# How to start food, drinks or tobacco production in Moldova: meat, dairy and fish, bakery and other foods, wine, beer and spirits, and tobacco products

A licence is needed only for alcohol, beer, spirits and tobacco. The law takes wine out of licensing altogether, and food reaches the market with a document from the National Food Safety Agency. The page starts with meat, dairy and fish, which need a sanitary-veterinary authorisation, moves on to bakery and other foods, where the 150-lei ANSA certificate is enough. It then covers wine, entered free of charge in the Vine and Wine Register, beer and spirits, and ends with tobacco products.

## In brief

- **CAEM codes:** 10.13, 10.71, 11.02, 11.05 and 12.00
- **Licence:** Only for beer, alcohol, spirits and tobacco (wine and food are not licensed)
- **Excise:** Beer, spirits and tobacco (grape wine is not on the list of excisable goods)
- **VAT:** 8% on bread and dairy, 20% on the rest

## Slaughterhouse, sausage, dairy or fish-canning plant: the ANSA sanitary-veterinary authorisation

A slaughterhouse, a cutting plant, a meat products plant, a dairy, or a unit processing fish, eggs or honey may operate only with a sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation from ANSA. It costs 150 lei, is issued after an on-site inspection and is valid for the term of your lease, or indefinitely if you own the premises.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10.11 | Processing and preserving of meat | Slaughterhouses and cutting of beef, pork and mutton, fresh, chilled or frozen meat, and lard. Poultry has its own class, 10.12. |
| 10.13 | Production of meat and poultry meat products | Sausages, salami, ham, pâté, and dried, salted or smoked meat. Ready meals made with meat fall under 10.85. |
| 10.51 | Operation of dairies and cheese making | Pasteurised milk, cream, butter, yoghurt, brânză and other cheeses, and milk powder. Raw milk from the farm belongs to agriculture, under 01.41. |

- **Authorisation: Sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Slaughterhouses, meat cutting and processing plants, canned meat and sausage plants, dairies and milk processing plants, units handling fish, eggs and honey, warehouses for products of animal origin, and the vehicles that carry them. You apply at the agency’s territorial office with proof of your right to the premises and a contract with a veterinarian. It costs 150 lei. If the agency does not answer within 20 working days, the authorisation is deemed granted.

**Who buys it:** Supermarket chains, convenience stores, restaurants and canteens, wholesale distributors and buyers abroad. Every batch shipped carries the producer’s quality certificate, and the distributor passes a copy on with the goods.

**What is different about the money:** Milk and dairy products under the tariff headings listed in the Tax Code are sold with 8% VAT, not 20%. Meat and meat products have no reduced rate. Raw milk bought from private individuals is not taxed at source.

## Bakery, pastry shop, cannery, oil mill or flour mill: the food safety registration certificate

A bakery, a confectioner, a cannery, a juice or oil plant, a flour mill or a pasta factory needs no licence. Before its first working day it registers with ANSA, which issues the food safety registration certificate for 150 lei within 15 working days at most. If the agency does not answer in that time, tacit approval applies.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10.71 | Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes | Bread, rolls, pies, pastries and fresh cakes. Pastries baked for eating on the spot in a café fall under division 56. |
| 10.39 | Other processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables | Canned goods, jams, pickled vegetables, dried or frozen fruit. Juices have their own class, 10.32. |
| 11.07 | Manufacture of soft drinks; production of mineral waters and other bottled waters | Bottled mineral and drinking water, lemonade and other soft drinks. Alcohol-free beer and wine stay under 11.05 and 11.02. |

- **Authorisation: Food safety registration certificate** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Making bread, pastry, biscuits, sweets, pasta, canned goods, juices, oil, flour, coffee, tea and spices, wine, cider, beer, distillates and alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water. The list also covers small producers of dairy, meat products, bread, cakes and canned goods. You attach the title deed or lease for the premises. It costs 150 lei. The agency inspects and answers within 15 working days, after which tacit approval applies.

**Who buys it:** Supermarket chains and neighbourhood shops, cafés, restaurants and canteens, wholesale distributors and buyers abroad. Fresh bread is sold almost entirely on the domestic market.

**What is different about the money:** Bread and bakery products under the tariff headings in the Tax Code carry 8% VAT. Biscuits, sweets, canned food and oil are sold at the standard 20% rate, and beet sugar at 8%.

## Winery: the Vine and Wine Register, the ANSA certificate and annual declarations, with no licence

Wine is not licensed: the alcohol law expressly excludes it. Making, bottling, storing and selling wine wholesale require entry, free of charge, in the Vine and Wine Register, kept by the National Office of Vine and Wine, which confirms the number within 10 days. The winery also registers with ANSA for the 150-lei certificate and files production and stock declarations every year.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 11.02 | Manufacture of wine from grape | Still and sparkling wine, blending and bottling, including alcohol-free wine. Vineyards belong to agriculture, under 01.21. |

- **Authorisation: Food safety registration certificate** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Making bread, pastry, biscuits, sweets, pasta, canned goods, juices, oil, flour, coffee, tea and spices, wine, cider, beer, distillates and alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water. The list also covers small producers of dairy, meat products, bread, cakes and canned goods. You attach the title deed or lease for the premises. It costs 150 lei. The agency inspects and answers within 15 working days, after which tacit approval applies.
- **Notification: Entry in the Vine and Wine Register** — National Office of Vine and Wine, valid for No expiry. Making, processing, bottling and storing wine, must-based products and aromatised wine products, and selling them wholesale. You file an application and a declaration on your own responsibility; entry is free. The Office sends the date and registration number within 10 days.

**Who buys it:** Supermarket chains and shops, restaurants, importers and distributors abroad, and other wineries buying bulk wine for bottling. Wines with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication are sold to consumers only in bottles.

**What is different about the money:** Grape wine pays no excise but is sold with 20% VAT. The producer pays a contribution of 0.1 lei per litre sold at home or exported to the Vine and Wine Fund, quarterly, by the 25th of the following month.

## Brewery, distillery or spirits plant: the licence, the excise certificate and sealed equipment

Making beer, ethyl alcohol and spirits requires a licence from the Public Services Agency. The licence never expires, but its fee is paid every year: 26,000 lei for beer and for alcoholic products, 52,000 lei for ethyl alcohol. Before the first production run, the company obtains an excise certificate from the State Tax Service and registers with ANSA.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 11.05 | Manufacture of beer | Beer, including low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer. |
| 11.01 | Distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits | Distillates, brandy, whisky, gin, liqueurs and drinks mixed with distilled spirits. |

- **Authorisation: Food safety registration certificate** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Making bread, pastry, biscuits, sweets, pasta, canned goods, juices, oil, flour, coffee, tea and spices, wine, cider, beer, distillates and alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water. The list also covers small producers of dairy, meat products, bread, cakes and canned goods. You attach the title deed or lease for the premises. It costs 150 lei. The agency inspects and answers within 15 working days, after which tacit approval applies.
- **Licence: Licence to manufacture ethyl alcohol, beer and alcoholic products** — Public Services Agency, valid for No expiry; the fee is paid every year. Making, storing and selling wholesale ethyl alcohol, beer and alcoholic products, except wine and wine products. The annual fee is 26,000 lei for beer and for alcoholic products and 52,000 lei for ethyl alcohol. The company must have production capacity, computerised records and, except for beer, measuring instruments with metrological verification. The State Tax Service, ANSA and the metrology body check the equipment within 7 working days.
- **Authorisation: Excise certificate** — State Tax Service. A company that makes or processes beer, alcohol, spirits or tobacco products obtains it before production starts and becomes an authorised warehousekeeper. The application comes with a plan of the premises, showing the production area and the warehouse, and the control methods that keep the excisable goods intact. Excise becomes due when the goods leave the tax warehouse.

**Who buys it:** Licensed distributors and wholesale warehouses, the only buyers a producer may sell to wholesale; through them, supermarket chains, restaurants and bars; and buyers abroad.

**What is different about the money:** In 2026, excise is 3.05 lei per litre of beer and 132.27 lei per litre of pure alcohol for distillates and spirits. Spirits sold in Moldova carry excise stamps; beer and exports do not. Newly registered companies do not get the 50% discount on the licence fee.

## Cigarette factory or tobacco processing: the five-year licence and an excise stamp on every pack

Industrial processing of tobacco and the making of tobacco products are allowed only under a licence from the Public Services Agency, for five years, at 26,000 lei a year. The factory must have the full production cycle, quality-control equipment and qualified specialists. Its equipment is entered in the State Register of Tobacco Product Manufacturing Equipment.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 12.00 | Manufacture of tobacco products | Cigarettes, cigars, pipe, chewing and snuff tobacco, reconstituted tobacco. Growing tobacco belongs to agriculture. |

- **Licence: Licence to manufacture and industrially process tobacco products** — Public Services Agency, valid for 5 years. Import and industrial processing of tobacco, making tobacco products and related products, and selling them wholesale. It costs 26,000 lei a year. You apply with a declaration on your own responsibility about the infrastructure and specialists, the document for the premises and the product list. The supervisory body checks the equipment within 7 working days.
- **Authorisation: Excise certificate** — State Tax Service. A company that makes or processes beer, alcohol, spirits or tobacco products obtains it before production starts and becomes an authorised warehousekeeper. The application comes with a plan of the premises, showing the production area and the warehouse, and the control methods that keep the excisable goods intact. Excise becomes due when the goods leave the tax warehouse.

**Who buys it:** Licensed tobacco wholesalers, who sell on to shops, and buyers abroad. Retail sale of cigarettes is not licensed, but a pack reaches the shelf only with the excise stamp applied by the producer.

**What is different about the money:** In 2026, excise on filter cigarettes is 1,189.57 lei per 1,000 sticks plus 13% of the maximum retail price, with a floor of 1,595.53 lei. The excise stamp is stuck directly on the pack, under the film.

## How the sector got here

- **30 December 2025 — Law No. 227/2025, amending Law No. 1100/2000 on alcohol.** The register of main production equipment for ethyl alcohol and spirits of 25% and over is kept by ANSA as part of the e-ANSA system. Registering, sealing and unsealing the equipment are applied for online, through the same system.
- **1 January 2026 — Tax Code, Annex 1 to Title IV.** The minimum excise on filter cigarettes rises to 1,595.53 lei per 1,000 sticks, from 1,450.48 lei in 2025, and on apple and pear cider to 2 lei per litre. Beer stays at 3.05 lei per litre and spirits at 132.27 lei per litre of pure alcohol.
- **1 January 2027 — CAEM Rev. 2.1 classification.** The new classification takes effect. The classes in divisions 10, 11 and 12 keep their codes, so food, drinks and tobacco plants do not need to change their registered activities.

## How big the market is

The food industry is the largest division of Moldovan manufacturing, both by number of companies and by sales. For 2025, 1,055 food companies filed financial statements, with 23,844 employees and sales revenue of 31.7 billion lei. Of these, 765 have fewer than ten employees. Beverage making has 236 companies, 7,132 employees and 8.4 billion lei in sales, and tobacco products 14 companies and 239 employees.

The average gross monthly wage in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 14,492 lei in the food industry, 14,788 lei in beverages and 13,501 lei in tobacco. The average across the economy in the same quarter was 16,355 lei.

## What permits apply

The list of permits has 22 licences, and three of them concern this field: importing alcohol, making alcohol, beer and alcoholic products, and activities involving tobacco. All three are issued by the Public Services Agency. The alcohol manufacturing licence has an exception written into its own wording: wine, must-based products and aromatised wine products, which fall under the Vine and Wine Law.

The rest of food production is not licensed, but it cannot start without ANSA. A unit handling meat, milk, fish, eggs or honey needs a sanitary-veterinary authorisation; the others register for food safety. The law says outright that unauthorised or unregistered food activity is illegal. Moldovan products may be placed on the market only if they were made in authorised or registered units.

## Meat, dairy and fish

Slaughterhouses, cutting plants, plants making canned meat, dry-cured sausages or meat products, dairies, milk processing units and units handling fish, eggs and honey operate under the sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation. The agency issues it after an on-site inspection against a checklist. Plants that export are authorised by the agency’s head office.

The same document is required for warehouses of products of animal origin, packing centres and the vehicles that carry food; for vehicles it is valid for three years. Unidentified animals may not leave the farm, so a slaughterhouse takes only animals entered in the State Register of Animals. The rules for livestock farmers are on the page about [agriculture, viticulture and forestry](/en/industries/agriculture-viticulture-forestry).

## Bakery and other foods

The list of activities that must register is approved by ANSA Order No. 612/2024 and covers almost all plant-based production: bread and pastry, biscuits and sweets, pasta and dumplings, sugar, canned goods, juices, oil, flour, coffee, tea, spices, bottled water and soft drinks. It has a separate section for small producers who make bread, cakes, canned goods, juices, cold-pressed oil, dairy or meat products in small quantities.

You apply for the certificate with the title deed or lease for the premises. The agency examines the application within five working days, may carry out an unannounced inspection and issues the certificate within 15 working days at most. Any change to the details in the application must be reported within ten working days.

For small low-risk producers, the Government is preparing to replace this certificate with a simple notification. What the October 2026 ANSA package proposes and where it stands is explained in our article on [small local food producers and the new ANSA rules](/en/blog/small-food-producers-moldova-ansa-2026).

Once running, the plant keeps product safety under control along the whole production line, following HACCP principles adapted to the type, capacity and specifics of the unit. Results are kept for a year after the use-by date or the end of the shelf life. Every batch leaves with the producer’s quality certificate, and raw materials are accepted only with the supplier’s certificates. Staff who handle food have a medical check when hired and then at regular intervals, and receive hygiene training.

## Wine

Winemaking has code 11.02 and belongs to industry, not agriculture. The vineyard itself, with its entry in the register, the permitted varieties and the harvest declaration, is covered on the page about [agriculture, viticulture and forestry](/en/industries/agriculture-viticulture-forestry).

The Vine and Wine Register has two parts: the register of vineyards and the register of wine units. Any company that makes, processes, bottles, stores or sells wine wholesale is entered in the second. Entry is made on the basis of an application and a declaration on the company’s own responsibility, is free, and the National Office of Vine and Wine sends the number within ten days.

A wine unit keeps registers of goods in and out, oenological practices, bottling and grapes received, fills them in no later than three working days after each operation and keeps them for five years. Small producers in the same locality may keep their records on the back of their declarations. Every year it files the production declaration by 15 January and the declaration of stocks held on 31 July by 15 August. Wine for consumption leaves with a certificate of conformity or a declaration of conformity based on an accredited laboratory’s analysis. For export, ANSA issues on request the quality and safety documents that the destination country or the contract requires.

Wine pays no excise. Instead, the producer pays a contribution to the Vine and Wine Fund of 0.1 lei per litre sold, declared to the State Tax Service quarterly, by the 25th of the following month. Residents of free economic zones count as wine producers in the same way and pay the contribution like everyone else.

## Beer and spirits

The manufacturing licence is applied for with the documents for the premises and equipment and a forecast of the product range for the current year. The conditions are production capacity, owned or in use, and daily computerised records of raw materials and output. Ethyl alcohol and spirits of at least 25% also need metrologically verified measuring instruments and registered, sealed equipment. Beer is exempt from the measuring instruments and seals.

Equipment for alcohol and spirits of 25% and over runs only with instruments that measure quantity and strength, with fiscal memory, and cannot be started without the seals fitted jointly by the State Tax Service, ANSA and the metrology body. The producer sells wholesale only to companies with a licence and specialised warehouses. Spirits of 25% and over are sold in bottles with closures that cannot be refilled without leaving a trace, except for rachiu made from distillates, brandy, whisky, rum, some liqueurs and containers of up to 0.25 litres.

The licence fee is paid on issue and then every year from the date of issue, and each branch carrying out licensed activity pays the fee for a copy of the licence. New companies do not get the 50% discount that other licensed activities receive.

## Tobacco

The tobacco licence is issued for five years. The factory must have production facilities covering the full production cycle, quality-control equipment and instruments, ventilated warehouses with computerised records, and qualified specialists. Together with the licence, the manufacturing equipment is entered in the State Register of Tobacco Product Manufacturing Equipment. Pregnant women and people under 18 may not work in tobacco processing or in making tobacco products.

Cigarettes made under licence for a foreign brand are made from the blend imported from the brand owner, if the owner does not allow the blend to be prepared in Moldova. The pack leaves the factory with the excise stamp stuck directly on it, under the film, so that it tears when the pack is opened.

## Excise

A brewery, spirits plant or tobacco factory obtains the excise certificate from the State Tax Service before starting production and becomes an authorised warehousekeeper. Excise becomes due when the goods leave the tax warehouse, not when they are made. In 2026 the rates are 3.05 lei per litre of beer, 17.37 lei per litre of vermouth and other fermented drinks, 2 lei per litre of apple and pear cider and 132.27 lei per litre of pure alcohol for distillates and spirits. Grape wine is not on the list.

## Which legal form to choose

For a plant, the usual form is an SRL, which pays 12% income tax and whose liability is limited to the company’s own assets. Applications for a licence, the ANSA certificate or the sanitary-veterinary authorisation come with the title deed or lease for the premises, and the ANSA document runs for the term of the lease.

We handle the choice of CAEM codes, the articles of association, the filing with the Public Services Agency and the opening of the bank account. We prepare the applications to ANSA, to the Vine and Wine Register and for the licence, and the export paperwork, and for a foreign company we register a Moldovan company or a free economic zone resident. We can take over the accounting, including excise returns and Vine and Wine Fund contributions, from the first month. What each service includes is on the [corporate services](/en/corporate-services) page.

## Frequently asked questions

### What permit does a sausage or dairy plant need?

The sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation from ANSA, for 150 lei. You apply at the agency’s territorial office with proof of your right to the premises and a contract with a veterinarian, and the agency inspects the plant on site. If it does not answer within 20 working days, the authorisation is deemed granted. A move, an expansion or a change of activity needs a new authorisation.

### Do you need a licence to open a bakery?

No. No licence covers bread, pastry or any other food. A bakery registers with ANSA before it starts work and receives the food safety registration certificate for 150 lei. The agency inspects and answers within 15 working days at most. Staff who handle food have a medical check when hired and then at regular intervals.

### What paperwork do you need to make and sell wine?

No licence. The winery is entered free of charge in the Vine and Wine Register at the National Office of Vine and Wine and registers with ANSA. It keeps records of goods in, goods out and oenological practices, and files the production declaration by 15 January and the stock declaration by 15 August. Wine sold wholesale leaves from specialised warehouses with computerised records.

### How much does a brewery licence cost?

26,000 lei a year. The licence does not expire, but the fee is paid on issue and then on every anniversary of it. The 50% discount for companies registered less than a year before applying does not apply to alcohol and beer. Besides the licence, the brewery obtains an excise certificate from the State Tax Service and pays 3.05 lei per litre of beer.

### Can a new company make cigarettes in Moldova?

Yes, under a five-year licence from the Public Services Agency, at 26,000 lei a year. The hard part is the factory: the full production cycle, from blending to packing, quality-control equipment and instruments, wholesale warehouses with computerised records, and qualified specialists. The equipment goes into the state register, and every pack gets an excise stamp.

### What VAT rate applies to food made in Moldova?

Bread and bakery products, milk and dairy products under the tariff headings listed in the Tax Code, and beet sugar are sold with 8% VAT. Other processed foods, wine, beer, spirits and tobacco products carry the standard 20% rate. Food for children is exempt from VAT.

### What must every food plant do besides getting its permit?

Keep product safety under control along the whole production line, following HACCP principles adapted to the type and capacity of the plant. Inspection results are kept for one year after the product’s expiry date. Every batch leaves with the producer’s quality certificate, and staff who handle food have medical checks and hygiene training.

Choosing the CAEM codes, drafting the constitutive documents and filing with the Public Services Agency are part of the registration service.