VAT registration

The procedure for VAT Registration in Romania has changed yet again in January 2016. There is a questionnaire of 22 pages to be submitted at ANAF with the corresponding attachments conform with the opisul that comes with the new regulations. The VAT registration Romania process specifies that the company in question must meet a number of conditions such as: to be formally incorporated according to the laws of our country, to have a real registered office, to submit to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) all statements and claims provided by law, to submit the balance sheet for the last month prior to filing the application.

1) The taxable person must be able to perform their activity in the registered office or secondary locations. To assess this criterion one has to file an affidavit (criteria stipulated in the old legislation has been maintained in the new provisions);

2) None of the directors and / or shareholders of the taxable person seeking registration for VAT purposes, according to art. 153 para. (1) a) and c) and paragraph. (9 ^ 1) of the Tax Code and any taxable person requesting registration under art. 153 para. (1) c) and para. (9 ^ 1) of the Tax Code cannot have criminal records. If administrators and shareholders are not registered in Romania, they must submit an official declaration of showing that they do not have criminal records;

3) The administrator needs to proof his income 12 months before the application for VAT and he or she needs to provide that tax authorities with a copy of the diploma that she/he holds.

4) The most important aspect of Romanian VAT Registration process concerns the registered office. According to Romanian legal stipulations, the registered office of a company can be listed in a building owned by the company or acquired through lease or loan acquisition. In accordance with the Law No. 51/1995, the registered office can be established at an address of a law firm, but only for a maximum of 12 months. Through our especially designed service packages, our company can help you find a suitable place to establish your registered office or you can simply opt for registering your address at our law bureau location.

The Romanian tax authorities granting the VAT number will firstly assess the level of risk for the respective business depending in a series of factors: type of business, type of location of headquarters, actual company "substance" referring to the possibility of the entity to conduct the respective business in the country from the rented location, area of business (certain areas of activity are considered more risky than others: for instance in some areas of import export there are more registered cases of VAT fraud, residence of directors and shareholders, existence of Romanian directors, shareholders and employees (which is considered a positive factor). Tax authorities have also recently requested a number of additional documents from both Romanian or foreign shareholders and directors such as: proof of income (in Romania or abroad) and general business experience.

International VAT number

Romania's EU accession resulted in a massive increase of the volume of commercial transactions between Romania and EU countries. EU legislation requires companies to be registered with the Register of Intra-Community Operators (ROI) if engaging in an economic activity with companies from EU Member States. Therefore Romania adopted a procedure to be followed by companies in order to register with the Register of Intra-Community Operators.

In order to register for a EU VAT number, business entities in Romania must register as an intra-Community trade operator. There is a set of documents which must be provided in order to complete this registration process. A response shall be provided by the fiscal authority within ten days from the application. These procedures are mandatory since any business entity which omitted to register with the Registry of Intra-Community Operators shall not be provided with a valid EU VAT number, under any circumstances.

First, it is necessary for the company to be registered for VAT and then recorded in the ROI. Among the documents required, we mention: the certificate confirming company details registration which is issued by the trade Register and the criminal records of shareholders and administrators of the company.