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Romanian operators dismiss abolition rumoursRomanian operators dismiss abolition rumours
Gavin Lipsith
10-Jan-2006
Retailers have denied that stores will close ahead of the country's deadline for accession to the European Union
Border store operators in Romania have dismissed reports that the government is considering abolishing duty-free ahead of the country's accession to the European Union in 2007.According to local media reports the Romanian government is to consider legislation abolishing duty-free next week, fuelled by concerns over smuggling. A spokesman from the ministry of administration and internal affairs said that duty-free stores "are lacking where they are supposed to be found, in airports, but have developed on the frontiers", while the country's president Traian Basescu said he could not understand why "these points of distribution for tax evasion to and from the external markets are maintained".
State-owned retailer Comturist import manager Gabriella Grigoras told RavenFox.com that the allegations were unfounded. "The government is mistaken as duty-free is a well-regulated industry and is not the source of smuggling," she said. "There is no basis for the rumours that the government is going to abolish duty-free sooner than required for Romania's accession to the EU."
Grigoras conceded that there is still some debate over whether the country will retain duty-free retail on the borders of non-EU neighbours Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Duty-free sales at Romanian airports were banned in September 2002, although a government decree in October 2003 allowed retailers to sell goods free of VAT. Liquor and tobacco are still not available at airports.
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