Resources

The vocabulary of
Moldovan company practice.

A glossary of the acronyms, regulators, and concepts that appear in every Moldovan engagement. Plus pointers to the FAQ, the blog, and the case studies, where the same ideas are explored in depth.

A to C

Authorities, fundamentals, fiscal codes.

AML Anti-Money Laundering: The body of regulation; in Moldova transposed by Law 308/2017. Requires firms like Incorpore to identify clients, assess risk, and report suspicious activity to SPCSB. See our AML notice at /en/aml/.
ANRCETI Agenția Națională pentru Reglementare în Comunicații Electronice și Tehnologia Informației: Moldovan regulator for electronic communications and IT services. Issues authorisations for telecoms operators and certain online activities.
Articles of association Actul de constituire: The constitutional document of a Moldovan company, registered at ASP. Sets out founders, administrators, share capital, activity codes (CAEM), and governance.
ASP Agenția Servicii Publice: Moldovan Public Services Agency. The state registration authority. Handles SRL registration, IDNO issuance, and onward registration with SFS, CNAS, and CNAM. Replaced Camera Înregistrării de Stat in 2017.
BMA Biroul Migrație și Azil: Bureau for Migration and Asylum. Handles residence permit applications: investor, MITP IT specialist, employment-based, and family reunification.
BNM Banca Națională a Moldovei: National Bank of Moldova. Authorises and supervises commercial banks, payment institutions, and e-money issuers. Issues SEPA participant status to qualifying banks.
CAEM Clasificatorul Activităților din Economia Moldovei: Moldovan standard activity classification. Each Moldovan company declares activity codes at incorporation; codes determine which licensing or sector regimes apply.
CIT Corporate Income Tax: Moldova's standard CIT is 12% on profit. SMEs in eligible sectors pay 0% on undistributed profits through 2026 (CIT applied only on distribution). MITP residents pay 7% turnover instead. Codul Fiscal, art. 15.
CNAM Compania Națională de Asigurări în Medicină: National medical insurance company. Receives the medical insurance contribution element of payroll for non-MITP employers.
CNAS Casa Națională de Asigurări Sociale: National social insurance house. Receives the social security contribution element of payroll for non-MITP employers.
CNPF Comisia Națională a Pieței Financiare: Moldovan National Commission of the Financial Market. Regulates insurance, capital markets, microfinance, leasing, and non-bank credit organisations.
Codul Fiscal Tax Code of the Republic of Moldova: Law 1163/1997, the consolidated tax code. Sets out CIT, PIT, VAT, withholding taxes, and the framework for the 0% reinvested profits scheme.
CRS Common Reporting Standard: OECD framework for automatic exchange of financial account information. Moldova joined CRS with first reciprocal exchanges in 2024.

D to H

DCFTA, dividend tax, EU trajectory, FEZ.

DCFTA Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area: Trade arrangement between Moldova and the EU under the Association Agreement (in force since 2014). Provides tariff-free goods access to the EU single market.
Dividend WHT Dividend withholding tax: 6% withheld at source on dividends paid by a Moldovan company to natural persons. Treaty rates may reduce this for non-resident recipients.
EU candidate EU candidate country: Moldova has been an EU candidate since June 2022. Accession negotiations opened June 2024; screening completed September 2025.
Exit taxation Wegzugsteuer (Germany), or analogous: Tax imposed by some jurisdictions on unrealised capital gains when a tax resident leaves. Germany's § 6 AStG is the most active example. Moldovan relocations from Germany must be sequenced to manage this.
FEZ Free Economic Zone: Designated industrial zone with a preferential tax regime (industrial CIT typically reduced; VAT exemption on raw material imports for re-export). Active FEZs include Bălți, Tvardița, Otaci-Business, Ungheni-Business, Taraclia, Valcăneț, and the Giurgiulești international port.

I to O

IDNO, ÎI, MITP, MONEYVAL.

IDNO Numărul de identificare de stat: Moldovan unique state identification number. Assigned by ASP at company registration. Combined function of UK company number plus tax reference; equivalent in role to Romanian CUI.
ÎI Întreprindere Individuală: Moldovan individual entrepreneur. Sole-proprietor structure with unlimited personal liability. Generally less suitable for international founders than an SRL.
MITP Moldova IT Park: Virtual IT park established by Law 77/2016. Resident companies pay a single 7% turnover tax that replaces CIT, salary tax, social security, medical insurance, local taxes, real estate, and road tax. State-guaranteed regime through 2035. 70% IT-revenue threshold for eligibility.
MoneyVal MONEYVAL (Council of Europe FATF-style body): Regional AML/CFT evaluator for Moldova. Moldova is in MONEYVAL enhanced follow-up; not on the FATF grey list as of 2026.

P to R

PIT, POA, the 0% reinvested scheme.

PIT Personal Income Tax: 12% flat in Moldova. Applies to salary income. MITP residents' IT specialists are covered by the 7% MITP single tax instead.
POA Power of Attorney: Authority to act on a principal's behalf. Routinely used for non-resident SRL founders who cannot attend signings in Chișinău. Issued in the founder's home jurisdiction with the appropriate legalisation chain.
Reinvested profits 0% 0% on undistributed SME profits: Moldovan tax framework for SMEs (turnover ≤100M MDL, ≤249 employees) in eligible sectors. Tax owed only when profits are distributed (12% CIT plus 6% dividend WHT). In force through 2026; renewed by Parliament annually.

S to Z

Sediu, SEPA, SFS, SPCSB, SRL, substance, VAT.

Sediu Registered office: The legal address of a Moldovan company, recorded at ASP. Must be a real physical premises in Moldova. Required by law; we coordinate the address as part of the engagement.
SEPA Single Euro Payments Area: EU-led EUR payment infrastructure. Moldova joined SEPA on 6 October 2025. Eight Moldovan banks have SEPA participant status; EUR transfers between Moldovan and SEPA-zone accounts now process at SEPA SCT speeds and fees.
SFS Serviciul Fiscal de Stat: Moldovan State Tax Service. Receives tax filings from Moldovan companies. Registration is handled automatically by ASP at the point of company registration.
SPCSB Serviciul Prevenirea și Combaterea Spălării Banilor: Moldovan AML supervisor. Receives suspicious-activity reports under Law 308/2017.
SRL Societate cu Răspundere Limitată: Moldovan limited liability company. The standard formation choice for international founders. No statutory minimum capital under Law 135/2007. One to fifty founders. Eligible for the SME 0% reinvested scheme or for MITP placement (mutually exclusive).
SA Societate pe Acțiuni: Moldovan joint-stock company. Higher capital and governance requirements than the SRL. Used for licensed financial firms and certain larger structures.
Substance Genuine economic activity: Indicators that demonstrate a Moldovan entity is more than a paper structure: local employment, director presence, real registered office, decision-making in Moldova, transactional pattern. Critical for restructurings from western European jurisdictions.
UBO Ultimate Beneficial Owner: The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, typically the holder of more than 25% of shares or voting rights. Moldovan law requires UBO declaration at registration.
VAT Value Added Tax: Moldovan VAT, standard rate 20%, reduced rate 8% for medical products. Mandatory registration above MDL 1.5 million turnover (rising to MDL 1.7 million from March 2026). Voluntary below.

Other resources

The vocabulary of Moldovan company practice.

The vocabulary of
Moldovan company practice.