GOODS CUSTOMS CLEARANCE

Temporary Admission

The customs regime 'Temporary Admission' allows the use of foreign goods and means of transport on the territory of the Republic of Moldova with partial or full suspension of import duties and without applying economic policy measures. Upon termination of this regime, the goods or means of transport must be re-exported in the same condition, except for normal wear and tear.

Advantages of using the 'Temporary Admission' regime:

1. Economic: Suspendarea plății drepturilor de import și posibilitatea efectuării vămuirii parțiale, ceea ce oferă un avantaj semnificativ în gestionarea lichidităților
2. Necomercial: Suspendarea măsurilor de politică economică pentru produsele care ar necesita, în mod normal, licențe sau alte condiții speciale pentru import.

Recommended use for:

• Initiating production activities requiring specific equipment.
• Occasional provision of services in various fields, such as medical, construction, or transport.
• Organizing exhibitions, fairs, presentations, or other similar events.

Essential conditions:

• During the regime, goods and means of transport must remain the property of the foreign person.
• Goods and means of transport cannot be sold, rented, transferred, or made available to other persons on the territory of the Republic of Moldova without customs authority approval and after paying import duties and completing necessary procedures.

Duration of 'Temporary Admission' regime:

Set by the customs authority based on the intended use, but it cannot exceed 3 years. In exceptional cases, the term can be extended up to a maximum of 10 years with the approval of the customs authorities and a justified request from the applicant.

Application procedure:

To benefit from the 'Temporary Admission' regime, an application must be submitted to the customs authority where the goods are presented for clearance. The application should include details about the use of the goods and the location where they will be used. After reviewing the application, the customs authority will issue an agreement and set the validity period, considering the specific needs of the applicant.

Final notes:

• Goods and means of transport under the 'Temporary Admission' regime can be placed into free circulation after paying import duties if not prohibited. The value of import duties is calculated based on the taxation elements in force at the time of placement under the temporary admission regime.

• Conversion of amounts into foreign currency is done according to the official exchange rate of the Moldovan leu on the date of formalities for free circulation. Attachment: Sample 'Temporary Admission Authorization Request'

  (document: 'temporary_admission_request').

Active Processing

The customs regime 'Active Processing' allows the introduction and use of foreign goods in the Republic of Moldova for various processing operations. Subsequently, these goods are removed from the country in the form of compensating products without incurring import duties or other mandatory taxes.

Advantages of using the 'Active Processing' regime:

1. Significant savings: The economic agent can introduce, store, use, and process foreign goods without tying up liquidity in the amount of import duties or other mandatory payments, compared to definitive import.
2. Utilization of domestic labor and resources: The regime allows the use of local labor and production capacities for goods intended for export, integrated with foreign raw materials or materials.
3. Indirect export stimulation: Final products obtained through processing can incorporate raw materials or materials from domestic production, thus stimulating exports.

Operation systems of the 'Active Processing' regime:

• Suspension system: Processing operations are performed without collecting import duties (except for the customs procedure fee) and without applying economic policy measures.
• Refund system: The regime allows the refund of import duties previously collected when foreign goods are placed into free circulation and subsequently removed from the country as compensating products.

Operations covered by the 'Active Processing' regime include:

• Processing goods, including mounting, assembling, or attaching them to other goods.
• Transforming goods.
• Repairing goods, including restoration, defect elimination, adjustment, and other common handling forms.

Application procedure:

The customs regime 'Active Processing' can only be granted to legal entities in the Republic of Moldova. Applying requires submitting a standard application to the customs authority in the applicant's jurisdiction, accompanied by necessary documents justifying the proposed operations. Attachment: Sample 'Active Processing Authorization Request' (document: 'active_processing_request'). This text is designed to highlight the advantages and functionalities of the 'Active Processing' customs regime, offering a clear and comprehensive presentation of the benefits for economic agents wishing to use this regime.

Passive Processing

The customs regime 'Passive Processing' allows goods in free circulation or under the active processing regime to be removed from the Republic of Moldova for processing or transformation outside the customs territory, with the possibility of reintroducing the resulting compensating products, benefiting from total or partial exemption from import duties.

Characteristics of the 'Passive Processing' regime:

• Processing goods: Goods in free circulation can be removed from the country for processing or transformation operations and reintroduced as compensating products.
• Exemption from import duties: Upon reintroduction of compensating products, they may benefit from total or partial exemption from import duties, depending on the nature of the operation.

Specific situations:

• Repair or replacement of goods: Defective goods identified within the warranty period may be sent for repair or replacement under the outward processing regime. If the repair or replacement is carried out free of charge, their re-importation is fully exempt from import duties.
• Paid repairs: If the repair of goods is performed for a fee, their re-introduction is subject to partial exemption, with the customs value of the compensatory products considered equal to the repair costs.

Application procedure:

The 'Outward Processing' customs regime can only be used by legal entities based on a standard application submitted to the customs authority to obtain approval for this regime. Goods placed under this regime may undergo the operations provided for the inward processing regime.

Attachment: Model of 'Application for authorization of the outward processing regime' (document: 'application_outward_processing').

Free Zone

The 'Free Zone' customs regime allows the use of foreign and domestic goods within the territory of the Republic of Moldova in free economic zones, free enterprise zones, and free industrial zones. These zones are part of Moldova's customs territory, economically demarcated and separated, offering domestic and foreign investors preferential business opportunities under the applicable legislation.

Benefits and features of the 'Free Zone' regime:

• Exemption from import duties: Foreign goods introduced into the free zone are not subject to import duties or economic policy measures. Domestic goods must comply with the export customs regime.
• Operational flexibility: Goods placed in the free zone may undergo processing, trade, or other activities specific to the zone without time limitations.
• Customs coordination: In free zones, the customs regime is managed by customs authorities in collaboration with the zone's administration, ensuring mandatory declaration of goods and services introduced or removed from these territories.
• No quotas or licensing: Within free zones, imported or exported goods and services are not subject to quotas or licensing requirements.

Free economic zones in the Republic of Moldova:

The free economic zones in the Republic of Moldova are created at the initiative of the Government and regulated by Law no. 440 of 27.07.2001 on free economic zones. Currently, the following free economic zones are operational in Moldova:

• FEZ 'Expo-Business-Chișinău' - Free Enterprise Zone 'Expo-Business-Chișinău'
• FEZ 'Ungheni-Business'
• FEZ 'Bălți'
• FEZ 'Production Park Valkanes'
• FEZ 'Tvardița'
• FEZ 'Production Park Taraclia'
• FEZ 'Production Park Otaci-Business'

Additionally, there are two free industrial zones:

• Free International Airport 'Mărculești'
• Free International Port 'Giurgiulești'

Duty-Free

The 'Duty-free' customs regime allows the sale of goods under customs supervision, without the application of economic policy measures, in specially designated areas. These include international airports, aircraft, or international border crossing points.

Features of the 'Duty-free' regime:

• Licensing and authorization: Duty-free shops can be established by legal entities holding a license issued by the Public Services Agency, based on the opinion of the Customs Service.
• Types of goods: Any goods, except those prohibited from being imported and exported within the customs territory, sold in Moldova, or otherwise restricted by law, may be placed in duty-free shops.
• Declaration of goods: Goods delivered to duty-free shops must be declared to the customs authority. Domestic goods are placed under the export customs regime, and customs declarations are submitted within the first 10 days of the month for the entire quantity of goods sold. For goods originating abroad, from warehouses, or from free zones, a monthly re-export customs declaration is filed.
• Taxation: Placing domestic goods in a duty-free shop located at the entry point into Moldova or in a duty-free shop serving the diplomatic corps constitutes taxable supply under the fiscal legislation.

Transformation under customs control

The 'Processing under Customs Control' customs regime allows the use of foreign goods on Moldovan territory in operations that alter their nature or condition, without incurring import duty payments or economic policy measures. The resulting products can then be released for free circulation with the payment of the applicable import duties.

Conditions for applying the regime:

• Goods identification: Imported goods must be identifiable in the transformed products.
• Irreversible transformation: After processing, the goods should not be restorable to their original form or condition.
• Compliance with regulations: The customs regime must not be used to circumvent prior regulations concerning the origin and quantitative restrictions applicable to imported goods.
• Economic conditions: The regime should support the processing of goods in Moldova without affecting the interests of domestic producers of similar goods.
• The 'Processing under Customs Control' regime is not applicable when its use would bypass the rules of origin and quantitative restrictions for imported goods.
• The agreement for the 'Processing under Customs Control' regime specifies the period within which the resulting products must be assigned another customs destination. The period may be extended upon the applicant's reasoned request, considering the time required for operations and for placing the products under another customs destination.

(Attachment: Model of 'Application for Processing under Customs Control')

Destruction

The 'Destruction' customs regime is a destination where foreign goods are physically destroyed under customs supervision, without incurring import duties or economic policy measures.

Conditions and Procedures:

Eligibility: This regime exclusively applies to foreign goods that have not been previously released for free circulation but are under suspensive customs regimes, free zones, or duty-free shops. Goods prohibited from entering Moldova's territory cannot be destroyed.

• Notification: The interested party must notify the customs authority in writing about the intention to destroy the goods. The notification should be submitted in sufficient time to allow customs authorities to supervise the destruction process.
• Destruction Procedure: A customs declaration is submitted in accordance with the requirements, accompanied by the necessary documents. If the goods are subject to control by other state authorities, their issued documents must be attached.
• All costs related to destruction (destruction services, transportation, etc.) are borne by the economic agent (customs declarant).
• Waste Management: If destruction results in waste, it must be assigned another customs destination. Waste is considered foreign goods and is subject to the rules applicable to the requested customs regime.
• Environmental Protection: The proposed destruction method must not harm the environment. The customs authority verifies the method of destruction, the designated location, and supervises the entire process.

Abandonment in Favor of the State

The customs regime 'Abandonment in Favor of the State' is a destination that allows relinquishing goods to the state without fulfilling import or export rights and without applying economic policy measures.

Conditions and Procedures:

• Eligibility:
  • This regime applies only to foreign-origin goods that have not been placed in free circulation but are under suspensive customs regimes, free zones, or duty-free shops.
  • Goods prohibited from being introduced into the territory of the Republic of Moldova cannot be abandoned in favor of the state.
• Aprobare:
  • The economic agent must obtain the customs authority's approval to relinquish goods by submitting a notification of their intention to abandon.
  • Usually, the customs authority approves the operation but may refuse to accept abandonment in favor of the state. In case of refusal, the goods must be assigned another customs destination.
• Abandonment Procedure: Abandonment is carried out without paying import duties by submitting a customs declaration completed according to requirements and accompanied by the necessary documents.

Attachment: Model of 'Abandonment in Favor of the State'

Choose Aliner Service SRL for professional, fast customs clearance in full compliance with legal requirements.

Solid Financial Guarantee:

Aliner Service SRL has a substantial financial guarantee, ensuring security and responsibility in all customs transactions, especially for suspensive customs regimes like 'Temporary Admission,' 'Customs Warehouse,' and 'Temporary Storage.' We ensure that all customs payment obligations are fulfilled according to legislation, protecting your business every step of the way.

Expertise and Support:

Our team of customs specialists offers personalized consultancy for every stage of the process, from initiation and obtaining necessary approvals to conducting and completing the requested regime. We handle all details, including the proper preparation of customs declarations, to ensure a smooth process.