21 out of 80 objectives of the Roadmap for boosting the digitisation of the economy and the development of e-commerce are already in place, following the implementation of the Digital Package 1.0 and related actions promoted by the Economic Council. A further 26 are to be achieved with the promotion of the eCommerce Package.

Thus, 10 topics out of 17 targeting the objective “Developing remote interaction and promoting digital services for business” are achieved, including: introduction of the “digital default” principle for public services provided to legal entities; remote registration of a company, modification of the documents for setting up or winding up a business; the possibility of using electronic signatures in employment relations between employer and employee, including the signing of remote employment contracts; unilateral recognition of qualified advanced electronic signatures issued in EU states and the possibility to interact with Moldovan authorities remotely for diaspora and European investors; possibility to obtain qualified advanced electronic signature in Moldovan consulates and remote updating of digital signature; elimination of notification and authorisation as a personal data controller, primary digital issuance of permit documents, etc.

According to the report, of the 39 actions on the objective “Promoting e-commerce and e-payments”, 6 are already implemented and 24 more are in advanced process of implementation, most of which are the subject of the eCommerce Package, such as: updating with EU legislation of the domestic legislation on eCommerce; consumer protection in e-commerce; tax incentives for e-commerce and non-discrimination of online payments; rethinking of local tax and notification for e-commerce; creation of a Fintech Innovation Hub, etc.

For the achievement of the objective “Facilitation of customs procedures for online exports, stimulation of postal and courier services” out of 14 actions 4 are achieved, such as liberalization of the postal and courier services market; establishment of customs control zones in postal operators’ offices; obtaining the status of Authorized Economic Agent for simplified customs procedures by the universal postal operator and other interested operators, etc. Another 9 targets under this strategic objective are to be achieved in the next period. In this respect the Economic Council is working on: implementation of electronic issuance of certificates of preferential origin and facilitation of cross-border e-commerce by digitizing pre-arrival processing of postal and express consignments; simplification of customs declarations, including on re-import of returns in e-commerce, and integration of the CM23 declaration into customs procedures; elimination of the customs processing fee (once customs operations are digitized); the regime for daily workers in the courier business, etc.

The objective “Strengthening national platforms for e-commerce, attracting international operators to the Republic of Moldova” requires rethinking actions, given the international context generated by the COVID pandemic and the war in the region, as well as adding new sub-actions.

In the same context, the iCouncil platform discussed the progress of the development and promotion of eKYC, eNotariat and eEntrepreneurship initiatives, existing partnerships in the Roadmap process, donor support and the identification of other constraints and solutions in the process of digitizing the economy and promoting e-commerce.

The Roadmap for the Digitization of the Economy was developed in a joint effort of the Ministry of Economy, the Economic Council and development partners and was approved in July 2020 and updated annually. It has become the working agenda of the Advisory Council for the Digitisation of the Economy – iConsil, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitisation, Iurie Țurcanu.

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.