Moldova exempts gas, electricity imports from import VAT, customs duties
CHISINAU. Sept 24 (Interfax) - The Moldovan government has approved tax and customs exemptions for imports of natural gas and electricity, exempting supplies from payment of import VAT and customs duties until December 31, 2025, the government's press service said.
"The application of exemptions for value-added tax, excise taxes and customs duties will reduce the project's implementation costs by approximately 80 million euros. The total cost of the project is 400 million euros, its funding is provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD], and implementation is carried out by the state-owned company Energocom," the press service said.
Moldova is "prepared for the start of the 2025-2026 heating season. The volume of natural gas necessary for the heating season has been almost fully purchased, and in the case of electricity, annual procurement procedures are planned to start by September 30 this year," it said.
The Moldovan authorities previously said they had attracted an EBRD loan of 400 million euros for purchasing gas by the state-owned company.
In early August, the board of directors of the Moldovan National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) approved a decision to revoke Moldovagaz's license to supply gas to right-bank Moldova. These powers were transferred to Energocom effective September 1. According to the state-owned company's estimate, the average purchase price for natural gas for the 2025-2026 gas year is around 410 euros per 1,000 cubic meters.
Right-bank Moldova has been purchasing gas on the European market since December 2022.
The Moldovan authorities previously said that they had purchased more than 700 million cubic meters of gas for the new 2025-2026 gas year, which constitutes 90% of the total requirement and 96% of the requirement for the heating season. The electricity needs of the right bank of the Dniester for the heating period are estimated at 2.8 billion kWh, of which 1.02 billion kWh will be produced from local sources and 1.78 billion kWh will be imported.
