E-commerce is growing rapidly in the Republic of Moldova, but current legislation does not reflect this branch of the national economy to the extent necessary. At the initiative of the Ministry of Economy and the Economic Council to the Prime Minister, a set of legislative measures to update the legislation on e-commerce and consumer protection in the e-commerce process has been drafted and voted by the Parliament.

The document addresses important issues concerning the initiation and conduct of e-commerce activities:

– Updating the regulatory framework on e-commerce and supplementing it with the necessary provisions on e-commerce;

– adjusting the regulatory framework on information society services, extending its scope to include non-resident service providers operating in the Republic of Moldova;

– clarification of the procedure for assessing the Local public administration to which the e-commerce business unit is to be notified and, by default, the place of exchange of goods;

– to increase consumer protection in e-commerce by establishing the place of exchange of goods;

– establishing the procedure for verifying the buyer’s age when purchasing alcoholic products online, including by delivery staff;

– exempting establishments engaged in e-commerce in precious metals from the requirement to have a 12 square metre surface area for conducting business online;

– the obligation to apply identical discounts irrespective of the means of payment preferred by the purchaser (cash or non-cash), as well as informing purchasers of the payment instruments/means accepted;

– some aspects of the organisation and conduct of general meetings of shareholders/board members of the Limited liability company by electronic means.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council will monitor the implementation of the voted amendments.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.