The Customs Service is a government authority carrying out its activity in subordination of the Ministry of Finance. The customs authority is a separate organizational unit in the ministry’s administrative system, established to provide administrative public services to the payers of customs duties, exercising and improving the customs control, including control over the legality of bringing goods into and out of the customs territory, performing customs formalities and creating conditions for accelerating the flow of goods across the customs border.
Powers of the customs authority are regulated in Section 2, Article 11 of the Customs Code of the Republic of Moldova:
- participates in the formulation of the state customs policy and implement such policy;
- ensures compliance with customs and tax legislation;
- protects the legitimate rights and interests of individuals in the course of customs activity;
- contributes, within the limits of its competence, to ensuring the economic security of the state;
- protects economic interests of the state;
- applies customs procedures for regulating economic and trade relations;
- collects import duties and export duties;
- coordinates the use of the Combined Nomenclature of Goods;
- manages the Integrated Customs Tariff of the Republic of Moldova (TARIM);
- participates in the formulation of economic policy measures regarding the movement of goods across the customs border and implements such measures;
- combats smuggling, infringement of customs regulations and tax legislation relating to the movement of goods across the customs border, counteracts the illegal movement across the customs border of narcotic substances, weapons, works of art, items of historical, and archeological value, goods protected by intellectual property, endangered species of animals and plants (derivatives and parts thereof), and other goods;
- contributes to preventing and combating money laundering and international terrorism;
- exercises and improves customs control, performs customs clearance, creates conditions for accelerating the traffic of goods across the customs border;
- contributes to and participates in the development of customs statistics on foreign trade and special customs statistics;
- contributes to the implementation of state security protection measures, ensures public and moral order, protects the life and health of people, protects flora and fauna, the whole environment, and protects the internal market;
- exercises customs control of currency and monetary values, within the limits of its competence;
- ensures the fulfillment of international obligations of the state related to customs activities; participates in the development of international customs agreements, in the collaboration with the customs bodies, with other foreign public authorities, with international customs organizations;
- conducts scientific research, provides expert consultations;
- develops the technical-material and social base of the customs bodies, creates conditions for the activity of customs employees;
- manages the system of origin certification, as established by the Government, including the certification of the origin of goods and issues paid certificates of origin for export of goods;
- carries out the necessary risk management activities;
- ensures the dissemination of customs legislation and the access to information of public interest;
- establishes public-private partnerships on customs topics and cooperates with businesses;
- exercises other powers as provided under the law.
