LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

of August 24, 2026 No. 178

About the requirements of availability applied to separate types of products and services

The Parliament adopts this organic law.

This law shifts the Directive (EU) 2019/882 European parliament and Council of April 17, 2019 about the requirements of availability applied to products and services, CELEX published in the Official magazine of the European Union by L 151 of June 7, 2019: 32019L0882.

Chapter I. General provisions

Article 1. Purpose and field of regulation

This law establishes the requirements of availability applied to separate types of products and services for the purpose of providing necessary conditions for their use with all categories of persons, including persons with limited opportunities. The law regulates obligations of economic operators and service providers of the Republic of Moldova, assessment procedure of compliance of products and services to requirements of availability, measure for control of observance of requirements of availability, and also the sanctions applied in case of their non-compliance.

Article 2. Scope

(1) This law is applied to the following types of products entered on the market:

1) to consumer hardware systems of general purpose and operating systems for them;

2) to the following self-service terminals:

a) to payment terminals;

b) to the self-service terminals intended for provision of services, regulated by this law: to ATMs, ticket machines, automatic machines of registration of passengers (check-in), interactive information self-service terminals, except for the terminals established as components of vehicles, aircrafts, swimming courts or railway vehicles;

3) to the consumer terminal equipment equipped with interactive computing opportunities, used for provision of services of electronic communication;

4) to the consumer terminal equipment equipped with interactive computing opportunities, used for access to audiovisual media services;

5) to devices for reading e-books (e-readers).

(2) Without prejudice to Article 28 provisions this law is applied to the following services provided to consumers:

1) to services of electronic communication, except for the services of transfer used for provision of services of intermachine interaction (machine-to-machine);

2) to the services providing access to audiovisual media services;

3) to the following elements of services of air, rail, water and road passenger transport, except for city, suburban and regional services to which only the elements specified in the subitem e are applied):

a) to websites;

b) to the services provided by means of mobile devices including mobile applications;

c) to electronic tickets and services in electronic sale of tickets;

d) to provision of information on transport service, including information on trip in real time; to information screens this provision is applied only to the interactive screens located in the territory of the Republic of Moldova and member states of the European Union;

e) to the interactive self-service terminals located in the territory of the Republic of Moldova and member states of the European Union, except for the terminals established as components of the vehicles, aircrafts, swimming courts or railway vehicles and used for provision of any part of such services in transportation of passengers;

4) to banking services for consumers;

5) to e-books and the specialized software for them;

6) to services of electronic trading.

(3) This law is applied to processing of the spot news by the centers of acceptance of the emergency challenges 112 Single national services of the emergency challenges 112.

(4) This law is not applied to the following types of content of websites and mobile applications:

a) to previously written down media content from temporary component published after the introduction of this law in force;

b) to the formats of files of office applications published to the introduction of this law in force;

c) to online maps and cartographic services provided that the main information for the cards intended for navigation is provided in available digital format;

d) to content of the third parties which is not financed, is not developed and is not controlled by the relevant economic operator;

e) to content of websites and mobile applications which can be qualified as archives that is contain exclusively not updated and not edited content.

(5) This law does not affect situations of the Copyright law and the related rights No. 230/2022 and the Law on access to socially significant information No. 148/2023.

Article 3. Basic concepts

For the purpose of this law the following concepts mean:

1) electronic tickets – system in which the right to journey in the form of one or several tickets, travel subscriptions or means for payment of journey is stored electronically on the physical travel document or on other device instead of its printing on the paper ticket;

2) interactive computing opportunities – the functionality supporting interaction of the person with the device and allowing to process and transfer data, voice or video content or any their combination;

3) the e-book and the specialized software for it – the service consisting in provision of the electronic version of the book to which access which can be read and used and on which content it is possible to perform navigation, and also the software, including the services provided by means of the mobile devices containing mobile applications, the intended for access to the corresponding electronic files, their reading and use, and also navigation on their content, except for the software specified in determination of the concept "the device for reading e-books" can be got;

4) the center of acceptance of the emergency challenges 112 (TsPEV) – the center of call acceptance in the value determined in Item 17 of article 2 of the Law on electronic communications No. 72/2025;

5) emergency communication – communication in the value determined in Item 20 of article 2 of the Law on electronic communications No. 72/2025;

6) the consumer – any physical person in the value determined in Article 1 of the Marine life protection act of the rights of consumers No. 105/2003;

7) the distributor – physical person or legal entity in the value determined in Item 5 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

8) the consumer terminal equipment equipped with interactive computing opportunities, used for access to audiovisual media services – the equipment which basic purpose is ensuring access to audiovisual media services;

9) the e-reader – the specialized equipment including hardware both the software and used for access to files of e-books, their reading and use and also for navigation on their content;

10) the service provider – any physical person or legal entity providing service in the market of the Republic of Moldova and/or the European Union or offering offers on service provision to consumers of the Republic of Moldova and/or the European Union;

11) the importer – physical person or legal entity in the value determined in Item 8 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

12) introduction on the market – introduction on the market in the value determined in Item 9 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

13) the small and medium companies – the companies in the value determined by articles 4 and 5 of the Law on the small and medium companies No. 179/2016;

14) the microcompany – the company in the value determined by articles 4 and 5 of the Law on the small and medium companies No. 179/2016;

15) the economic operator – the producer, the authorized representative, the importer, the distributor or the service provider;

16) person with limited opportunities – person in the value determined in article 2 of the Law on social integration of persons with limited opportunities No. 60/2012;

17) producer – physical person or legal entity in the value determined in Item 14 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

18) products – the substance, medicine or product received as a result of conversion process, except for foodstuff, forages, live plants and animals, products of human origin, and also products of plant and animal origin which are directly connected with their subsequent reproduction;

19) provision in the market – provision of products in the value determined in Item 15 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

20) the authorized representative – physical person or legal entity in the value determined in Item 16 of article 2 of the Law on activities for accreditation and assessment of conformity No. 235/2011;

21) withdrawal – any measure directed to prevention of provision in the market of products which are in supply chain;

22) service – the independent economic activity which is usually performed for remuneration in that measure in what it does not fall under action of regulations on free movement of goods, the capital and faces, performed for the purpose of requirements satisfaction of consumers; services include industrial and trading activity, craft services, and also the services provided within liberal professions;

23) banking services for consumers – provision to consumers of the following banking or financial services by banks of the Republic of Moldova or the branches created in the territory of the Republic of Moldova by banks of other states and performing the activities according to the Law on activities of banks No. 202/2017:

a) the credit agreement with the consumer in the value determined in article 3 of the Law on credit agreements with consumers No. 202/2013;

b) acceptance and transfer of orders concerning one or several financial instruments; execution of orders at the expense of clients consumers; management of portfolios; rendering services in investment consulting; storage and administration of financial instruments at the expense of consumers, including custodial storage and support services, such as management of cash funds and warranty providing, except for provision and account management of securities at the highest level; provision to the investor of the credits or loans for making of the transaction with one or several financial instruments in which transaction takes part the organization granting the loan or loan by it; services in currency exchange if such services are connected with provision of investment services; researches in the field of investments and financial analysis or any other form of general recommendations for transactions with financial instruments;

c) payment services in the value determined in article 4 of the Law on payment services and electronic money No. 114/2012;

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