Moldovan cabinet approves draft law on removing compulsoriness of stamp in entrepreneurial activity

Chisinau, 20 April /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet of ministers today approved a draft law on the amendment and completion of legislative acts, with a view of removing the compulsoriness of holding a stamp in the entrepreneurial activity. The decision is not applicable to the public and state institutions.

Under a completion to the law on entrepreneurship and enterprises, “none enterprise and none entrepreneur is obliged to hold and apply its own stamp on documents of any kind.” If the legislation sees the need to apply the stamp, “the requirement is deemed as fulfilled, if the document is signed by the person empowered by the enterprise of entrepreneur.”

The word “stamp” is to be excluded from more legislative and normative acts, which stipulate the compulsoriness of using it. Proxies and labour contracts are just to be signed, without putting the stamp, excepting for cases when the employer is a public authority.  

“On the one hand, the compulsoriness of making a stamp increases the cost of business’ registration by 200-300 lei; on the other hand, while carrying out the cross-border trade, the stamp remains one of the non-tariff obstacles which burdens the export procedure,” the Justice Ministry, which developed the draft, said.    

A draft law on removing the stamp was considered by the parliament in 2015; yet, the draft failed to get the needed number of votes to be passed. The amendments to the law on entrepreneurship were stipulating that none enterprise and none entrepreneur was obliged to hold and apply the stamp on documents of any kind. Presently, over 100 laws contain references on the use of stamp.    

Under estimations, the cancellation of the compulsoriness of stamp for entrepreneurs would cut the costs for starting business by 30 per cent, which will have a positive impact for companies, especially young entrepreneurs from innovating fields. At present, the State Registration Chamber provides services for the making and issuance of the stamp, the cost of which varies between 200 and 270 lei – an additional price to the overall cost for the registration of a private entrepreneur or Ltd company.   

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Raileanu)