(1) This law regulates the process of creating and operating Information Technology Parks.

(2) The purpose of this law is to create the necessary prerequisites for boosting the development of the Information Technology Industry, Research and innovation, based on information technology in various fields, didactic activity in the field of information technology, as well as creating jobs with high added value and attracting domestic and foreign investments.

For the purposes of this law, the following terms are defined as follows:

Park administration - administrative authority set up by the Government for the management of an information technology park;

park for information technology (park) - organizational structure whose residents practice the activities stipulated in Art. 8;

resident of the park - a legal or natural person, registered in the Republic of Moldova as a subject of entrepreneurial activity, which is included in the Registry of Residents of the Park and who, as the main activity, practice one or more of the activities stipulated in art. 8, based on a contract with the Park administration;

main activity - activity that generates 70% or more of the sales income of the resident of the park.

The creation of parks has the following main goals:

a) improving the competitiveness of enterprises in the information technology industry;

(b) supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the information technology industry; 

c) attracting domestic and foreign investment; and 

d) implementing activities that create high-value-added products;

(e) development of research, innovation and production in the field of information technology;

(f) establishing partnerships with multinational companies in the field of information technology in order to share positive experiences and best practices in this field;

g) attracting qualified personnel;

(h) creation of highly qualified jobs.

The establishment and operation of parks is based on the following principles:

a) impartiality and objectivity towards Park applicants;

b) transparency in the process of initiating the creation of the Park;

c) equal treatment of all potential residents in the registration process;

d) non-interference of public authorities and Park administration in the activities of Park residents, except within the limits provided for by this law, current regulations and the agreement on the implementation of activities in the Park;

e) implementation of the main goals of the Park.

Parks may be created at the request of legal or natural persons, registered in the Republic of Moldova as subjects of entrepreneurial activity, who have not been/are not in the process of insolvency or liquidation and/or restructuring as a result of insolvency, or whose entrepreneurial activity has not been/is not suspended, or who have not been/are not subject to legal proceedings to be declared in one of these situations.

(1) When the Park is created, the Government shall establish its Administration as a legal entity operating on a self-financing basis. The rules of organization and functioning of the Park Administration shall be approved by the Government.

(2) The Park Administration shall be headed by an administrator, appointed by the Government, on the proposal of the Ministry of Economy, for a term of 5 years. The functions, rights and obligations of the administrator shall be laid down in the Regulation on the organisation and functioning of the Park Administration and included in the contract concluded between the administrator and the Ministry of Economy.

(3) The sources of income of the Park Administration shall consist of the compulsory membership fees of the residents of the Park, as well as of other legal income resulting from the duties referred to in Article 13 (h) and (l). The size of the compulsory membership fees of the Park residents shall be determined by the Park Administration in accordance with its regulations, depending on the number of Park residents and their income from sales.

(4) The administration shall not have the right to interfere in the economic activity of the park residents. 

(Not in force yet!)

(1) Registration of residents is carried out by the Park administration in accordance with the regulations on registration of Park residents approved by the Government, which explicitly and exhaustively present the procedure and requirements for registration, as well as a sample agreement on the implementation of activities in the Park. Legal entities or individuals who requested the creation of the Park are legally registered as its residents.

(2) A person registered as a Park resident enters into an agreement with the Park administration on activities in the Park and is entered into the register of Park residents on the day of signing the agreement. The contract is concluded for a period of at least four years. The term of the agreement must not exceed the period of operation of the Park.

(3) The contract specifies:

a) the types of activities to be performed;

b) rights and obligations of the Park resident and the Park administration;

c) the amount of the mandatory fee;

d) the types of reports that the resident must submit to the Park administration;

e) liability of the parties for breach of contract;

f) other terms and conditions agreed by the parties.

(4) Residents of the Park carry out one or more of the activities specified in article 8 at their locations and at the locations of their subdivisions located on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

(5) Park residents keep accounting records, prepare and submit financial and other reports and declarations in accordance with the procedure established by the current legislation.

(6) Park residents are not liable for the obligations of the Park administration.

(7) The Park administration maintains a register of Park residents and issues certificates confirming the status of a Park resident.

The following main types of activities can be carried out in information technology parks (in accordance with the CAEM rev.2 and CSPM rev.2):

a) activities in the field of computer programming of custom software (customer-oriented software) (62.01);

b) computer game production (58.21);

c) other software production (58.29);

d) computer hardware management activities (62.03);

e) data processing, web page management and related activities (63.11);

f) activities of web portals (63.12);

g) consulting services in the field of information technology (62.02);

h) other information technology activities (62.09).

i) other types of education not included in other categories (85.59), limited to computer training;

j) other research and development in the field of natural Sciences and engineering (72.19) based on the use of high – performance specialized computing equipment, limited to:

- services related to scientific research and experimental development in the field of mathematics (72.19.11);

– services related to scientific research and experimental developments in the field of computer science and information technology (72.19.12);

– services related to scientific research and experimental developments in the field of physics (72.19.13);

– services related to scientific research and experimental developments in the field of nanotechnology (72.19.21);

– other services related to scientific research and experimental development in the field of technical Sciences and technologies, other than biotechnology (72.19.29);

– original works of scientific research and experimental developments in the field of natural and technical Sciences, except for biotechnology (72.19.50);

 k) research and development in the field of biotechnology (72.11), limited:

– scientific research and experimental developments in the field of bioinformatics: creation of databases of genomes, protein sequences, modeling of complex biological processes, including system biology; 

– scientific research and experimental developments in the field of nanobiotechnology: the use of tools and processes of nano - and micro-production for the creation of devices for the study of Biosystems and their use in the creation of medicines, diagnostics, etc.;

l) production of electronic components (modules) (26.11), limited to:

– production of microprocessors;

– production of integrated circuits (analog, digital or mixed);

m) post - production stage of production of movies, video and television programs (52.12), based on the use of high – quality specialized computer equipment, limited to:

- services for creating video effects (59.12.14);

- services in the field of animation (59.12.15);

n) specialized design services (74.10) based on the use of high-performance specialized computing equipment.

(1) The park is created on the basis of a government decree at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy.

(2) The term of operation of the park is established by a governmental decree, but may not exceed 10 years.

(1) For the creation of the park, the applicant shall submit an application to the Ministry of Economy indicating the purposes of the creation of the park, its functional orientation and the activities to be carried out in the park. The application shall be accompanied by copies of the articles of association of the legal or natural person applying for the creation of the park, as well as a feasibility study.

(2) The feasibility study for the creation of the park shall contain:

a) a description of the park concept and the aims of its creation; 

b) a justification of the possibility of carrying out permitted activities and attracting potential residents; 

c) indication of the degree to which the potential residents of the park will be provided with specialists;

d) the stages and deadlines for setting up the park;

e) the amount of investment required for the creation of the park and its sources.

(1) The Ministry of Economy shall examine the application for the establishment of the park and the attached documents within 30 calendar days of their submission. 

(2) If several applicants submit applications at the same time, they shall be examined in the order of submission, taking into account the date and time of receipt.

(3) If the documents submitted do not meet the requirements stipulated in Article 10, the Ministry of Economy may request the submission of corrected documents and information. In this case, the time limit referred to in para. (1) shall be extended by 15 calendar days from the date of the additional request made by the Ministry of Economy. 

(4) If the applicant fails to submit the corrected documents and information within the time limit provided for in paragraph (3) or repeatedly submits documents that do not meet the requirements stipulated in Article 10, the Ministry of Economy shall inform him/her, in a written notice, of the refusal to satisfy his/her request for the establishment of the park, with the mandatory indication of the reasons for refusal.

(5) In the event that a preventive decision on the establishment of the park is taken following the examination of the application, the Ministry of Economy shall submit to the Government for approval the draft of the respective decision, together with the draft Regulation on the organization and functioning of the Park Administration and the draft Regulation on the registration of park residents, and shall inform the applicant in a written notice about the initiation of the procedure for the establishment of the park.

In connection with the application of this law, the Ministry of economy performs the following functions:

a) monitors the activities of parks, promotes their development through the implementation of policies in this area;

b) ensure that the performance of parks is evaluated annually;

c) cooperate with Central and local public administration bodies, non-governmental organizations and independent experts, organizations in the field of science and innovation in order to support and develop activities carried out in parks;

d) inform the public about projects implemented in parks.

The Park administration performs the following functions:

a) approves, after approval by the Ministry of economy, the regulations on the organization and operation of the Park and defines the tasks of the Park;

b) manage the Park in accordance with the provisions of this law and other applicable regulations;

c) create, maintain and update the register of Park residents, as well as the official web page of the Park;

d) provide online access to the Register of Park residents;

e) participate, as appropriate, in the evaluation of the Park's activities;

f) helps attract investors and inventors to the Park;

g) submit proposals to the Ministry of economy for the development of the Park's activities;

h) at the request of the Park's residents, as well as potential residents, provides such consulting services on the basis of a contract;

i) prepare and submit quarterly and annual reports on the activities of the Park and its residents to the Ministry of economy. Reports are published on the official web page of the Park, and information from reports is published on the unified government open data portal;

j) represent, if necessary, the Park in relations with central and local public administration bodies and cooperate with them;

k) develop Park development projects;

l) implement projects/programs related to the development of the information technology industry and the ecosystem for digital innovation.

Amounts paid by park residents by way of the one-off tax levied on residents of information technology parks will be collected by the Ministry of Finance into a treasury collection account and subsequently distributed:

(a) to the state budget:

income tax from entrepreneurial activity - 10.0%,

income tax withheld from wages - 19.4%,

tax for the use of roads by motor vehicles registered in the Republic of Moldova - 0.1%;

b) to the state social security budget:

compulsory state social insurance contributions from residents of information technology industry parks - 54.7%;

c) to the compulsory health insurance funds:

compulsory health insurance premiums in the form of a percentage contribution from salary and other rewards, paid by employers and employees - 15.4%;

d) local budgets:

local taxes levied on residents of information technology parks - 0.3%,

tax on real estate of legal entities - 0.1%.

(1) To facilitate the creation and operation of information technology parks, the state provides Park residents with the following incentives:

a) a single tax paid by Park residents in the amount of 7 percent of sales revenue, but not lower than the level set in part (2), including the following taxes and fees due from Park residents in accordance with applicable legislation: business income tax, payroll income tax, mandatory state social insurance contributions paid by employees and employers, mandatory health insurance contributions paid by employees and employers, local taxes, real estate tax and road usage fee for vehicles registered in the Republic of Moldova. Other taxes and fees are paid by Park residents in a General manner;

b) financial allocations received by competition under state programs;

c) the possibility of using funds from the digital innovation and technology start-up support Fund, which operates on the basis of a regulation approved by the Government that provides for the principles, mission and goals of the Fund, as well as the procedure for the formation and use of these funds;

d) other tax and customs benefits provided for by tax and customs legislation.

(1.1) For the application of a single tax levied on residents of information technology parks in accordance with paragraph (1) (a), income tax on wages, mandatory state social insurance contributions paid by employees and employers, and mandatory health insurance contributions paid by employees and employers are payments to employees or in their favor made by residents of information technology parks on the Basis of labor legislation and regulations containing labor law norms.

(2) The minimum amount of a single tax levied on residents of information technology parks is determined monthly for each employee and is 30 percent of the average monthly salary for the economy projected for the tax period of the corresponding tax.

(3) Levied on the resident information technology parks single tax, the amount of which is determined in accordance with this article shall be paid them monthly as provided by applicable law.

(4) If new laws are adopted that change the rate of the unified tax levied on residents of information technology parks and/or its composition provided for in paragraph (1) (a) and/or cancel this tax, Park residents are entitled to carry out activities in accordance with the provisions of the laws in force before the date of entry into force of the new laws for a period of nine years, which is calculated from the date of entry into force of this law and which should not exceed the period of operation of the relevant Park. If certain taxes and/or fees included in the unified tax levied on residents of information technology parks provided for in paragraph (1) (a) are replaced by other taxes and/or fees by legislation, the composition of the unified tax is adjusted accordingly without changing its rate.

(5) If Park residents do not comply with the conditions for applying the benefits provided for by this law, their obligations to the national public budget are recalculated in accordance with the General procedure, starting from the tax period in which the violation was committed, in accordance with the current legislation.

(1) Employees of Park residents enjoy all types of social insurance benefits paid from the state social insurance budget, in accordance with the current legislation. The insured monthly income of these employees should be 68 percent of the average monthly salary for the economy projected for the corresponding year.

(2) Employees of Park residents receive the status of an insured person in the mandatory health insurance system based on updated information provided in the income tax reports, mandatory health insurance contributions and mandatory state social insurance contributions withheld and accrued in accordance with the current legislation.

(3) The Park resident must provide its employees with written information about the specifics of social and health insurance established by this article, as well as about the specifics of income tax on wages before obtaining the status of a Park resident, and in the case of new employees – before hiring them.

The performance of the Park and its residents is evaluated in accordance with the regulations approved by the Government and developed by the Ministry of economy.

(1) the activities of Park residents are subject to annual mandatory verification of the performance of indicators necessary for obtaining and maintaining the status of an information technology Park resident.

(2) the indicators specified in the law and Subject to verification are established by the Park administration, and verification is carried out by audit companies.

(3) the Results of the audit are published on the official web pages of the Ministry of economy and the information technology Park.

(1) the status of a Park resident is revoked by terminating the agreement concluded with the Park administration in the following cases:

a) at the initiative of the Park resident, if the Park administration does not comply with the provisions of the agreement on the implementation of activities in the Park and does not eliminate violations within 30 days after receiving a written notification from the Park resident;

b) at the initiative of the Park administration, if the Park resident does not comply with the provisions of the agreement on the implementation of activities in the Park and does not eliminate violations within 30 days after receiving a written notification from the Park administration;

c) on the basis of a court decision that has entered into force in connection with a violation of the provisions of this law, the legislation on preventing and combating money laundering, and other regulations;

d) in other cases stipulated by the agreement on the implementation of activities in the Park;

e) at the initiative of the Park administration if, as a result of an annual audit carried out by an audit company, it is established that the resident no longer meets the qualification requirements applicable to residents of the information technology Park provided for by this law.

(2) in the cases provided for in paragraph (1) (a), (b) and (e), the status of a Park resident is revoked by the decision of the Park administration.

(3) Revocation of the status of a Park resident shall result in deprivation of the right to use the benefits provided to Park residents in accordance with this law.

(4) Park residents may appeal the decision to revoke their resident status to a court.

(1) If the Park does not fulfill the tasks provided for by this law and the regulations on the organization and operation of the Park, the Park may be disbanded by a Government decree on the proposal of the Ministry of economy. The government decree on the disbandment of the Park comes into force six months from the date of its publication.

(2) The disbanding of a Park entails the loss of the status of a resident of the relevant Park, as well as the cancellation of the regime of benefits granted to Park residents in accordance with this law.

(1) This law shall enter into force on 1 January 2017.

(2) The government, within six months from the date of publication of this law will:

a) bring its regulations into compliance with this law;

b) develop and approve regulations necessary for the implementation of this law and submit proposals to the Parliament to bring the current legislation in line with this law.