Chisinau wants to introduce taxes for companies in a region it does not control: “It is an intention to introduce new rules of the game”

Companies in the Transnistrian region will start paying VAT on natural gas starting June 1, 2026, and by 2030 all tax facilities, such as VAT and excise duty exemptions for petroleum products, will be phased out. Former Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Alexandru Flenchea says that Chisinau has leverage to impose the payment of taxes, even if it does not control the region to the left of the Dniester.

The taxation measures for Transnistrian companies are provided for in a draft law drafted by deputies of the parliamentary majority in Chisinau and aim at the gradual alignment of the tax regime on the left bank of the Dniester with that applied on the right bank. The measures were also announced by the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration from Chisinau, Valeriu Chiveri.

According to the draft law, the first stage of the reform will enter into force on June 1, 2026, when the application of VAT will be introduced for the import and delivery of natural gas in the Transnistrian region.

8% tax

Gases will be taxed at the rate of 8%, the same applied in the rest of the Republic of Moldova. The legislative initiative aims to introduce uniform fiscal rules throughout the country. Currently, economic agents from the Transnistrian region benefit from a preferential regime, which allows them to import certain products without paying VAT or excise duties in the budget of the Republic of Moldova.

“The tariff now applied to consumers on the left of the Dniester has nothing in common with the real gas prices, it has nothing to do with the situation on the market or with ANRE's decisions. The tariff is calculated for other reasons. On the left of the Dniester nobody can make real forecasts,” Flenchea told HotNews.ro.

The project provides for a gradual implementation of the new fiscal rules. Thus, the complete elimination of VAT and excise duty exemptions for other products, including gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products, would only take place until January 1, 2030.

“The moment you start applying VAT to energy, obviously excise duties for gasoline and fuel should also be applied. But, if the project does not change, until 2030 things will not change for importers and consumers on the left of the Dniester,” explained Alexandru Flenchea.

The former deputy prime minister also draws attention to some administrative uncertainties related to the implementation of the new rules. According to Flenchea, the measures would enter into force on June 1, but the exclusive license of the Moldovagaz company for the supply of natural gas in the Transnistrian region expires on June 30, 2026.

“Things are not very clear, because the mechanism would come into force on June 1, and on June 30 the exclusive license issued by ANRE for Moldovagaz as a gas supplier to the left of the Dniester expires. Basically, we are talking about a period of approximately 30 days in which the situation could change or the license could be extended again,” he said.

How could Chisinau impose the payment of taxes on an unrecognized administration?

One of the frequently raised questions is how the authorities in Chisinau will be able to apply these taxes in an internationally unrecognized region that operates by its own rules. Flenchea says, however, that the control mechanisms exist, especially in the case of import operations.

“If the importers on the left side of the Dniester do not pay VAT or import taxes, the goods are not released from customs. From this point of view, things are relatively simple,” explained the former deputy prime minister.

The same principle would apply to commercial transactions between companies on the left and right sides of the Dniester.

The draft law also provides for the creation, starting on August 1, 2026, of a Convergence Fund, intended to manage the impact of the new fiscal rules and support the economic rapprochement between the two banks of the Dniester. Specifically, it is about infrastructure and social projects. The operating rules of the fund are to be established later by the Chisinau Government.

“Article 1 of the project provides for the establishment of the convergence fund, and the mode of operation is to be established by the Government. Basically, the Parliament provides the Government with a broad framework to decide how these resources will be used”, stated Flenchea.

In the short term, the changes can be interpreted mainly as an attempt to introduce new rules on the energy market, says the former deputy prime minister.

“In the immediate future, in 2026, what we see is an intention to introduce new rules of the game in the energy market, primarily in the gas segment and, to a lesser extent, in the electricity segment,” he said.

In the long term, however, the application of the same taxes and fiscal rules on both banks of the Dniester could contribute to the unification of the economic and fiscal space of the Republic of Moldova, one of the objectives frequently discussed in the context of reintegration policies.

According to the informative note of the project, the document aims at the gradual elimination of the fiscal facilities that economic agents in the Transnistrian region benefit from and the alignment of the fiscal and customs regime with that applied on the right bank of the Dniester. The project argues that the current preferential regime creates competitive distortions between companies, as firms from the Transnistrian region can import certain products without paying VAT and excise duties.