Under the tax reform, stipulated in the Law no. 178/2018 which amends and supplements some legislative acts, which comes into force starting with the 1st October 2018, there are also some changes to the application of VAT, which aims to stimulate the activities of HORECA industry (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) on the territory of Republic of Moldova and the compliance of the principle of fiscal equity regarding the economic relations with the entities that are on the territory of Moldova, but who do not have fiscal relations with its budgetary system.
Hereof, for some HORECA activities, the VAT rate was reduced from 20% to 10%, by completing the article 96, letter b) from Fiscal Code with two new lines, as follows:
- 10% – for accommodation services, regardless of the category of comfort in the hotel, hotel-apartment, motel, tourist villa, bungalow, tourist boarding house, agro tourist boarding house, camping, holiday village or holiday camp, for entities whose business activity consists exclusively of accommodation and catering, according to Section I of the document regarding the Classification of Activities in the Moldovan Economy;
- 10% – for food, with the exception of goods subject to excise duties, delivered by entities whose business activity consists exclusively of accommodation and/or catering, according to Section I of the document regarding the Classification of Activities in the Moldovan Economy.
At the same time, starting with the 1st October 2018, in order to provide a strengthened principle of fiscal equity established in the article 6 paragraph (8) in Fiscal Code, a 8%/10% rate will be applied for all goods and services delivered by individuals and legal persons which are on the territory of Republic of Moldova and who do not have fiscal relations with its budgetary system (from the left-bank of Dniester) to individuals and legal persons residents in the Republic of Moldova and which have fiscal relations with its budgetary system, compared to the 20% rate applied until the 1st October 2018 for all goods, with the exception of bread, bakery and dairy products. This is provided by the amendment of the article 4 paragraph (6) from Law no. 1417/1997 for the implementation of Title III of the Fiscal Code.