A Moldovan SRL becomes a legal person on the day ASP issues the certificate of registration. From that day forward, it carries accounting obligations that run continuously regardless of whether it trades. Founders who treat accounting as something to arrange "once the company is active" routinely discover that the first penalty arrives before the first invoice.
This guide covers what the accounting obligation is, who can fulfil it, what the corporate services stack looks like for a typical foreign-owned SRL, and what it costs to let any of it lapse.
The statutory basis
Law 287/2014 on Accounting and Financial Reporting governs the accounting obligation for all Moldovan legal entities. It requires every SRL to:
- Maintain records of every economic transaction from the date of registration.
- Prepare annual financial statements in Romanian using National Accounting Standards (NAS) or, for qualifying entities, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
- File the annual financial statements with the SFS by 31 March of the following year.
The Fiscal Code (Law 1163/1997) adds the tax-reporting layer: profit tax returns, VAT returns, payroll declarations, and dividend withholding filings all sit on top of the Law 287/2014 bookkeeping base. You cannot accurately file the tax returns without accurate underlying books.
Who can maintain the books
Law 287/2014 requires that accounting be carried out by:
- A full-time or part-time chief accountant (contabil şef) who is an employee of the SRL, or
- A licensed accounting firm (firmă de audit sau contabilitate) under a service agreement.
The second option is by far the most common for foreign-owned SRLs where the founder is not physically based in Moldova. The accounting firm maintains the books in Romanian, prepares and files all returns, and interfaces with the SFS on routine matters.
A foreign accountant cannot substitute for a Moldovan-licensed one: NAS-compliant bookkeeping requires familiarity with Moldovan chart-of-accounts conventions, and the filings require access to SFS's e-Declaratii portal.
What the monthly bookkeeping cycle covers
For a standard SRL operating under the general tax regime:
Monthly:
- Record all incoming and outgoing invoices in the accounting system.
- Reconcile bank statements to accounting entries.
- Calculate and file the VAT return (if VAT-registered and above the MDL 100,000 monthly threshold).
- Prepare and file the payroll declaration for any employees: income tax withheld, social contributions (CNAS), and medical contributions (CNAM).
Quarterly:
- File the quarterly VAT return (if below the monthly-filing threshold).
- File the quarterly dividend withholding return (Form IRV14) if dividends were paid.
- For IT Park (MITP) companies: calculate and pay the quarterly MITP payment, including the employee floor check.
Annually:
- Prepare annual financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes).
- File the profit tax return (Form VEN12) or the MITP annual reconciliation.
- File the annual payroll summary (Form INFO21).
- Confirm or update UBO information with the bank under Law 308/2017.
What "dormant" means in practice
A common question: if the SRL has no activity in a given month, do filings still apply?
Yes, with one qualification. An SRL with no activity in a period:
- Still must file a nil VAT return if VAT-registered.
- Still must file a nil payroll declaration if it has employees (even if no salary was paid).
- Still must file the annual financial statements at year end, even if the balance sheet shows only the registered capital.
The only obligation that genuinely pauses with zero activity is the profit tax advance payment, which triggers only when prior-year tax liability exceeded MDL 10,000.
A genuinely dormant SRL (one with no employees, no transactions, and no VAT registration) has a lighter compliance footprint: it needs annual financial statements and the VEN12 nil return. But it still needs an accountant to prepare both.
The full corporate services stack
For a foreign-owned SRL run by a non-resident founder, the complete compliance structure involves four service lines:
1. Bookkeeping and tax compliance — covered above. Provided by a licensed Moldovan accounting firm. Monthly or quarterly depending on activity volume.
2. Fiscal representation — authority granted to the accounting firm (or separately to an advisory firm) to interact with the SFS on the company's behalf: receive notices, submit returns, respond to audit queries. Documented via a notarised power of attorney. See our detailed guide on fiscal representation in Moldova.
3. Registered address and registered agent — a Moldovan SRL must at all times maintain a registered address in Moldova. This is typically provided as part of the formation and corporate services package. Changes of address must be filed with ASP within 15 days.
4. Corporate secretary function — filing changes of director, shareholder, or share capital with ASP; maintaining the shareholders' register; arranging notarisation of resolutions. This may be bundled with the accounting service or provided separately.
For payroll-intensive SRLs (particularly MITP companies with a headcount above 10), a fifth line emerges: dedicated HR and payroll administration, which is separate from the bookkeeping work because of its volume and the specific CNAS/CNAM portal interactions it requires.
What does it cost
Pricing varies significantly by firm, by activity volume, and by the complexity of the ownership structure. As a reference range:
- Bookkeeping only (nil or low-activity SRL): MDL 1,500–3,000 per month, or a flat annual fee for dormant-company maintenance.
- Active SRL with monthly VAT and payroll (1–5 employees): MDL 4,000–8,000 per month.
- IT Park (MITP) company, 5–20 employees: MDL 6,000–12,000 per month, depending on payroll volume and reporting complexity.
- Fiscal representation authority (added to accounting engagement): typically included, or MDL 500–1,500 per month as a separate line if the representative is a different firm from the accountant.
Annual financial statement preparation and the year-end tax return are either included in the monthly retainer or invoiced separately at MDL 3,000–6,000 for the package.
These are market rates as of mid-2026. They apply to properly managed engagements with organised source documents. Firms that take on engagements requiring catch-up bookkeeping for prior periods charge substantially more.
What lapses cost
The SFS penalty schedule under Art. 260 and Art. 261 of the Fiscal Code:
| Obligation | Late filing penalty | Additional daily penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Annual financial statements | MDL 5,000 | None (fixed) |
| VEN12 profit tax return | MDL 1,000 | 0.1% of unpaid tax per day |
| VAT return | MDL 1,000 | 0.1% of unpaid VAT per day |
| Payroll declaration | MDL 1,000 | — |
| MITP quarterly filing | MDL 5,000 | 0.1% of underpaid amount per day |
Beyond penalties, an SRL that accumulates a tax debt exceeding MDL 1,000 is placed on the SFS arrears register. Banks are notified; new account openings become difficult. A company on the arrears register also cannot be party to certain categories of public contract and faces restrictions on transferring shares without first clearing the debt.
Starting with the right structure
The most practical approach for a foreign-owned SRL is to engage a compliance firm at the point of formation, not after the first deadline has passed. The initial engagement covers:
- Handover from the formation agent (ASP documents, IDNO, share capital confirmation).
- Registration with the SFS for the relevant tax regime (standard CIT or MITP).
- VAT registration decision (mandatory if near the MDL 1,700,000 threshold; optional below it).
- CNAS and CNAM registration if the company has employees.
- Power-of-attorney arrangement for fiscal representation.
- Bank account opening coordination (the compliance firm's documentation often overlaps with the bank's KYC file).
If you want a single firm to handle the full corporate services stack from formation onward, contact us to discuss the arrangement. For the full annual compliance calendar, see our guide to annual tax compliance for a Moldovan SRL.