth inDecision No. 99 concerning the methods of valuati on would need to be modified to conform to the
Agreement, or revoked. Specific questions were raised with 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 No. 99. However, changesin that Law were required to ensure full conf ormity with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement.
85. 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 representative of Moldova noted that all the
inconsistencies identified by members of the Work ing Party had been remedied in the final draft of
the legislation. The draft amendments to the Law on Customs Tariff are presently before Parliament
and have been approved in a second reading and will be enacted by the end of December 2000.
86. 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 whilelodging a complaint in the economic courts and ordinary 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 according to the WTO Valuation Agreement.
87. In response to questions from members of the 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 theWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 32
deductive and computed value methods could be applied in reverse order at the request of the
importer.
88. 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 representative of Moldova confirmed that Decision No.1092 expired on 1 January 2000 and that there were presently no legal requirements related to
reference prices. Moldova had eliminated the use of reference prices for determining the customs
value of imports, and from the date of accession Moldova would not use minimum values, reference
prices, or a fixed valuation schedule for the valuation of imports or to apply duties and taxes.  After
accession Moldova assumed the obligation to respect all WTO provisions in this respect.
89. At a later stage and in response to the abov e questions, in document WT/ACC/MOL/14/Rev.1
the representative of Moldova provided detailed information cross-referencing the provisions of theCustoms Valuation Agreement with the Articles of the Customs Tariff Law.
90. The representative of Moldova confirmed that , from the date of accession, Moldova would
apply fully the WTO provisions concerning customs valuation, 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 and for the Valuation of Carrier Media BearingSoftware for Data Processing Equipment. In accordance with these latter provisions, only the cost of
the carrier medium itself would be accounted for in the customs value.  He also confirmed that
Moldova had eliminated the use of reference prices for determining the customs value of imports, and
that from the date of accession Moldova would not use minimum values, reference prices, or a fixed
valuation schedule for the valuation of imports or to apply duties and taxes.  He added that, as aninternational agreement, the provisions of the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII
of the GATT 1994 would supersede domestic law after accession. The Working Party took note of
these commitments.
- Rules of origin
91. Some members of the Working Party asked for confirmation that Mol dova would adopt legal
provisions for rules of origin that conform fully to the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Rules of
Origin. The representative of Moldova stated that the Customs Tariff Law established Moldova's rules
of origin.
92. In response to questions the representative of Moldova said that rules of origin were required
only for goods imported from countries covered by a preferential trade agreement and from
least-developed countries. The rules of origin under the Free Trade Agreements signed with CIS
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.
93. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Mo ldova would adopt legal provisions for rules
of origin that comply fully with the require ments of the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin.
Moldova’s regulations in this area were found in Ch apter V of the Customs Tariff Law.  Article 25 of
the Law has been completed with a paragraph (3) th at contains the following: “upon the request of an
exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause, assessments of the origin and preferential
origin they would accord to a good are issued as soon as possible but no later than 150 days after a
request for such an assessment provided that all n ecessary elements have been submitted.  Requests for
such assessments shall be accepted before trade in the good concerned begins and may be accepted at
any later point in time.  Such assessments shall rema in valid for three years provided that the facts andWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 33
conditions, including the rules of origin and prefer ential rules of origin, under which they have been
made, remain comparable.
94. The representative of Moldova confirmed that 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 Article 2(h) and Annex II, paragraph 3(d) of theAgreement, which require provision upon request of an assessment of the origin of the import and
outline the terms under which it will be provided,  would be established in Moldova's legal framework
prior to accession.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
- Pre-shipment inspection
95. In response to questions from some members of the Working Party, the representative of
Moldova said that the legal framework for introdu ction of pre-shipment inspection is covered by
Article 12 of  the Law “On State Regulation of the External Trade”) which provides that: pre-shipment inspection includes the control of goods’ quantity and quality, prices, as well as the
verification of customs classification; pre-shipment inspection is carried out by an international
organization on the territory of country delivering the goods for export and/or import; the Government
sets the pre-shipment inspection procedures and the nomenclature of the inspected goods. The
Republic of Moldova would ensure that pre-shipment inspection activities were carried out in a non-discriminatory manner, and that the procedures and criteria employed in the conduct of these activities
were objective and applied on an equal basis to all importers affected by such activities.
96. The representative of Moldova confirmed that in utilising pre-shipment inspection service
providers, Moldova would ensure that the requirements of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection
were implemented in full. Moldova would take full re sponsibility to ensure that the operations of any
preshipment inspection companies retained by Moldova meet the requirements of the WTO
Agreements, including the establishment of charges and fees consistent with Article VIII of the GATT
1994, and will comply with the due process and transparency requirements of the WTO Agreements,
in particular Article X of the GATT 1994, and the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of
the GATT 1994.  In respect to fees for remuneration of the pre-shipment entity the parties agree tomaintain at all times a fee structure compliant with WTO obligations.  Moldova confirmed that its
pre-shipment inspection regime would be temporar y 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
97. 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-Dumping, Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and
Safeguards. In response, the representative of Moldova stated that the Government of Moldova had
prepared a law on anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, which would come into force
on 1 January 2001 and would comply with the respective WTO regulations.   
98. The representative of Moldova confirmed that  Moldova would not apply any anti-dumping,
countervailing or safeguard measure until it had notified and implemented appropriate laws in
conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreements on the Implementation of Article VI, on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and on Safeguards. 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 1994and the Agreements on the Implementation of Article VI, the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures and the Agreement on Safeguards. After such legislation was implemented,WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 34
Moldova would also only apply any anti-dumping 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
99. Some members of the Working Party asked Moldova 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.
100. The representative of Moldova said that there were no export licensing requirements and that
the registration of export contracts had been  abolished by Government Decision No. 777 of
13 August 1997 “On Improving the Mechanisms of Regulating Foreign Trade”.  He confirmed thatGovernment Decision No. 716 of 30 June 1998 ha d modified Government Decision No. 777 and
abolished the export licence fee of 0.1 per cent.
- Export restrictions
101. In response to questions, the representative of Moldova said that Moldova no longer
maintained the temporary export restriction on unbottled wine intended to promote the quality imageof 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 consistent with the relevant WTO provisions. The Working Party
took note of this commitment.
- Export licensing
102. The representative of Moldova informed members of the Working Party that export licenses
were required for "goods with a special character" and that, in accordance with 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 80 above. It included weapons, ammuniti on, military equipment,
kits to produce such equipment; explosives; nuclear materials, technologies, equipment and installations
to produce such materials; ionic radiation sour ces; drugs, psychotropic effect substances and
preparations, materials to produce such substances and preparations, poisons; lottery-type inventions,
means and equipment for different types of lottery; slot machines, fortune games; chemical substances
(including fertilizers and plant-protection substan ces) and industrial waste subject to international
control; medicines, medical appliances and equipmen t. The list also included precious metals: gold and
silver.
103. 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 licence fee had also been abolished too.
- Export subsidies
104. 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 would be fully consistent with the relevant WTO
provisions.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 35
105. The representative of Moldova stated that from the date of accession Moldova would not
maintain any subsidies, including export subsidie s, which met a definition of a prohibited subsidy
within the meaning of Article 3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and
would not introduce such prohibited subsidies from the day of accession. The Working Party took
note of this commitment.
- Internal Policies Affecting Trade in Goods
- Industrial policy, including subsidies
106. In response to requests for information, the representative of Moldova stated that the
Government had a general policy to create a broad-based market economy and to privatize all
government-owned commercial enterprises and assets. The Government also had a general policy to
attract foreign investment into the country and to involve, as far as possible, foreign investors and
technology in all sectors of the economy for the purpos e of furthering the creation of a market economy
and the privatization of government-owned commerci al enterprises and assets. Industry continued to be
an important element in the development of the national 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 tel ecommunications in the form of priority loans and
technical assistance provided by international orga nizations or bilateral co-operation programmes. No
subsidies were granted to domestic industrial production. In the year 2000, Moldova would grant the tax
exemptions listed in Annex III.
107. In response to questions from members of the Working Party concerning the mechanisms and
policies used to enable the development programmes for the agricultural sector, the representative of
Moldova stated that the development of the agricult ural 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 supported by international aid agencies and
establishment of an Agency for Assistance to Farms in Restructuring (ARA);
− support to agricultural research in the framewo rk 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.
108. Some members of the Working Party asked for information on Government aid to investment
projects. In response, the representative of Moldova st ated 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 following investment pr ojects launched by the private sector had received
Government aid: REDECO according to the terms of the concessional agreement on prospecting and
exploitation of oil and gas (Article 26, 1999 Budget  Law); modernization of Thermocomenergo carried
out by ROCARO. He stated that the Government support measures for concessions were negotiated on
an individual basis. They were not part of a Go vernment investment support program. There were no
administrative procedures for applying for and receiving this governmental assistance.
109. The representative of Moldova confirmed that any subsidy programmes provided by his
Government after accession would be administered in conformity with the Agreement on SubsidiesWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 36
and Countervailing Measures and that all necessary information on notifiable programmes would be
notified to the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing 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
110. Some members of the Working Party asked Moldova 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 standards were being elaborated. The elaboration of national standards was
carried out by technical committees on standardization that consisted of specialists from interested
parties. Moreover, newly developed standards were being harmonized with relevant international orEuropean standards. All standards were revised every five years.
111. The representative of Moldova added that at present there were in force normative documents
on standardization for the following products or product groups in Moldova:
Table 15
The normative acts of standardization rela ting 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 HealthFood 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 Services provided at the work place
Environmental protection norms, including radiation safety General
Of 20,000 regional GOST standards, available within 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 the Law on TBT No. 866-XIV of 10
March 2000 stipulates that the application of national standards would become voluntary. The
application of a national standard will remain mandatory only if a reference in a Technical Regulationis provided. An authorized public authority may adopt a technical regulation only in accordance with
legitimate objectives listed in the TBT Agreement. By 1 January 2002 the authorities of the Republic
of Moldova will develop and make known the technical regulations, derived from the present
mandatory standards.
112. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would introduce voluntary standards to
prepare for its accession to the WTO. Against a background of a difficult economic situation, the
absence of other obligatory technical requirements,  Moldova considered mandatory standards the only
practical way to keep out poor quality or danger ous products. The newly developed standards were
being harmonized with ISO standards and the ex isting standards would be harmonized over time
through a process of periodic revisions. The followi ng publications contained information on technical
regulations, standards and procedures:
- "Buletinul Standartisarii” (published in Moldova every two months in the Romanian
and Russian languages);
- "Monitorul Oficial” (published in Moldova monthly);WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 37
- "Buletinul Standardizarii” (published monthl y in Romania in the Romanian language);
- “Informationnii Ucazateli Standartov” (publis hed monthly in Russian Federation in the
Russian language).
113. Some members of the Working Party requested information concerning certification
procedures. In response, the representative of Moldova stated that product and service certification inthe Republic of Moldova was carried out in the framework of the National Certification System, on
the basis of the Law on Certification No. 652 of 28 October 1999, Law on Consumer Protection
Rights of the Republic of Moldova, Law on Standa rdization, and in concordance with ISO, ISO/CEI
Guides, normative documents of National Standardization and Certification Systems, harmonized
with the above. In the Republic of Moldova the mandatory and voluntary certification was carried out
in conformity with General Procedure PG-01-05- 92 issued by the Moldova Standard Department.
Certification had a mandatory character only for products or services that can affect life, health,consumer’s property and environment. These products or services were introduced into the
Nomenclature of products and services subject to mandatory certification, approved by the
Department of Standards, Metrology 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 Supervisi on in conformity with the Moldovan Standard SM
45-2 “National Certification System of the Republic of Moldova Product certification”.
114. The representative of Moldova said these 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 applicant. Free access to all normative documents on
standardization and certification procedures was guaranteed for all applicants for certification fromthe 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 certification bodies with which bilateral or multilateral
agreements of recognition had been signed.
115. 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 Mo ldova in conformity with provisions of EN 45000
Standard. The Nomenclature of products subject to mandatory certification include: foodstuffs;
electronics; products and technologies with a high level of danger; goods for children; cosmetics
products; construction 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.
116. He further added that through their participation 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, IE C), regional standards (GOST, EN) and Romanian
standards (STAS, SR). Moldova respects Internationa l Conventions regulating the safety of chemical,
toxic, inflammable, explosive and other substances . In Moldova, there were no specific regulations or
requirements covering electrical safety, telecomm unications equipment, me dical devices and other
classes of equipment. Product certification in the Re public of Moldova is carried out according to the
provisions of the TBT Agreement regarding the a ssessment of conformity . Moldova did not apply
specific certificate classes, except hygienic certificate s issued by the Ministry of Health, as component
part of certificates of conformity. The requirements related to hygienic certificates are specified in the
technical regulations of the Ministry of Health. Th e State Inspections for Consumers' Rights Protection
and products quality control performs quality control during the production process, storage and sale.
Imported goods were subject to the same standards as domestic goods.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 38
117. In response to additional questions concerning  certification procedures, the representative of
Moldova said that recognition by certification bodies  of Moldova of the certificates issued in CIS
countries and Romania was based on the bilateral ag reements.  The Moldovan National Standardization
Body would enter into consultations with other countries with the aim of accepting the results of
conformity assessment procedures of other member c ountries.   The representative of Moldova said that
Article 4.4 of the Law on Standardization expressly pr ovided that Moldovan standards had to be based
on modern scientific research, t echniques and technology, on international and regional standards and on
advanced standards of other countri es. Also Article 18 of the Law stipulated as the main objective of
international co-operation between Moldova and othe r countries the achievement of the harmonization
of national standards with international and regiona l standards and with advanced national standards of
other countries.
118. One member of the Working Party stated that Article 5 of the TBT Agreement provides that
where assurance of conformity with technical regu lations or standards is required, the conformity
assessment procedures established must be non-discr iminatory, i.e., that they must “grant access for
suppliers of like products originating in the te rritories of other Members under conditions no less
favorable than those accorded to suppliers of like pr oducts of national origin or originating in any other
country.”  “Access” in this case would include receiving the mark of the system.   In addition, Article6.1 of the TBT Agreement contains the unilateral obligation for WTO Members to ensure their
procedures allow for the acceptance of conformity a ssessment results from bodies located outside their
territory.   While Article 6.3 foresees the possibility  of mutual recognition agreements as one option for
achieving confidence in the competence of foreig n-based bodies, Article 6.4 contains another option,
i.e., the non-discriminatory acceptance of applicati ons by conformity assessment bodies for recognition
under national procedures.  This member stated that  Moldova’s current practice as described to the
Working Party appeared overly restrictive in its reliance on government-to-government agreements, and
asked Moldova to identify the provisions in its current law or draft law that address Moldova’s
obligations (a) to establish non-discriminatory treat ment of imports from countries with which it does
not have bilateral recognition agreements and (b) to  develop procedures for acceptance of conformity
assessment results from bodies located outside of Mo ldova as part of its implementation of the TBT
Agreement.
119. In response to requests for information concerning the compatibility of the national legislation
with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, the representative of
Moldova provided the requested informa tion in the document WT/ACC/MOL/16 and
WT/ACC/MOL/19/Rev.1.
120. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova has adopted a number of new laws to bring
its national legislation fully into conformity with the WTO provisions on standards. Law no 652-XIV
of 28 October 1999 ”On Certification” provides for the development and application of conformity
assessment procedures; and the acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures
conducted by appropriate bodies in an exporting member country with whom Moldova had signed a
bilateral agreement on mutual recognition, or where Moldova had acceded to a specialised regional orinternational organisation. It further provided for non-discrimination in respect of the treatment of
products and a cost-based fee structure. According to Article 20 (1) of the Law on Certification “when
the international (interstate) agreements, to which the Republic of Moldova is a party, establish other
provisions than those provided by the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, the provisions of the
international (interstate) agreement are applied”. As a consequence, the representative of Moldovastated that  Moldova was drafting modifications  to the Law on Certification No. 652-XIV from 28th
of October 1999 to bring Article 4 paragraph 5 of that Law into line with the requirements of Articles
5 and 6 of the TBT Agreement in the area of  application of conformity assessment procedures.   The
representative of Moldova added that Articles 8 and 12 of the TBT Law and Article 13 of the Law on
Certification would also be amended to ensure that the procedures of conformity assessment appliedto imported goods were identical to the procedures applied to local production, and would conform toWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 39
the provisions of Articles 5 and 6 of the WTO TBT Agreement.  These amendments would be in force
prior to the date of Moldova’s accession.  Law 919-XIV of 12 April 2000 which had amended
existing Moldovan legislation on standardisation provides comprehensive rules for the publication of
the programme for developing standards. It set the appropriate international standards, guidelines and
recommendations as the basis of Moldovan technical regulations and conformity assessmentprocedures.
121. The representative of Moldova said that Article 16 of the Law 866-XIV of 10 March 2000 on
TBT provided for compliance with the provisions of the Code of Good Practice for the development
and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures. It stipulated
that unnecessary obstacles to international trade must be avoided and less trade restrictive alternatives
found.  It provided for the implementation and administration of the TBT Agreement, and the
identification of the authority responsible for making notifications to WTO, giving a reasonableperiod of time between the final publication of technical regulations and their entry into force so that
suppliers could adapt. According to this law the National Body of Standardisation has the
responsibility to fulfil the provisions of the Code of Practice for the preparation, adoption and
application of new standards in the light of the TBT Agreement.  The Code of Good Practice and all
terms and definitions necessary for the implementation of the TBT Agreement would be in operationprior to the date of Moldova’s accession to the WTO.
122. He confirmed Article 8 of the Law on TBT prov ides regulation concerning the recognition of
equivalency of technical regulations of other countries and states the following:  “1) Technical
regulations of other countries are considered equivalent with national technical regulations where
they: a) are not in contradiction with the provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Moldova; b)contribute, in an effective way and to the same degree, to the implementation of the objectives
provided by the natal technical regulations; 2) The recognition of the equivalency of technical
regulations of other countries with those of the Republic of Moldova lies within the competence of
public authorities which, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, have the
power to establish mandatory requirements for produc ts”.  Legal instruments would be issued during
2001 to provide for the complete transformation of Moldovan practice from pre-existing mandatory
standards into a system based on technical regulations and appropriate voluntary standards.
123. In response to questions from members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova
noted that an inquiry point had been created within the National Center for Standardization and
Certification and would be operating within th e Moldovan Department of Standards to answer
inquiries from WTO members and interested parties, and to provide relevant documents on technical
regulations, Moldovan standards and conformity assessment procedures.  This inquiry point wasresponsible legally and administratively for all relevant notification procedures required by the WTO
TBT Agreement. The address is:
28, Coca street, Chisinau
Republic of Moldova
Tel: (373-2) 75-09-81Fax: (373-2) 75-05-81
E-mail: Moldovastandard@standart.mldnet.com
Mr. Lupascu Vasile
124. The representative of Moldova confirmed that from 1 January 2003, the application of all
national standards would become voluntary.  At the end of this period, national standards would
remain mandatory only by reference to a technical regulation, adopted by a public authority in
accordance with legitimate objectives, such as national security, preventing of misuse practices,
protection of the health and life of physical persons, of the health and life of animals, plants
protection, environment protection.  He added that prior to the date of accession, Moldova wouldWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 40
amend its laws and regulations as described in paragraph 119 of this report to ensure that its
conformity assessment procedures reflected options for achieving confidence in the technical
competence of bodies located in the territory of other WTO members to perform conformity
assessment and have their results accepted by Moldovan  authorities.  Such options would include: the
conclusion of agreements with conformity assessment bodies in other countries (e.g., accreditationbodies; certification bodies); the acceptance and non-discriminatory consideration of applications for
accreditation from conformity assessment bodies located in other WTO members and the acceptance
of conformity assessment results from qualifying bodies; and other means of recognition of equivalent
procedures.  He also confirmed that Moldova would implement the WTO Agreement on Technical
Barriers to Trade from the date of accession, without recourse to any other transition. The Working
Party took note of these commitments.
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures
125. Some members of the Working Party requested detailed information concerning agricultural
products, in particular how Moldovan standards a nd regulations compared with those of the Codex
Alimentarius (Codex), Organization of Internationa l Epizootics, and the European Plant Protection
Organization. In response, the representative of Mol dova said that Moldovan standards and regulations
fully complied with the regulations of the Codex Alimentarius. Moldova was a member of theOrganization of International Epizootics and was us ing its regulations. Moldova was not a member of
the European Plant Pr otection Organization.
126. In response to requests for information, the representative of Moldova said that the following
products required a hygienic certificate from the Stat e Sanitary-Epidemiological Service: raw materials,
machines and equipment the use of which may constitute a source of danger for human health; goods forchildren; materials and equipment used in drinking  water systems; cosmetics and perfume; soap and
detergents; textiles. The certificate for domestic goods was issued on the basis of relevant
documentation, including the results of hygienic test s. For foreign products, the certificate was issued
based on a safety certificate of the exporting country and additional tests in Moldova.
127. Concerning the veterinary inspection and quarantine requirements that applied to livestock,
animal products, fish, veterinary drugs and animal f eed, the representative of Moldova said that the
Moldovan Law on Veterinary Activity obliged holders of  livestock to: (i) respec t the veterinary, sanitary
and zoo-hygienic rules regarding the maintenance, feeding reproduction and exploitation of animals; (ii)
take necessary action to prevent infectious diseases and, to eradicate sources of infections and prevent
their spreading; (iii) ensure systematic medical examination of personnel and prohibit the employment
of sick persons; (iv) notify without delay the veteri nary authorities about the existence or suspicion of
existence of a disease which could require the im position of quarantine measures, isolate the sick or
dead animals, and prevent the use or sale of thei r meat; (v) notify within 24 hours the local veterinary
authorities of the acquisition of animals from other ar eas of the country and keep these animals separate
from the existing stock; (vi) provide to the veteri nary authorities access to the animals for inspection
purposes; (vii) sell animals, products and meat only with the authorization of the local veterinary
service; (viii) keep the facilities (stables, pastur es, water supply) in clean condition, in accordance with
veterinary regulations. The importation into Moldova of livestock for breeding was only permitted if: (i)
no infectious diseases had occurred, in conformity  with the requirements of the Republic of Moldova;
(ii) an inspection had been carried out in the countr y of exportation by a recognized agency, at least 30
days prior to importation; (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 livestock for slaughtering was onl y permitted if: (i) no dangerous infectious diseases
had occurred during the last 30 days prior to importati on in the country of exportation; (ii) it was in good
condition; (iii) and the radioactivity of the livesto ck did not exceed 360 bk/kg. Additional information in
this respect including the conditions for the im portation of fish and seafood products have beenWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 41
circulated in documents WT/ACC/MOL/35 and WT/A CC/MOL/20/Rev.1. The same  principles applied
to the importation of veterinary drugs and animal feed.
128. The representative of Moldova presented the follo wing table, containing  an overview of the
regulations, the goods concerned and the competent authority:
Table 16
Overview of Sanitary and Phytosanitary regulations, goods concerned
and the competent authorities
Rules Goods/Objects Competent AuthorityCertificate
Issued
Medico-Biological
RequirementsNo.5061-89
Food safety
requirements(harmonized with theCodex Alimentarius)food products State Sanitary-Epidemiological
Service (Ministry of Health)Hygiene
Certificate
Sanitary requirementsas part of productstandardsraw-materials, machines and
equipment the use of which mayconstitute a source of danger for
human health;
goods for children;materials and equipment used indrinking water systems;cosmetics and perfume;soap and detergents;
- textilesState Sanitary-Epidemiological
Service (Ministry of Health)Hygiene
Certificate
Phytosanitaryrequirements(harmonized with theEuropean PlantProtectionOrganization)products, materials or objects which
could contribute directly orindirectly to the spreading of pest,diseases or objects underphytosanitary quarantineChief State Inspectorate for the
Phytosanitary Quarantine(Ministry of Agriculture)Import Permit,
PhytosanitaryCertificate (forexport)
Veterinary
requirements
(harmonized withInternationalEpizooticsOrganization)live animals of all kinds;
meat and meat products;
milk and milk products;poultry, eggs and egg products;fish and sea-food-products and rawmaterials of animal origin;products of animal origin for animal
feeding;
- goods for veterinary use.State Veterinary Inspectorate
(Ministry of Agriculture)Sanitary Avis,
Authorization,
VeterinaryHealthCertificate
Notes:
The competent authority prepared the relevant technical requirements jointly with Moldovastandard. Testing and
certification for SPS purposes is the competence of the body indicated in Column 3. For testing, these bodies may
engage the services of accredited State laboratories.
For product standards that are composed of SPS and other non-SPS components, Moldovastandard on the basis of
the hygiene certificate (for the SPS components) and additional testing (for the non-SPS components) doescertification for conformity with the relevant product standard (conformity certificate).WT/ACC/MOL/37
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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 concerned. 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 certificate of up to three years’ validity and the goods arestamped with a special stamp indicating that the g oods have been produced according to Moldovan SPS
requirements. In all cases the issuance of the hygiene certificate is subject to examination, either of the shipment orof the production facilities (including the products) and subject to the same sanitary requirements.
Import Permit of the Chief State Inspectorate 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.
Phytosanitary Certificate of the Chief State Inspectorate for the Phytosanitary Quarantine: This document is only
required for goods to be exported. Exporters must submit 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 authorization 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 thesanitary avis, stamped by the veterinary authorities of all transit countries, the veterinary certificate of the exportingcountry 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.
129. In response to additional questions, the representa tive of Moldova said that Moldova recognized
hygiene certificates issued by competent institutions  and by companies if the company had concluded an
agreement with the relevant Moldovan authority. There were no additional tests conducted on imported
goods by the Government of Moldova if hygiene certificates issued by recognized foreign bodies
accompanied them.
130. 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 agricultural products. Th e representative of Moldova said that the relevant
departments of the Ministry of Agriculture a nd Moldovastandard created joint committees, which
determined product standards for agricultural goods. The standards were the same for imported and for
domestically produced goods.
131. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the inspection procedures that
took place at the border for imported products and during the production process for domestic products.
The representative of Moldova said that sanitary a nd phytosanitary requirements 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 fro m the State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service and
Moldovastandard once before the hygiene 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 exporter had to send a request to the Chief
State Inspectorate for the Phytosanitary Quarantine i ndicating the goods to be shipped. The Inspectorate
would issue a preliminary import permit which stipulat ed specific phytosanitary 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.
Veterinary Requirements: Prior to shipment, the fo reign exporter had to send a request to the State
Veterinary Inspectorate indicating the goods to be shipped. The Inspectorate would issue a preliminaryWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 43
import permit, the sanitary avis, which had to be stamped by the veterinary authorities of all transit
countries. Upon arrival, every lot was inspected, sa mples taken, and tests carried 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.
132. In response to additional questions, the representa tive of Moldova said that an importer wishing
to appeal a decision of Moldovastandard would have, in the first instance, to write to the
Director-General of Moldovastandar d. Appeals against decisions of the Chief State Inspectorate for the
Phytosanitary Quarantine, State Veterinary Inspect orate and Sate Sanitary-epidemiological Service
should be addressed, in the first instance, to the he ad of the organization. In the second instance, the
importer could file a lawsuit in the economic courts.
133. Some members of the Working Party said that there were areas where Moldova’s SPS regime
was not fully compatible with the SPS Agreement, and asked Moldova to provide information onmeasures and the timeframe for bringing them into conformity. The representative of Moldova
presented the Working Party with further information on the SPS regime in the documents
WT/ACC/MOL/17, WT/ACC/MOL/20 /Rev.1 and WT/ACC/MOL/35.
134. The representative of Moldova said that the Republic of Moldova has amended its measures
regulating internal activities regarding plant, anim al and human life protection in order to bring them
into full compliance with the provisions of the SPS Agreement. The Governmental Decision no. 378
establishing the Statute of the State Veterinary Service, Governmental Decision no. 697 establishing
the Statute of the State Phytosanitary Service and Governmental Decision No. 423 of 3 May 2000
“On the approval of the Rules on Sanitary-Epidemi ological State Supervision in the Republic of
Moldova” were subject to amendments.  The nature of the amendments cover the following:establishment of the inquiry points, within the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture and
Processing Industry, responsible for answering questions of WTO members, and to supply appropriate
documents and phytosanitary regulations adopted or proposed in Moldova; determining 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; identificationof the authority responsible for making notifications to the WTO and ensuring transparency
obligations are met on an ongoing basis; drafting legal acts requiring publication of proposed
measures at an early stage for comment; allowing 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 based on scientific
evidence; following up international standards, guidelines, and recommendations in establishing SPS
measures; recognition of different measures that achieve the same level of protection; developingscientific evidence and conducting risk assessments to ensure that measures are based on science and
applied only to the extent necessary to protect health; measures taking into account the regional
characteristics both of the areas from which products originate and the areas for which they are
destined; ensuring that measures do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between different
members or between domestic and foreign suppliers.  He added that Moldova would accede to theConvention on Plant Protection and implement 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 by the end
of the year 2000.
135. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would ensure the implementation of
the SPS Agreement prior to accession and would apply internal legislation in conformity with theprovisions of the WTO Agreement on SPS. In the elaboration of any legislation concerning such
measures Moldova would ensure their full conformity with the relevant WTO provisions. The
Working Party took note of this commitment.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 44
- Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
136. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova had no trade-related investment
measures of the kind covered by the TRIMS Agre ement. Moldovan legislation did not contain an
authority to apply TRIMs, either at the central or sub-central level. He stated that the Government of
Moldova would ensure that any trade related invest ment measures introduced in the future would be
fully in conformity with the requirements of th e WTO Agreement on TRIMs.  The Working Party took
note of this commitment.
- State trading practices
137. 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 domestic market and information on what
each of these companies produced. In response, the re presentative of Moldova said that at the beginning
of the transition process large Former State co mpanies were automatically considered monopolies
because they were the only Moldovan suppliers in thei r 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.
138. Some members of the Working Party asked for confirmation that Moldova had no fully or
partially State-owned enterprises which received any ex clusive or special rights or privileges, and that
the enterprises in the energy sector listed in  document WT/ACC/MOL/2/ Add.2 did not correspond to
the definition in the Understanding on the Interpre tation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994. In response,
the representative of Moldova confirmed that ther e were no State-trading enterprises covered by the
provisions of Article XVII of the GATT 1994.
139. In response to further questions concerning the large enterprises 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 ownershi p had the right to engage in foreign trade. He
submitted a list of enterprises that had at least 25 per cent State equity ownership that engage in
international trade.
140. Some members of the Working Party noted that Article 14 of the Law “On Foreign Economic
Activity” No. 849-XII of 3 January 1992 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 Moldova said that on 21
September 2000 a new Law “On State regulation of External Trade”, came into force which replaced
the Law “On Foreign Economic Activity”.  According to the new Law the State monopoly on export
and/or import of some types of goods is reflected in Article 13 that provides:  1) The lists of certain
types of goods for which import and/or export subject to State monopoly are established by theGovernment;  2) The State monopoly on export and/or import of some categories of goods is
accomplished on the basis of export and/or import licenses.  The appropriate authorized public
authority issues licenses;  3) Export and/or import transactions, which infringe State monopoly, are
null and void.  An authorized public authority is empowered to demand through the legal procedure
the recognition of such transactions as null and void in accordance with the Civil Code of the
Republic of Moldova. Some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova intended to
notify its state trading enterprises under Article XVII of the GATT 1994. In keeping with replies to
previous questions, the representative of Moldova confirmed that although the legal framework on
regulation of State monopoly of export and import of some goods allowed the possibility of State
trading, in fact, at present the Republic of Moldova has not specified any type of goods for which theimport and/or export is under the State monopoly. The legal provisions envisage the regulation of
products relating to public health and national security as called for by Articles XX and XXI.  The
Moldovan system of licences for goods envisaged on Articles XX, XXI covers all enterprises (stateWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 45
and private), and currently in Moldova no enterprise is granted exclusive or special privileges in
accordance with Article XVII of the GATT.  The representative of Moldova confirmed that it does not
have any plan to create state trade monopolies.  He also confirmed that currently in Moldova there are
no State trading enterprises within the meaning of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the
Understanding on the interpretation of article XVII of the GATT 1994.
141. The representative of Moldova stated that if Moldova were to introduce State trading it would
ensure that all relevant laws and regulations were in conformity with the requirements of Article XVII
of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on Interpretation 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 would 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 and notification requirements.  The Working Party took note of thesecommitments.
- Free Zones, Free Economic Zones
142. 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
Taraklia free zone Operational
Vulcanesti free zone Operational
Otaci free zone Operational
Giurgiulesti/Danube free zone Planned
Ungheni free zone Planned
143. He said that so far, five zones were operational - Expo-Business-Chisinau, "Tvardita,
Taraklia, Vulcanesti and Otaci".  The Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Moldova
established the “Expo-Business-Chisinau” Free En terprise Zone (FEZ) (Law No.625-XIII of 3
November 1995). The legislation provides incentives, guarantees, and privileges for businessesestablished in the FEZ. The residents of FEZ may be foreign natural and legal persons as well as
Moldovan 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 activities
in Expo-Business-Chisinau zone were split approxima tely 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 percent 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 exports 1.2 per cent. He said that normal customs formalities, taxes and tariffs applied 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 andforeign-owned – were allowed to operate in the free economic zones and to take full advantage of the
available incentives.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 46
144. In response to questions concerning the advantages 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 advertising, leasing, banking and insurance, tourism and hotel business,
trading and storage business, public catering services, and environment-friendly production. Residentsenjoyed exclusive customs and tax regimes. In particular, they were exempt from customs duties for
goods and items imported in to the FEZ for final consumption; goods originated from FEZ and
exported to the customs territory of Moldova; goods produced in the FEZ and exported outside the
territory of the Moldova. The income tax had been set at 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 ri ghts accorded by legislation for ten years. There
were no requirements that the output produced in the zones be exported, and there were no domestic
content requirements. Benefits were not conditioned on export performance or import substitution
requirements.
145. The representative of Moldova confirmed that the free zones established within its territory
would be fully subject to the coverage of Moldov a'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
exempted imports and imported inputs from tariffs and certain taxes would be subject to normal
customs formalities when entering the rest of Moldova,  including the application of tariffs and taxes.
The Working Party took note of these commitments.
- Government procurement
146. 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 purposes; and other government
procurement. There was no breakdown of the public  sector procurement market by product type
available. The estimated overall value of central government purchasing in 1999 had been
approximately MDL 477 million.
147. 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
procurement process: the National Agency for Government Procurement (NAPP) and procuring entities,engaged in the acquisition of goods, constructi on and services. The NAPP was supervising and
monitoring procuring entities in the conduct of pr ocurement and oversaw their compliance with the
provisions of the procurement law and other legisl ative 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 solicit tenders by publis hing an invitation to tender or an invitation for
preliminary qualification in the Romanian and/or Ru ssian languages in the Public Procurement Bulletin
(PPB) issued by the NAPP. In particular situations , the invitation to tender also had to be published in
the English language in mass media of wide interna tional circulation (Article 18 and Article 26 of the
Law on Government Procurement). Th e invitation to tender contained, inter alia , specifications of the
goods, construction and services to be supplied in terms of nature, quantity, place and time, the criteriaand 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 onWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 47
Government Procurement. A procuring entity should en gage 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 fo llowing methods of procurement (Article 19 of the
Law on Government Procurement): two-stage tende ring (Article 20 of the Law on Government
Procurement); restricted tendering (Article 21 of the Law on Government Procurement; specializedrestricted tendering (Article 22 of the Law on Government Procurement); request for quotations
(Article 23 of the Law on Government Procurement); and single-source procurement (Article 24 of the
Law on Government Procurement).
148. 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 preference 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 paragraph 6 of the Law onGovernment Procurement). A system  of electronic tendering for public procurement had not been set up
in Moldova yet, but the establishment of a databa se 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 qualifications of supplie rs that discriminated against or among suppliers or
against categories thereof on the basis of nationality  (Article 6 the Law on Government Procurement).
149. Some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova would accept the WTO
Agreement on Government Procurement at the time of accession.
150. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova became an observer to the Agreement
on Government Procurement on 29 September 2000 and will initiate negotiations for membership in
the Agreement by tabling an entity offer immediately after accession. If the results of the negotiationswere 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 counter-trade and barter
151. The representative of Moldova stated that in or der to obtain essential products such as energy,
metals, machinery and spare parts, from its trading partners, with economies in transition, the Moldovan
Government occasionally entered into negotiations wi th these partners to pay for such supplies with
agricultural products purchased by the Moldovan Government on the domestic market.
- Trade in civil aircraft
152. Some members of the Working Party asked whether Moldova would accept the WTO
Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft at the time of accession.
153. In response, the representative of Moldova stated that his Government would initiate
negotiations for membership in the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft immediately after accession
to the WTO. He further confirmed that the Schedule of Concessions on Goods that is reproduced in
Part I of the Annex to the Protocol of Accession establishes duty free treatment for products used in
civil aircraft. The Working Party took note of this commitment.
-T r a n s i t
154. The representative of Moldova stated that, at present, transit of commodities through 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 thoseWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 48
commensurate with administrative expenses or w ith the cost of services rendered. He added that
Moldova was party to a multilateral agreement on tr ansit trade within the framework of the CIS.
Moldova had also signed transit agreements with Romania, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
- Policies Affecting trade in Agricultural Products
155. The agriculture country schedule of Moldova, circulated in document
WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/1/ Rev.8, has been incorporated in the corresponding section of the Goods
Schedule of Moldova. (WT/A CC/SPEC/MOL/ 4/Rev. 5/Add.1).
- Imports – description of the types of border protection maintained
156. The representative of Moldova said that agricultural products could be imported freely into
Moldova without quantitative restrictions. Duties applicable to individual products were listed in
Moldova's customs tariff.
157. Some members of the Working Party asked whether the customs clearance procedures followed
by the Republic of Moldova reduced to a minimum dela ys in clearing import shipments of dairy or other
perishable agricultural products. In response, the repr esentative of Moldova stated that the waiting time
for imports from all countries at the border with Romania 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.
-E x p o r t s
158. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova granted no export credits, export credit
guarantees, export credit insurance or other financia l support or assistance to agricultural exports.
Moldova did not grant any export subsidies to agricultural products.
159. The representative of Moldova confirmed th at Moldova would bind agricultural export
subsidies at zero in its Goods Schedule. Th e Working Party took note of this commitment.
- Textiles regime
160. The representative of Moldova said that there was no special regime for textiles and clothing.
Moldova permits duty-free import of raw materials for textile and clothing products, provided thefinished products are subsequently exported to the country of origin (inward processing).
V.  TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME
1.  General
a)  Intellectual property policy
161. The representative of Moldova said that since the declaration of its independence, Moldova
had been following a policy of developing mutually advantageous relations with 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 determined the approach to intellectual property and the
extension of owners’ rights. Intellectual property 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 public authorities responsible for intellectual property
rights; (iii) membership of international conventions and treaties on trade-related intellectual propertyWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 49
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.
The following titles of protection exist in the Republic of Moldova: patents for inventions; patents for
plant varieties; certificates of registration of industrial designs, trademarks and service marks,appellations of origin of goods/utility models, and of topographies of integrated circuits. As required
by Article 39.2 of TRIPS, undisclosed data protection is provided for in Article II of the Law
No. 1079 – XIV of 23 June 2000 “On amending various laws”.  The Official Bulletin of Industrial
Property (BOPI) provides information on inventions ,   designs and trademarks claimed and registered
in Moldova,   as well as on legal acts and regulations related to intellectual property.
162. 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 fully from the date of accession without recourse to any transition
period. As a result of the judicial system reforms, all the conditions for implementation of the TRIPS
provisions had been created. The representative of Moldova presented to the Working Party furtherinformation on the TRIPS regime in document WT/ACC/MOL/18.  Document
WT/ACC/MOL/21/Rev.2 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
163. The representative of Moldova stated that the policy and strategy in the field of intellectual
property protection was elaborated by the State Agency 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 Presidential
Decree No. 238.
c) Membership of international intellectual property conventions
164. The Republic of Moldova is party to the following conventions and treaties:
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
- Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT);
- Madrid Agreement concerning International Registration of Marks;
- Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs;
- Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit 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 Agreement Concerning the International Registration
of Marks (1989);
- Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification;
- Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs;
- Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services
for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks;
- Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial
Designs;WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 50
- Trademark Law Treaty (TLT);
- Eurasian Patent Convention;
- International Convention for the Protectio n of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV);
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty;
- WIPO Copyright Treaty;
- Convention on the protection of the interests of producers of phonograms against
unauthorised reproduction of their phonograms.
165. The representative of Moldova stated that in 1993 the Republic of Moldova became a
member of the Standing Committee on Information Technologies (SCIT) and Standing Committee on
Intellectual Property Cooperation for Development (P CIPD). The representatives of the State Agency
on Industrial Property Protection actively participate in the works of the WIPO Standing Committeeon the Law of Patents and Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and
Geographical Indications. The Republic of Mol dova is a member of the WIPO Coordination
Committee. In addition, AGEPI has concluded c ooperation agreements with 35 Patent Offices
throughout the world.
166. 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 Appellations of Origin and their International
Registration (1958),
- New Act of the Hague Agreement concerning international registration of designs
(Geneva, 1999);
- Patent Law Treaty (PLT).
d) Application of National and MFN treatment for foreign nationals
167. The representative of Moldova stated that Moldova applied the principle of national treatment
with regard to intellectual property.
e) Fees and taxes
168. Fees for patents for inventions, patents for plant varieties, certificates for registration of utility
models, industrial designs, trademarks, appellations of origin of goods and topographies of integrated
circuits are payable at the State Agency on Industr ial Property Protection of the Republic of Moldova.
General terms and amounts are regulated by Governmental Decision No. 774 of 13 August 1997.Supplementary provisions are laid down in the Order No. 80 of 28 August 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.  Moldovan laws on intellectual protection grant national
treatment, i.e., non-discriminatory treatment, in the application of fees.
2. Substantive standards of protection, incl uding procedures for the acquisition and
maintenance of intellectual property rights
- Copyright and related rights, including rights of performers, producers of phonograms
and broadcasting organisations
169. The representative of Moldova  stated that  Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights No.
293-XII of 23 November 1994 governing copyright and neighbouring rights had entered into force onWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 51
1 March 1995. This Law provides protection 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, as well as the procedure of their reproduction. The creator enjoys
economic and moral rights to his works. The most important is the exclusive right to his works.
According to Article 9 of Law No. 293, the author sh all enjoy the following moral rights: (i) the right
of authorship; (ii) the right to be named; (iii) the ri ght to respect for the integrity of his work; (iv) the
right to respect for his reputation; (v) the right to disclose his work or to authorise or prohibit
disclosure in any form whatsoever, including the ri ght 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.  The exclusive right to exploit the work is defined as the right to
perform, authorise or prohibit the following acts: reproduction of the work; public performance of the
work; communication of the work to the public; translation of the work; presentation of the work inpublic; transformation, adaptation, arrangement or any like modification of the work. The holders of
copyright have the right to prevent the rent of the copy of the specific work, even after a particular
copy has been sold and the phonogram producers have similar rights to prevent the rental of
phonogram copies even after they have been sold.
170. He further added that audio-visual works, computer programs, databases, works fixed on
phonograms or musical works and compilations of data are 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 copyright on audio-visual work is granted to: the author of the scenario
(scriptwriter); the film director; the composer of any musical work; the cameraman; the artistic
director. The author of a pre-existing work that has been incorporated, after transformation orunchanged, in an audio-visual work shall also be deemed a joint author of such audio-visual work.
171. He noted that Moldova’s Copyright Law (Article 17(12)) incorporates the provisions of
TRIPS Article 14.  A phonogram producer shall enjoy the exclusive right to exploit his phonogram in
any form, including the right to remuneration for its exploitation, the right to its reproduction,
distribution of copies, modification or change, and the importation of copies of the phonogram with
the purpose of broadcasting. The exclusive right to exploit the phonogram means the right to authorise
or prohibit the reproduction 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 authorisation of
the phonogram producer. A phonogram producer may transfer the exclusive rights to other persons by
contract (Article 28).  Copyright may be transf erred by means of a contract (Article 28). The
performer of a phonogram enjoys the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit 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 communication, 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 exploitphonograms in any form (Article 29).  Foreign nationals enjoy national treatment under the said Law.
172. He further added that the Law of the Republic of Moldova on Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights is in compliance with the Provisions of Articles 1 to 21 of the Berne Convention (1971) and
the Appendix thereto as required by Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement.
173. As to restrictions on the exclusive rights of owners of copyright and neighbouring rights, the
representative of Moldova stated that the legislation of the Republic of Moldova 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 protection of copyright and neighbouring rightsWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 52
throughout the lifetime of the authors and for 50 years computed as from 1 January of the year
following that of his death with a few exceptions.  Under Articles 17(9) and 33 of this Law the
author’s moral rights are protected without time limits.
174. In response to questions, the representative of Moldova stated that under Law on Copyright
and Neighbouring Rights, the registration of copyright is not mandatory. Thus, according to Article4 (2) of the same Law, the author enjoys exclusive rights in his work by the sole fact of having created
the work.  Copyright subsists and is assertable without requiring registration of the work or the
carrying out of any other action or formality. According to Article 8(2), the holder of rights may have
his rights acknowledged by means of a copyright notice. According to paragraph 4 of the same
Article, the certificate of registration does not imply a presumption of authorship. However, in the
event of a dispute, it may constitute a presumption of authorship for the court in the absence of proof
to the contrary.
175. The representative of Moldova noted that under the legislation of the Republic of Moldova,
copyright protection can not be restored for works that were in the public domain in Moldova prior to
31 December 1994.  Works for which the terms of protection have been expired are included in public
domain. Works for which protection has not expired are protected by the Copyright Law under the
provisions, which stipulate that if Moldova is part of any international treaties their provisions apply.For works the period of protection of which was due to expire on 31 December 1994, the following
adjustments were made: if the term of protection of the work of a foreign author used in the Republic
of Moldova, is longer, 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 laws of the country of the author shall apply (Article 17 (12), Copyright Law).Moldova’s Copyright Law (Article 7) incorporates the provisions of Article 18 of the Berne
Convention, as incorporated by TRIPS Article 9, which requires the restoration of copyright for works
that are still under protection in their country of origin and have not had a full term of protection in
Moldova.  According to Article 26 (7), the neighbou ring rights of foreign natural and legal persons
are protected in the Republic of Moldova in accordance with the international agreements in the fieldof intellectual property protection to which the Republic of Moldova is a party, and namely by the
Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting
Organisations, Articles 4 and 5 thereto and by WI PO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (Geneva,
1996).  At the same time, according to Article 33 (2) of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights, the rights of phonogram producers have effect for 50 years as from the first publication of the
phonogram or for 50 years as from its first recording if the phonogram is not published during that
period. Thus, the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights of the Republic of Moldova fullycomplies with the provisions of Article 14 of the TRIPS Agreement.
176. He further noted that on 28 January 1998, the Republic of Moldova ratified the WIPO
Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms 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 systemto the system of collective management of copyrights and neighbouring rights. According to this
Decision, an Authors and Neighbouring Rights Owner s Council on the protection of the rights of
owners of copyrights and neighbouring rights was established under the State Agency on Copyrights
and Neighbouring Rights of the Republic of Moldova which establishes the level of author
remuneration, approves samples for contracts and licenses for the conversion of works,interpretations, phonograms etc., establishes the level of remuneration of the  Board for collection,
distribution and paying off the  author remuneration services and controls the activity of the payment
Agency. A non-governmental organisation is to be set up for the collective management of copyrights
and neighbouring rights.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 53
- Trademarks, including service marks
177. The representative of Moldova stated that under the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of
Origin of Goods no. 588-XIII of 22 September 1995, a trademark is defined as a sign serving to
distinguish the products or services of an enterprise, of legal or natural persons, from the similar
products or services of other enterprises, legal or natural persons. There are two kinds of trademarksaccording to this law: collective marks and individual marks. A trademark can be: a) verbal, i.e.
consisting of words, including forenames and surnames, of letters or of figures; b) figurative mark 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 certificate of registration confirms the priority
of the trademark, as well as the exclusive right of the holder on the trademark for the goods and
services indicated in the certificate.  The registration procedure complies with the provisions of
international conventions to which the Republic of Moldova is party. An application for theregistration of a trademark and the enclosures must be filed with the State Agency on Industrial
Property Protection of the Republic of Moldova personally or through a trademark representative
attorney. The actual use of a trademark is not a condition for rejecting an application for registration
of a trademark in the name of the user. Under Ar ticle 2(1) of the Law no. 588/1995, the definition of
trademark includes product marks as well as service marks.  According to the Article 2(1) of the Law,the enclosures of the application may be filed in the national language, provided that a translation into
the national language shall be filed within two months from the filing date. The registration of a
trademark subsists for 10 years as from the date of the regular national filing. The date of the regular
national filing shall be the date on which the application and the proof of payment have been filed
with the AGEPI, pursuant to the above-mentioned law. Any person may oppose the registrationwithin 3 months following the date of publication of the notice concerning the application.  Foreign
legal and natural persons enjoy the same treatment as legal and natural persons resident in the
Republic of Moldova, under the provisions of international conventions and treaties to which the
Republic of Moldova is party.
178. He further noted that according to the legisla tion of the Republic of Moldova (Article 2.2. of
the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of Origi n, amended by the Law, No. 1079 of 23 June 2000),
the signs, in particular words (including personal names), letters, numerals, figurative elements and
combination of colours as well a combination of such signs visually perceptible shall be eligible for
registration as trademarks. Figurative elements of mark may consist of graphic representations, plane
or three-dimensional forms (in relief), which have a distinct configuration.  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.
179. The representative of Moldova stated that according to Article 17 (1) of the Law on
Trademarks and Appellations of Origin, any person may oppose the registration of a trademark or
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 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.  The registration of a trademark
may be cancelled wholly or in part at any time durin g its term of validity, if it is determined to have
infringed the Law on Trademarks and Appellation of Origin (Articles 17 and 26).
- Geographical Indications, including Appellations of Origin
180. In response to questions, the representative 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 factorsWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 54
specific to that geographical area.  This definition incorporates the provisions of, and is consistent
with, TRIPS Article 22(1). The certificate of registration grants the holder the right to exploit the
registered appellation. The right to receive titles of protection for the appellations of origin belongs to
natural or legal persons conducting business activities in the corresponding geographical area. The
application for the registration of an appellation of origin must be filed in the national language. Allparties conducting business activities in connection with the product associated with the appellation of
origin shall apply separately for the certificate. The registration of an appellation of origin is valid for
an unlimited term. An application for registration of an appellation of origin must be filed with the
State Agency on Industrial Property Protection of the Republic of Moldova.
181. He noted that the use of a registered geographical indication is 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 productswas 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 refusal to register a trademark or an appellation of
origin in case if they are deceitful or liable to mislead the consumer. The legislation of the Republic of
Moldova provides additional protection for wines and spirits. Under the Law on Wines and Wine, No.
131-XIII of 2 J une 1994, an appellation of origin is attributed to natural wines or other winery
products originating from a geographic area, whose specific qualitative characteristics derive
essentially or exclusively from the natural or human factors specific to that geographical area,
according to the Regulation on preparation of wines with appellations of origin, adopted by the
Governmental Decision No. 760 of 10 November 1994.
182. He also noted that under the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, protection of a trademark
shall be refused or registration shall be cancelled, ex officio or at the request of an interested party, if
it contains a geographical indication which is not literally true as to the territory, region or locality in
which the goods originate, and is liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the goods.
The Article 7(9) of the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of Origin of the Republic of Moldova,
amended by Law No. 1079 of 23 June 2000 provides that the registration of a trademark or the rightto possess a trademark shall not be denied or invalidated on the basis that such a trademark is identical
with, or similar to a geographical indication where the trademark has been applied for or registered in
good faith, or where rights to the trademark have been acquired through use in good faith prior to the
protection of the geographical indication in its country of origin.
183. With reference to the introduction of specific provisions for the protection of geographical
indications for wines and spirits provided by Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement, the representative of
Moldova stated that the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of Origin and the GovernmentalDecision No. 760 of 10 November 1995, are consistent  with Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement. He
noted that use in the designation or presentation of a product of any element, which suggests or
indicates that the product originates in a geographical area other that the true place of origin in a
manner which is liable to mislead the consumer as to the true geographical origin of the goods, and
any such use shall constitute an act of unfair competition in the sense of Article 10bis of the ParisConvention.
184. He said that the use of a geographical indication which although, literally true as to the
territory, region or locality in which the goods originate, falsely represents to the public that the goods
originate in another 
territory is prohibited by Law. In the case of homonymous geographical
indications, protection shall be afforded if the homonymous geographical indications in question willbe differentiated from each other, for instance, those accompanied by figurative elements, and if the
true geographical origin is indicated, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment of the
procedures concerned and that consumers are not mislead.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 55
- Industrial designs
185. In response to questions from Members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova
stated that under the Law on Protection of Industrial Designs No. 991 of 1996, the novel outward
appearance of an article with a utilitarian function may be registered as an industrial design. For the
purpose of registration of an industrial design an application shall be filed with the State Agency onIndustrial property protection of the Republic of Moldova. Foreign residents, both legal and natural
persons, shall act with the State Agency on Industrial Property Protection through an industrial
property representative in matters related to the protection of their industrial design, except where
otherwise provided by the international agreements to which the Republic of Moldova is a party. The
attorney's rights shall be confirmed by a power of attorney issued by the applicant. After filing, the
application is subject to formal examination, publication and substantive examination. If no
opposition has been filed against the decision to register the industrial design, or if any oppositionfiled has been rejected, the industrial design shall be subject to registration and grant of the certificate
of registration.
186. The representative of Moldova further added that under the legislation of the Republic of
Moldova, protection is provided for independently created industrial designs with a utilitarian
function that are new or original.  Textile designs enjoy the same protection.  The subject ofprotection can be plane, three dimensional or a combination of these.  An industrial design is
considered novel if its characteristics, including colours, significantly differ from known designs or
combinations of known design features which became available to the public in the Republic of
Moldova and abroad before the priority date.
187. 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 is the certificate of registration. The certificate of
registration entitles the owner to the exclusive right to exploit the industrial design on the territory of
Moldova as well as the right to allow or to prohibit third parties to carry out without authorisation the
following activities: manufacture, use, importation, 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.
-P a t e n t s
188. The representative of Moldova informed member s of the Working Party that according to the
Law on Patents for Inventions no. 461-XII of 18 May 1995, an invention in any field of technology
may be patented if it is new, if it involves an inventive step and if it is susceptible of industrialapplication.  An invention may concern a product or a process, including micro-organisms, or the use
of a known product or process for new purposes.  Patents are available and patent rights enjoyable
without discrimination as to the place of inventi on, the field of technology and whether products are
imported or locally produced.
189. The representative of Moldova noted that the following shall be deemed patentable
inventions:
- scientific theories and mathematical methods;
- conventional signs, timetables and rules;
- schemes for performing mental acts;
- schemes, rules and 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);WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 56
- topographies of integrated circuits;
- plant varieties and animal breeds, other than microorganisms.
Patents are not issued for inventions, the prevention of commercial exploitation of which is necessary
to protect public order or morality, including the protection of human, animal or plant life health or toavoid serious prejudice to the environment, provided that such exclusion is not made merely because
the exploitation is prohibited by national law.
190. The priority date of a patent application is determined 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 matter of the invention and entirely supported
by the description;
- drawings and other elements, where necessary to understand the subject matter of the
invention.
A patent application must 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.
At the same time, the applicant must indicate the best mode for carrying out the invention known to
the inventor at the filing date or, where priority is claimed, at the priority date of the application.
191. He further noted that the application documents must be filed in the national language.  With
the exception of the request, 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 shall be file d with the Agency within two months following the
filing date of the application. If, on expiry of this time-limit, the applicant has not submitted those
documents or has not filed a request for extension of the prescribed time-limit, the prosecution of the
application shall be terminated.  AGEPI is authorised to grant patents under applicant’s responsibility.
Applicants have the possibility to request the s ubstantive examination, provided that the prescribed
fees are paid during the validity of the period of the patent. In Moldova the patent for invention is
valid for 20 years. The owner shall pay an annual fee for maintenance in force of his patent during all
at the period of validity of the patent. The extent of the legal protection conferred by the patent shall
be determined by the terms of the claims. The description and drawings shall serve solely to interpret
the claims.
192. The representative of Moldova stated that the patent 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 Invention). In civil infringement proceedingsWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 57
involving process patents, judicial authorities have  the authority to order the defendant to prove that
the process to obtain an identical product is different from the patented process.
193. 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 th e date 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 licence. In the interest of national security, 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 the event of disagreement as to the amount of the
monetary compensation, the patent owner may institut e 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 introduced,in compliance with the provisions of Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, to permit issuing of a
compulsory licence in certain circumstances. If such  a licence 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
licence; the Agency is also required to enter the decision in the National Patent Register, notify the
issuance of the licence in the Official Bulletin within 3 months following the date on which it hasbeen entered in the National Patent Register. If the holder of a non-exclusive compulsory licence fails
to use the licence within the year following the grant of the licence, the non-exclusive compulsory
licence may be cancelled.  Importation shall be qualified as use for the purposes of determining
whether the invention had been used with regard to provisions on compulsory licensing and
government use.
194. The representative of Moldova stated that the legislation of the Republic of Moldova contains
provisions compliant with Article 34 of TRIPS. Ar ticle 23 paragraph 1(c) of the Law on Patents for
Inventions as laid down in the Law for amending various Laws are compliant with the provisions of
Article 34 of the TRIPS, and namely: "When assessing cases of infringement of the rights of the
owner, if the subject matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product, the judicial authority shallrequire the defendant to prove that the process to obtain an identical product is different from 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 patented 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 determine the process actually used."
- Plant Variety Protection
195. In response to questions from Members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova
stated that the protection of plant varieties was covered by the Law on Plant Varieties. The Law
provides special protection for plant varieties. Protection is granted on the basis of certificates issued
by the State Commission for Variety Testing of the Republic of Moldova and the patent granted by
the State Agency on Industrial Property Protection. The term of protection is 25 years for trees, fruittrees and grapevines and 20 years for plant varieties and other species, with the possible extension for
another ten years.  The Law provides the exclusive rights of exploitation to the patentee, which are
listed in Article 13 (Law on Plant Variety Protection). Moldova has also become a member of UPOV.
The Law provides for the exclusive rights of the patentee in the exploitation of the plant variety.
- Topographies of Integrated Circuits
196. The representative of Moldova noted that pursuant to the Law on the Protection of Integrated
Circuits No. 655/1999, protection is granted to topograph ies that are original in that they are the result
of their creators’ own intellectual effort and are not commonplace to the creators of topographies andWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 58
manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of their creation.  Registration is effected without
substantive examination. The registration is valid for a period of ten years. The above-mentioned Law
came into force on 6 January 2000.
- Requirements on undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data
197. The representative of Moldova stated that trade secrets are protected under the Law on the
Protection of the trade secrets, 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 agent; (ii) access to it is
restricted; (iii) it is marked, by stamp or otherwise as confidential.  Special provisions are applied for
state secrets and matters of national interest. Trad e secrets are protected as long as they meet the
above mentioned criteria. This Law contains no limitations on the protection and no compulsory
licensing provisions.  In addition to this the Article 12 (1) of the Law on trade secrets, amended by
Law No. 1079 of 23 June 2000 brings national legislation in compliance with Article 39.2 of TRIPS.
198. He further added that although the Law on Trade Secrets also protected unrecorded
undisclosed information, Moldovan authorities responsible for licensing intellectual property shall
generally require that confidential information submitted in connection with the application for
licenses, registration certificates, etc., is recorded and marked for purposes of clarity.
199. 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 importer 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 licence and a certificate of hygienic conformity. For the importation of
pharmaceuticals, Moldovan legislation requires an import licence. 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
200. The representative of Moldova stated that Moldovan law recognises utility models if they
concern the constructive execution of means of pr oduction and of consumer goods or their component
parts and if they are novel and are susceptible of industrial application. The certificate of registration
is the title of protection of a utility model. The utility model application shall be filed with the AGEPI
and it shall contain the following documents: a request with information concerning the applicant
(inventor), or his successor in title; description; claims; drawing and graphics, if necessary. Thesedocuments ensure the priority rights of the application from the date of filing of the application with
the AGEPI.
201. He added that in case of refusal a patent application can be converted, on applicant’s request,
into an utility model application until the decision to grant a patent or within 3 months from the
decision of rejection of application.  The applicant must file an utility model application for the sameobject with AGEPI with the priority request of the initial filing date. The transformation of an utility
model application into a patent application is possible up to the decision to grant an  utility model
registration. 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 and may be extended at the request of the applicant
for a period of 5 to 10 years.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 59
3. Measures to Control Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights
202. In response to questions, the representative of Moldova stated that national legislation
provides for measures on the enforcement of intellectual 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 Control Service is empowered to hold back copies ofworks and phonograms introduced or taken out without licence. Provisions for special measures by
customs concerning the infringement of intellectual property rights are included as a separate chapter
in the new Customs Code, which has been adopted by the Parliament and will come into force on 1
January 2001.
4. Enforcement
- Civil judicial procedures and remedies
203. The representative of Moldova informed members of the Working Party that legislation
already in force provides for the pursuit of infrin gements on intellectual property rights and regulates
adduction of proof.  The principles of competition and guilt are applied. The Republic of Moldova has
a Court system in which the competence of tribunals depends on the type of dispute to be considered.
Contesting parties also enjoy the option of solving disputes by recourse to the services of the
Arbitration and Mediation Center under the auspices of AGEPI.
204. He noted that whilst the civil legislation of the Republic of Moldova contains general
provisions on intellectual property rights, specific provisions relating to the protection of intellectual
property rights are contained in the laws covering the field of intellectual property rights.
205. He further noted that Intellectual property rights litigation and disputes are solved in the
Republic of Moldova, depending on particular cases, by the following judicial authorities: (i) ordinarycourts, whose decisions may be appealed against before the Court of Appeals and ultimately to the
Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova; (ii) Economic Court, where appeals may be submitted to
the Economic Appeals Court and ultimately to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of
Moldova; (iv) Court of Appeals, whose decision can be contested in the Supreme Court of the
Republic of Moldova.
206. The representative of Moldova stated that when a right holder considers that his intellectual
property rights have been injured he may initiate a ci vil, penal or administrative suit in the court. At
the same time, in cases provided by the Civil Pr ocedure Code, the general attorney may initiate a
lawsuit for the protection of intellectual property rights. The same rules on evidence governing civil
litigation in Moldova apply to intellectual property right cases. The infringer may 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 rendered incapable of the use whichinfringed his rights (see Article 25, Trademark Law).
207. He said that in piracy cases, legal measures may include seizure of counterfeited works,
phonograms and of the equipment and material unlawfully in their manufacture and reproduction
(Article 38(8) of the Law on Copyright and Ne ighbouring Rights of the Republic of Moldova).
- Provisional Measures
208. The representative of Moldova informed memb ers 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 injunction, if the participants in the dispute so request.
The issue of an injunction is permitted at any stage of the process. The infringement of rights isWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 60
sanctioned with a penalty of ten to twenty five national minimum salaries. The plaintiff has the right
to request the compensation of damages caused by the issuing of the injunction. Appeals may be
launched regarding all the resolutions related to the issuing of the injunction. In conformity with
Article 142, the redress of damages caused by the issuing of the injunction is permitted.
209. He also noted that provisional measures are obtained by written application from the injured
party or the public prosecutor to the court or the specialised arbitration requesting such measures.
Provisional measures include: (i) order to the infringing party to stop the manufacture, reproduction,
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 other documentation that may be used as evidence in
the inquiry.
- Any Administrative Procedures and Remedies
210. In response to questions from members of the Working Party, the representative of Moldova
stated that Article 51(3) of the Code on Administrative 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 national minimum salaries and
confiscation of goods in cases of false utilisation of trademarks.
 - Special Border Measures
211. The representative of Moldova stated that Moldova is currently adopting the procedures
allowing the right holder to request the competen t customs authorities to withhold the release into
circulation of materials, which infringe intellectual property rights.
212. 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 Agreement.
- Criminal Procedures
213. The representative of Moldova added that Articles 34 and 35 of the Law on Patents for
Invention define the acts that are subject to Penal and Civil Code in the form of imprisonment of up totwo 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:
- 141 - infringement of inventor's rights;
- 141 - copyright infringement;
- 141 - infringement of the rights of the owner related to industrial property objects;
- 158 - counterfeiting.
214. Some members of the Working Party asked for 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 theCriminal Code, the procedures in these cases are the same as for ordinary criminal offences.
215. 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 prejudiceWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 61
to the holder of the right is liable to a term of imprisonment of one to three years or/and to a fine of
100 - 1000 times the national minimum salary (1,800-18,000 MDL).
216. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would comply with all the provisions
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights from the date of accession
to the WTO without recourse to any transitional period. The Working Party took note of thiscommitment.
VI. TRADE-RELATED SERVICES REGIME
2. Policies Affecting Trade in Services
217. The Government of the Republic of Moldova provided 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 negotiations on market access in services, on the basis of the offer circulated to
Working Party in document WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/5/ Rev.2. 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 Mol dova.  As a market-oriented economy in transition,
Moldova was adjusting its legislation according to the rules and principles of the GATS.  Moldova
would seek MFN exemptions in the road  transport and audio-visual services.
218. In response to requests for information, the re presentative of Moldova said that limited data
were available on Moldova's services sector and on its trade in services. Many services had remained
largely unregulated, particularly in relation to any distinction between domestic and foreign supply.
Regulation of services was within the competence of  various institutions, including the Ministries of
Finance, Justice, Economy and Reforms, Trans port and Communications; Health; Education and
Science; Labour and other relevant institutions.  He said that the Law No. 332 of 26 March 1999 “On
issuing of licenses for Certain Types of Activities” au thorized the following bodies specified in Annex II
to this Report to issue licenses for engaging in cer tain types of activities. These licenses were issued
only for engaging in the activities listed and did not establish any limitations on the quantities of
products.
219. The representative of Moldova said that the Law on Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activity,
the basic act for commencing business activity in Mol dova, stipulated the conditions for establishing a
commercial presence in Moldova. According to th is Law a commercial presence could take the form
of an entirely new company, or subsidiary, or branch of an existing company, and/or any kind of joint
venture, and that the degree of foreign ownership was not limited. Branches and representative offices
are not regarded as juridical persons. Their property belongs to the parent enterprise and their activity
should be based on the policy of that enterprise.  Before opening a branch or representative office
foreign persons were required to register it in the Trade State Register, kept by the State RegistrationChamber within the Ministry of Justice.
220. 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. Banking activities could be
carried out by a branch office or subsidiary for wh ich a licence has been issued by the National Bank of
Moldova.  One condition for issuing the licence is th e payment of an initial amount that shall not be less
than the minimum capital required on a non-discriminatory manner.  Every bank, domestic or
foreign-owned, which was licensed in Moldova wa s allowed to engage in financial leasing.
221. The representative of Moldova stated that the Law "On Financial Institutions” had defined the
banking system of Moldova as including the Nati onal Bank of Moldova, commercial banks and other
financial institutions. In 1991 a two-tier banking system was established with the National Bank ofWT/ACC/MOL/37
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Moldova serving as the central bank. The activity of the National Bank had been regulated by the Law
"On the National Bank" No. 548-X III of 21 July 1995 and had been controlled by Parliament.
Commercial banks duly licensed by the National Bank could open branches and regional offices
throughout Moldova. The banking sector was open to  foreign banks, which were allowed to set up
subsidiaries, branches or representative offices.
222. In response to requests for information, the representative of Moldova explained that although
initially, the open competition for the supply of insu rance services was permitted, an amendment to the
Law “On Insurance” of 20 June 1996, stipulated that foreign insurance companies were allowed to
operate in Moldova only as a joint venture with Mol dovan partners. The foreign share in such a joint
venture is not limited. Every company supplying insura nce services had to obtain a licence issued by the
Ministry of Finance. The detailed rules governi ng the licensing requirements for insurance companies
were contained in the Regulation "On Issuin g of Licenses for Insurance Services" from
17 November 1995.
223. He said that the Ministry of Transport and Communications currently regulated the
telecommunications sector. Competition was allowed in all telecommunication services sectors except
basic services in fixed networks (public telephone , satellite communication, telegraph and telex) and
leased lines. Foreign companies could only provid e basic telecommunication services through, and in
agreement with, “Moldtelecom” Company. Other services, such as mobile telecommunication
networks, electronic mail, on-line information, electronic data interchange and value-added services
could be provided without restrictions. Moldova would participate actively in ongoing and future
rounds of WTO services negotiations with a view towards improving its commitments on
communications services as defined under W/120.
224. He added that the State-owned Moldovan Railways held a monopoly on transportation of
passengers and goods by rail, but was exposed to heavy competition from other modes of carriage, in
particular road transport. Foreign enterprises could provide public transportation through a registered
Moldovan subsidiary licensed by the authorities concerned. Moldova was requesting an MFN
exemption on road passenger and freight transportation because of the commercial characteristics ofroad transport services in the region.
225. The Moldovan Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services of Moldova is annexed to its
draft Protocol of Accession reproduced in the Appendix to this Report.  This Schedule of Specific
Commitments on Services contains the legally binding market access commitments of Moldova in
respect of services.
VII. INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH
THIRD COUNTRIES
226. The representative of the Republic of Moldova stated that Moldova had concluded a number of
bilateral and multilateral agreements, which provided the legal framework for the development of trade
and economic relations between Moldova and its partners. These agreements aimed at promoting,
facilitating and developing commercial exchanges and economic cooperation, were based on the
principles of equality and reciprocal advantage and re lated 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 applied 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 Protocol on Amendments and Supplements to theWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 63
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 force 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 day when its notification is submitted. The free trade
agreement contained provisions relating to trade in goods that are of relevance to the Members of theWTO. A Free Trade Agreement has also been signed with Romania. All agreements are in accordance
with Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV.
Duties and other restrictive regulations of commerce had been eliminated on substantially all trade
between the signatories.
227. He said that Moldova's bilateral Free Trade Ag reement with CIS countries provides for duty
free tariff treatment for the importation of the goods  (including agricultural products) originating from
these countries into the customs territory of the Re public of Moldova. The Agreement covers all trade in
agricultural products and industrial products (HS Chapter 1-97). There were no exceptions to this
treatment.  Tariff preferences are granted to any expor ter who is a resident of a  CIS country and who
presents a certificate of origin conforming to rules of origin established in national legislation. For trade
in services, the objective is the gradual removal of restrictions with a view to create conditions for free
market services within the territory of the parties to  the agreement. At this time, there are no provisions
for special treatment in the agreement on investment  or movement of persons, except concerning trade
in services. In the period 1996-1998, trade with CIS accounted for between 44 and 65 percent of
Moldova's imports.
228. He added that Moldova's Free Trade Agreement with Romania entered into force on 1 January
1995. The Agreement covers all trade in agricultural  and industrial products (HS Chapter 1-97). Theproducts covered are products originating in the Repub lic of Moldova or Romania according to the rules
of origin established in the Agreement. The Agreemen t also contains provisions to facilitate customs
formalities, concerning the mutual notification of  technical barriers to trade and sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, and calling for the parties to  further liberalize their public procurement markets.
A Moldova-Romania Joint Commission meets once a y ear to monitor implementation of the agreement.
Moldova and Romania apply an import charge on trad e of 0,25 and 0,5 percent respectively, to provide
revenue for the improvement of Customs Authorities' infrastructures. Between 1996 and 1998,
Romania's exports to Moldova accounted for between 7 and 11 percent of total exports and Moldova’s
exports to Romania accounted for between 9 and 10% of its total exports. The Agreement does not
contain specific disciplines in the area of trade in services, investment, or movement of persons.
However, Article 15 of the Agreement provides  for freedom of the transfer of payments.
229. In response to requests for information, the representative of Moldova said that the basic
framework agreement, the 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 andinvestment 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 transition into a market
economy. The PCA has created three new 'institutions': the Co-operation Council, the Co-operation
Committee and the Parliamentary Co-operation Committee. Economic links will be strengthenedthrough improving conditions for trade and investment, and 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 developing a market-oriented service sector. As far as investment is concerned,
the PCA contains important provisions that aim to improve the environment for the establishment andoperation of Moldovan companies, subsidiaries and branches operating in the EU and vice versa. TheWT/ACC/MOL/37
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Agreement basically provides GATT principles and its interpretations in economic areas. This
Agreement represents an evolutionary legal framew ork. With regard to trade, further developments
include the possible 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., anational strategy on association/accession should shortly be adopted. The Republic of Moldova aims
to associate itself more closely with 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 standards (harmonisation of laws,
normative and administrative acts and methods of work).
230. Some members of the Working Party 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 framework agreement towa rds the creation of a custom union with several CIS
countries would be consistent with the WTO Agreem ent. In response, the representative of Moldova
said that the Government of Moldova supported econom ic integration within the CIS. It was Moldova's
intention to ensure that the customs union and the st eps leading to it would be in conformity with the
provisions of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994. Moldova would provide information concerning all its
agreements in the format used by the WTO Committee on RTAs.
231. Some members of the Working Party requested information on the scope of the duty free
treatment accorded in each agreement; exceptions to the elimination of tariffs; and any special
provisions concerning trade in services, investme nt, or movement of persons. In response the
representative of Moldova stated that information on the free trade agreements signed with CIS
countries and Romania was circulated to the members of the Working Group in document
WT/ACC/MOL/28. Some members of the Working Part y also requested a schedule describing the
state of all preferential agreements presently held by Moldova, and a description of their compatibility
with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement.
232. The representative of Moldova confirmed 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 provisions of these WTO Agreements for notification,
consultation and other requirements 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 Trade Agreements (CRTAs). He further confirmedthat these Agreements would be consistent with th e 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.
- Transparency
- Publication of Information on Trade in goods and services
233. Some members of the Working Party requested information concerning the special information
facility outlined in Article 21 of the Law “On Foreig n Trade Activity”. In response the representative of
Moldova stated that the special trade information f acility outlined in Article 21 of the Law “On Foreign
Trade Activity” had been activated within the Ministry of Economy and Reforms.
234. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova would implement the transparency
requirements of Article X of the GATT 1994. All the relevant laws and regulations as described in
Article X of the GATT 1994 would be published promptly in "Monitorul Oficial al RepubliciiWT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 65
Moldova" which was the main publication for this purpose. 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 “Monitorul 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.”
235. 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 Gove rnmental Decision No. 1104 of 28 November 1997
provided that all laws, governmental decisions a nd other legal documents would enter into force only
after their publication thus ensuring compliance with 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 would be established in other governmental institutions,
such as the Ministry of Finance, National Ba nk, Ministry of Transport and Communications, thus
ensuring compliance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article III of GATS. In addition the representative of
Moldova confirmed that it would undertake all necessary measures to ensure full application of other
transparency requirements of the GATS, including GATS Article III.  The Working Party took note of
these commitments.
- Notifications
236. The representative of Moldova confirmed that a schedule 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 about  deadlines for all notifications required upon
accession and immediately after accession.  Any regulations subsequently enacted by Moldova whichgave effect to the laws enacted to implement any Agreement constituting part of the WTO Agreement
would also conform to the requirements of that Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment.
- Conclusions
237. The Working Party took note of the explanations and statements of Moldova concerning its
foreign trade regime, as reflected in this repo rt. The Working Party took note of the commitments
given by Moldova in relation to certain specific matters, which are reproduced in paragraphs 30, 34,
48, 54, 63, 65, 74, 78, 83, 90, 94, 96, 98, 101, 105, 109, 124, 135, 136, 141, 145, 150, 153, 159, 216,
232, 235 and 236 of this Report. The Working Party took note that these commitments had been
incorporated in paragraph 2 of the Protocol of Accession of Moldova to the WTO.
238. 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 WorkingParty reached the conclusion that Moldova be invited to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement
Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Article XII. For this purpose, the Working Party has
prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Accession 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 Sc hedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods (document
WT/ACC/MOL/…/Add.2) that are annexed to the Protoc ol. 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 would become a Member thirty days after it accepts
the said Protocol. The Working Party agreed, therefore, that it had completed its work concerning the
negotiations for the accession of Moldova to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 66
ANNEX I
Laws, Regulations and Agreements
- 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 Protection of the Population" - No.1513-XII of
16 June 1993;
− Law "On Foreign Investments"  - No. 998–XII of 1 April 1992;
− Laws "On Amendments to the Law on Foreign Investments" - No. 197-XIII of 27
July1994, No. 92-XIII of 11 May1994, 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 G oods and Services" - No. 188-XII of 26
July 1990; which was abrogated through th e 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 Moldov a" - 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 “State Regulation of External Trade”;
− Law  “On State Regulation of Extern al Trade” No. 1031-XIV of 8 June 2000;
− Law “On State Budget 1999;
− Law “On Licensing Certain Types of Activities” – 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 Activities 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 Pe rsons 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" - N o. 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, amended 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;WT/ACC/MOL/37
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− 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 Ne ighboring Rights” - No. 293 -XIII of 23 November 1994,
amended by the Law no. 29-XIV of 28 May 1998;
− Law “On Patents for Inventi ons” - No. 461-X III of 18 May 1995;
− Law “On Audiovisual Services ” – No.603-XIII of  3 October 1995;
− Law “On Plant Variety Protec tion” – No. 915 of 11 July 1996;
− Law “On the Protection of Industrial Designs” – No. 991-XIII of 15 October 1996;
− Law “On Amending Various laws on I ndustrial Protection Rights”, July 2000;
− 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 Enterprises” – 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-X III of 26 February 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;
− Law “On Free Enterprise Zone "Expo-Business-Chisinau" - No. 625-XIII of 3
November 1995, amended by 1517-X III of 18 Februa ry 1998; and
− Law “On Budget 2000” of 1 October 2000.
− 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 signed in Moscow on 8 May 1997;
− Agreement on the organizational basis of so cial-economical collaboration between the
Republic of Moldova and Transnistria 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 November 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";WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 68
− Governmental Decision No. 371 of 6 J une 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 expenditures 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)”;
− Government Decision No. 859 of 13 Augu st 1998 “On Licensing Certain Types of
Activities”, which was abrogated thorough the Law No.332 of 26 March 1999 “OnLicensing Certain Types of Activities”;
− Governmental Decision No. 1154 of 15 De cember 1997 “On Optimization of Control
Services Activity at State Customs”, am ended by Governmental Decisions No.168 of
16 February 1998; No. 112 2 February 1999;
− Government Decision No. 760 of 10 November 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 Augu st 1998 “On Improving the Mechanism of
Regulating Foreign Trade (Import Licensing)”amended by the Government Decision
No. 76 of 22 January 1998 and Government Decision No. 716 of 30 June 1998;
− Government Decision No. 697 of 10 October 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 September 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 Metrology Activities”;
− Governmental Decision N o. 713 of 23 October 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 a nd 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 Dece mber 1996 “On the Stat ute of the State
Agency on Industrial Propert y 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 the process of accession to the  WTO”;WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 69
− Provisional Statute on Industrial Property Protecti on 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;
− Instructions on Compiling and Filing of Applications for the Registration of
Applications of Origin of Goods;
− Instructions for the Application of the Provisional Statute for Industrial Property
Protection in Moldova Concerning Inventi ons 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 Concerning Industrial Designs;
− Instructive-methodical indications of the Mi nistry of Finance regarding to the State
sanitary control of imported food products and raw materials, No.3177-84;
− Medico-biological requirements and sanita ry rules with regard to imported food
products and raw materials, Decision N o. 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 N o.658 of 20 September 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 Issue of Licenses for Insurance Services”;
− List of Companies Registered in the St ate 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 Quaranti ned Pests, Pathogenic Agents of Plants
Diseases and Weeds:
− List of Internal and Ex ternal State Guarantees;
− List of enterprises in which the State still owns over 25 per cent;
− Executive Decree introducing Pre-shipment Inspection;
− Regulation of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Goods - Annex 1 to the Executive
Decree of the Government of the Republic of Moldova No. 2 dated 26 September
2000;
− Regulation on the Committee for Implementation and Monitoring of the Pre-shipment
Inspection of Imported Goods – Appendix No. 3 to the Order of the Government of
the Republic of Moldova;
− Personal Composition of the Committee for Implementation and Monitoring of Pre-
shipment Inspection of Imported Goods.
− Governmental Order No. 2 of 26 September 2000 “On Preshipment Inspection of
Imported Goods”.
− Draft laws and regulations
− Draft Law on Anti-dumping, Countervail ing Duties and Safeguard Measures;
− Draft Customs Code (Chapters II-XII);
− Draft Law on Utility Models;WT/ACC/MOL/37
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− Law on Customs Tariff, included draft amendments approved by the Parliament in
first reading, July 2000;
− Draft Amendments to the Law on Consum er Rights Protection No. 153-XII of 25
May 1993.
− 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 Agreement On Commerce 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, initialed at Brussels on 14 May 1993.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 71
ANNEX II
Type of activities needing licence 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 administrator 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 machines with money gains, staking in
sports and other types of contests;
- activity, linked to state marking of articles, 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 re production, planting, backiferous and
vineyard materials;
- production and commercialization with vegetable seeds, pumpkin crops, potatoes and
plain crops;
- projecting the fruit-growing, backiferous plantations and vineyard;
- production for the commercialization of biologic 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 commercialization or just only stocking and
wholesale commercialization with spirits, including ethyl drinks and beer;
- processing of tobacco, production of tob acco items, wholesale commercialization,
including tobacco export.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 72
The Ministry of Transports and Communications:
- exploitation of auto transport for passenger 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 As sistance 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 telecommunication, 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 sphere 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 institutions, 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/MOL/37
Page 73
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 weapons 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 weapons and respective equipment.
The Ministry of National Security:
- elaboration, production and commercialization of ciphering technology, technical and
prophylactic assistance of ciphering means and of other special means for the custody,
processing, transmission, interception and registration 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 collection 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 constructions, including reconstruction, general
repairs, consolidating, modernization and restoration;
- execution of works of constructing-assembling, rebuilding, general repairs, modernization
and restoration for all categories of constructions, including technical networks and those
of public utility;
- activity concerning the production of materials and building items.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 74
The Department of Standards, Metrology and Technical Assistance:
- construction, assembly (including regulation), exploitation 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 deflagrantmesses 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 coordination 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, calibration, 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 bottling of mineral and potable waters;
- import, usage, deposit, commercialization of chemical reagents, liquid gases and of
chemically toxic substances (materials) and those, dangerous 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, production and internal consume of substances, destroying the ozone
stratum, regulated by the Montreal Protocol, as well as of products, containing the
regulated substances;
- import, custody, exploitation and usage of ionized radiation sources of reagent materials.
The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Cases:
- functioning of buildings, constructions, production establishments, the characteristics of
which can generate fires or explosions 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 brigades within enterprises 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/MOL/37
Page 75
The State Commission for the Securities Market:
- professional activity with securities;
- activity of the Securities 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 land survey, the elaboration of organizational
projects of the territory and the ground evaluation;
- undertaking of equipment and estimation works of the immobile goods.
The Coordinating Council of the Audiovisual:
- radio emissions;
- TV programmes.
The National Agency for the Regulation of Energy:
- production transportation, dispatch, distribution and furnishing of electric energy in
regulated and non-regulated tariffs;
- production, distribution and furnishing of the thermal energy;
- production, stocking, transportation, distribution and furnishing of natural gases of
regulated and non-regulated tariffs.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 76
ANNEX III
Tax Exemptions in 2000
(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 Pros thetic Appliances, Orthopaedics, and
Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection, and Family;
c) enterprises of the Society of Blind Peop le, Society of Deaf People, Society of
Invalids;
d) enterprises of penitentiary institutions;
e) territorial cadastre authorities – with respect to the part of income calculated and
aimed at establishment and operation of the Guarantee Fund instituted by theNational Cadastre Agency, Financial Resources and Geodesy, as well as with respect
to the part calculated and aimed at accumulation 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 securities 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
Civil Protection and Emergencies - on incomes received from these jobs. Personalexemption 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 sports federations – on financial assistance
granted by the International Olympic Committee, 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 the 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;WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 77
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 individuals unfit for work, invalids of IIIcategory (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 categories 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 inclusive, 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;
- Individuals that suffered from earth slides. The respective decision is adopted
by the local council.
This year other legislative also remains in force acts granting allowances and privileges on
land tax to individuals. In cases where the individual is subject to a number of fiscalprivileges, he/she is granted only one of them, the most beneficial.
(iv) from real estate tax:
a) institutions financed from public 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 Prosthesis, 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:WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 78
- Individuals aged 61 for males and 56 for females, invalids of the I and II
categories, infant invalids, other individuals 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 catastropheaftermath). The above-mentioned categories 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 inclusive, 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’scatastrophe aftermath;
- Families with invalid children under 18 years;- Individuals that suffered from earth slides. The respective decision is adopted
by the local council.
In case the above-mentioned categories have at their 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 andgrants offered to the Government of the Republic of Moldova or offered under state
guarantee, on account of loans granted by international financial organizations (including on
account of the share of the Government of the Republic of Moldova) designated for fulfilment
of respective projects, according to the list approved by the Government;
(vii) from value added tax and customs duty – import and sale on the domestic market of vehicles
(cars);WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 79
(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 –import and sale on the domestic market of potato
seeds of first reproduction;
(x) till 1 of July 2000, from value added tax and customs 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 Informati on 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;
(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 tax, 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 for covering additional expenditures related torestructuring 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 (except for income tax, customs duties, fee for
customs procedures, value added tax and excises on import) -–enterprises of the State
Forestry Service, on condition that respective funds be used for regeneration and protection of
forests. The results of these transactions should be reflected in the report on cash execution ofthe 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.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 80
APPENDIX
ACCESSION OF MOLDOVA
Draft Decision
Decision of [date of decision]
The General Council,
Having regard to paragraph 2 of Article XII and paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the “WTO Agreement”), and the Decision-
Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed by the General Council
(WT/L/93);
Conducting  the functions of the Ministerial Conference in the interval between meetings
pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article IV of the WTO Agreement;
Noting  the results of the negotiations directed toward the establishment of the terms of
accession of Moldova to the WTO Agreement and having prepared a Protocol for the Accession of
Moldova (WT/ACC/MOL/37).
Decides  as follows:
1. Moldova may accede to the WTO Agreement on the terms and conditions set out in the
Protocol annexed to this decision.WT/ACC/MOL/37
Page 81
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 accorded under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement
Establishing the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as "WTO Agreement"), and the
Republic of Moldova (hereinafter 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/37 (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, Moldova 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 instru ments 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 237 of the Working Party Report, shall be an integral part of the WTO Agreement.
3. Except as otherwise provided for in the paragraphs referred to in paragraph 237 of the
Working Party Report, those obligations in the Mu ltilateral Trade Agreements 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.
Part II - Schedules
5. The Schedules annexed to this Protocol shall become the schedule of Concessions and
Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred toas 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 Schedules 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 respect of the Schedules of Concessions and Commitments
annexed to this Protocol shall be the date of entry into force of this Protocol.WT/ACC/MOL/37
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Part III - Final Provisions
7. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance,  by signature or otherwise, by Moldova
until 1 June 2001.
8. This Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the day of its acceptance.
9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Director-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 accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the
Charter of the United Nations.
Done at Geneva this ... day of .... two thousand and one, in a single copy in the English,
French and Spanish languages each text being authentic, except that a Schedule annexed hereto may
specify that it is authentic in only one or more of these languages.WT/ACC/MOL/37
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ANNEX
SCHEDULE –  THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Part I - Goods
Will be circulated in document WT/ACC/MOL/37/Add.1.
Part II - Services
Will be circulated in document WT/ACC/MOL/37/Add.2.
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