Two urgent changes for businesses in Moldova: new FEZ rules and AML certification

What to check after 11–13 August: five urgent actions

• Received an FEZ tender decision — preserve proof of the date. An appeal to the zone’s chief administrator may be filed within 5 working days of receiving the decision.
• Won the tender — calendar the contract deadline separately. The contract with the zone administration must be signed within 30 days of approval of the results; otherwise, the winner loses the right to be registered as a resident.
• For an existing resident, create a customs status record. Note the registration date and, if it predates 2024, whether the resident opted into the regime under Customs Code No. 95/2021.
• Review the actual AML/CFT function, not just the job title. Certification will apply to designated managers, responsible officers and employees entrusted with ensuring that AML/CFT policies and procedures comply with the law.
• Monitor the SPCSB order. It must set the training programme, certification procedure and certificate format; the statutory three-month deadline falls on 13 November 2026.

These are two independent reforms. Government Decision No. 417/2026, published in Official Gazette Nos. 367–370, applies from 11 August and concerns free economic zones. It repeals the regulation approved by Government Decision No. 686/2002 and introduces two new regulations — one for tenders and one for authorised crossing points. Law No. 146/2026 applies from 13 August and changes the AML/CFT framework. Their practical lesson is the same: deadlines, status and authority must not merely be known; they must be supported by evidence.

FEZ tenders: an appeal must be filed within 5 working days

The new procedure creates a 5 / 10 / 5 sequence. An applicant may challenge the result before the zone’s chief administrator within 5 working days of receiving the decision. The appeal must be examined within 10 days of registration, and the outcome must be communicated to the applicant within 5 days after the decision is adopted.

There is an important distinction: only the first period is expressly described as working days. The regulation does not use that qualification for the subsequent periods of 10 and 5 days. All three periods should therefore not be converted automatically into working days; calculation in an individual case should be checked against the general rules on time limits and the tender documents.

In practice, a dispute starts with proof of dates rather than the merits of the appeal. Keep the email with its technical headers, an electronic-system notification, delivery receipt, registration number or another record capable of showing:

1. when the decision was received;
2. when the appeal reached the chief administrator;
3. which documents and arguments accompanied it.

The regulation also limits the tender commission: it may not demand documents outside the prescribed list, although it may ask for clarification of materials already submitted. The assessment is not limited to price or investment value. It covers the type of activity, investment, projected sales, jobs, average salary, expected start date and project duration. A useful appeal should therefore identify not only a procedural defect but also how it may have affected the score under a specific criterion.

If a tender began before 11 August, it is unsafe to assume that every stage is automatically governed only by the old rules or only by the new regulation. Government Decision No. 417/2026 contains no general transition clause. The tender notice, documentation, commission meeting, approval of the result and communication to the applicant should be assessed separately.

The 30-day contract deadline: winning does not yet confer resident status

The winner must enter into a contract with the zone administration within 30 days from approval of the results. Missing the deadline causes the winner to lose the right to be registered as a resident. The contract is not a formality after status has already been obtained; it is the necessary link between winning the tender and registration.

Do not calculate the period from a congratulatory email or the first draft contract if the regulation ties it to an earlier approval date. Request a dated copy of the decision immediately and check:

• who may sign for the applicant and the administration;
• whether a corporate resolution, power of attorney or financing approval is required;
• whether the activity, investment plan, site, launch timetable and annexes have been agreed;
• which permits will be required after registration and whether any internal assurances exceed the administration’s authority.

If the result is under challenge, do not assume the appeal itself suspends the 30-day period: the new regulation contains no general rule providing automatic suspension. The appeal decision, the documents of the individual tender and, where relevant, a separate analysis of interim protection are needed.

The customs regime depends on more than the registration date

For an FEZ resident, the answer cannot stop at “we were registered before 2024.” Article 7 of Law No. 440/2001 produces the following map:

Registered by 31 December 2023 and did not opt into the new Customs Code Special rules under Article 7(6) of Law No. 440/2001 Registration date and evidence that the new regime was not chosen Registered by 31 December 2023 and opted into the new Customs Code Regime under Customs Code No. 95/2021 The option and its date, with accounting and declarations configured accordingly Registered from 1 January 2024 Article 7(7) of Law No. 440/2001 and Articles 313–317 of Customs Code No. 95/2021 Registration date, applicable procedures and authorisations

Articles 313–317 do not regulate an abstract “customs benefit.” They govern the movement and customs status of goods: when goods are presented to customs and placed under the free-zone procedure, how domestic and foreign goods are treated, how goods leave the zone and which status is presumed when they enter another part of the customs territory.

Processing is subject to a separate control. Residents in the new category may perform processing operations after obtaining an inward processing authorisation from the Customs Service. Resident status and the zone administration’s approval of an activity do not replace that customs authorisation. Before the next production batch, align the technological operation, goods code and status, authorisation conditions, yield rate, waste records and discharge of the procedure.

The second new regulation concerns physical access. The zone administration and customs post must agree entry, exit, conduct, parking and working-hour rules, communicate them to users and differentiate access for the relevant resident categories. Separate flows may be arranged where necessary. Before a delivery, request the current written instructions, pass requirements, customs-post hours and the process for arrivals outside working hours. An old pass or familiar route should not be treated as sufficient evidence of compliance with the new arrangements.

Check the applicable regime and deadlines before your next step

Colenco Legal can help determine the applicable FEZ regime or AML/CFT obligations, review the supporting documents and prepare a risk-remediation plan.

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AML certification: who needs a valid certificate

New Article 13¹ of Law No. 308/2017 requires training and certification whenever needed, but at least once every 3 years, for three groups:

1. the designated senior management person responsible for ensuring that policies and procedures comply with AML/CFT requirements;
2. the designated responsible officer with the same responsibility;
3. the employee entrusted with the function of ensuring compliance of AML/CFT policies and procedures.

This is no longer merely a general duty to “train staff.” The certificate is a standardised document confirming that the person passed a certification examination after participating in a training programme organised in the Republic of Moldova. The supervisory authority will check its existence and validity.

The law expressly states that the listed persons may not perform the AML/CFT function without a valid certificate. If the absence of a certificate is identified, the reporting entity receives up to 3 months to remedy the deficiency. These provisions must be read together: the remediation period allows the entity to return to compliance, but it does not mean that the same person may continue performing the function without a certificate. A prudent approach is to reassign duties lawfully on an interim basis and document the remediation plan.

The penalty requires separate attention. The initial Government draft proposed a distinct provision with a fine of MDL 4,500–10,000 for an absent or invalid certificate. That provision is not present in the published Law No. 146/2026. It would therefore be incorrect to describe that specific fine as being in force. General AML/CFT supervision and liability mechanisms remain applicable, however; removal of the distinct fine does not make certification optional.

Until the SPCSB director approves the programme, certification procedure, form and content of the certificate, nobody should promise that the new certificate is already available. Automatic recognition of earlier courses has not yet been established either.

Lawyers: the obligation does not arise from every legal service

Being a lawyer does not by itself answer the certification question. First determine whether the lawyer or form of practice acts as a reporting entity in the particular mandate, and then identify who has actually been appointed to perform the AML/CFT function.

Article 4(1)(j) of Law No. 308/2017 covers lawyers when they assist with the preparation or execution of, among other matters:

• buying or selling real estate, shares, equity interests or elements of a business;
• managing a client’s funds, securities or other assets;
• opening or managing bank, savings or securities accounts;
• creating, operating or managing companies, foundations, trusts and similar structures;
• financial or real-estate transactions in which the lawyer acts in the name of or for the client.

Ordinary legal assistance must not be equated mechanically with those transactions. Article 11(11) also preserves an exception from reporting duties for information received while assessing a client’s legal position, defending or representing the client in court, and advising on commencing or avoiding proceedings. This is a specific reporting exception, not a universal cancellation of every AML/CFT procedure for every mandate.

The Moldovan Bar Association requested an express exclusion of lawyers from the unified certification mechanism. The official summary of comments records that the request was not accepted, and the final law contains no special exclusion.

A practical test has four questions: what the lawyer actually does; whether the act falls within the list in point (j); which information was received in a protected context; and who is formally appointed as the AML/CFT responsible person. For a sole practitioner, applying the new categories to the only practising lawyer may require clarification in the SPCSB order. It would be premature to substitute a categorical answer for that future guidance.

Action calendar: now, before the next transaction and by 13 November

Now Create a tender-date register; map residents by registration date and customs-regime option; inventory appointed AML/CFT roles and prior training. After the tender result is communicated Preserve proof of receipt, calculate the 5 working days separately and obtain confirmation that the appeal was registered. After the winner is approved Calendar the 30-day contract deadline and prepare signatory authority, corporate resolutions and annexes in advance. Before the next customs operation Check the regime, inward processing authorisation, declaration route, passes and customs-post hours. By 13 November 2026 Monitor the SPCSB order; after publication, compare its programme, certification procedure, validity period and transitional arrangements with existing records.

Do not wait for the SPCSB order to identify responsible persons and collect evidence of earlier training. But do not assume that a CIA or UARM course will automatically qualify as the new certificate: that can be assessed only from the final procedure or an official written clarification.

The common discipline behind both reforms is simple: at the relevant moment, a company must prove the date, status, chosen regime and authority of the specific person. Missing one of those records can turn a manageable compliance issue into a dispute, delayed shipment or supervisory finding.