Romania

Europe

Country Guide - VAT in Romania

September 22, 2025

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Standard VAT Rate	Reporting Frequency	VAT Rate for ESS	Digital Reporting		Reporting Currency
21%	Monthly/Quarterly	21%	Domestic	B2G/B2B/B2C and SAF-T	RON
			Non-Resident	B2G/B2B/B2C and SAF-T

VAT in Romania - Three Types of Rates

In 2025, the Romanian government increased the standard VAT rate from 19% to 21% and merged two previously existing reduced VAT rates into a single reduced VAT rate. Therefore, the previously applicable 5% and 9% reduced VAT rates are no longer in effect, and the new consolidated 11% standard VAT rate is now applicable.

There are three types of VAT rates in Romania:

Standard VAT rate,
Reduced VAT rate,
Zero VAT rate.

Romania VAT Rate	Type	Applicability
21%	Standard VAT rate	Applies to all taxable supplies of goods and services, except those that are exempt from tax or that are not subject to the reduced rate
11%	Reduced VAT rate	Applies to accommodation in the hotel sector or sectors with a similar function, including the rental of land set up for camping, restaurant, and catering services, tickets for swimming pools, amusement parks, recreational parks, fairs, and similar cultural events, and other transactions previously subject to the repealed 5% VAT rate
0%	Zero VAT rate	Applies to Intra-community supplies and the export of goods to non-EU countries

How Much is VAT in Romania’s Regions?

Romania is one of the EU Member States without special VAT rates, and there are no particular regions with different Romania VAT rate.

VAT Registration Threshold

The VAT Romania Law, official guidelines, and comments from the competent government bodies contain valuable information about the VAT threshold in Romania and its applicable provisions.

Resident and non-resident businesses with a permanent establishment in Romania must register for VAT once they exceed the registration threshold of RON 395,000. There is no specific registration threshold for non-resident businesses without a permanent establishment.

The EU VAT Directive introduced a uniform VAT registration threshold of EUR 10,000 at the EU level for intra-Community distance sales of goods and B2C supplies of services, which Romania, as an EU member, adopted and implemented. However, no registration threshold is provided for non-EU established suppliers of Electronically Supplied Services.

Romania also transposed the EU SME scheme into national legislation, enabling Romanian businesses to apply the small business exemption in other EU states if their turnover is under EUR 100,000, and vice versa. In addition to the EU-wide threshold, Romania also set a domestic threshold at RON 395,000 (approximately EUR 77,800).

Types of Taxable Activities in Romania

Any individual or business that independently carries out one or more economic activities considered taxable under the VAT Romania law is treated as a taxable person.

These economic activities considered taxable are the supply of goods or services in Romania for compensation, the reception of reverse-charge services, the exportation of goods, and the importation of goods.

VAT Registration Process

The registration process for VAT purposes in Romania differs for domestic and foreign businesses, both within the EU and outside of it.

Romania VAT Registration for Domestic Businesses

Domestic businesses and individuals, commonly referred to as taxable persons, involved in taxable activities must register for VAT once they exceed Romania's VAT registration threshold of RON 395,000. Domestic taxable persons below this threshold are not required to register, but may do so if they wish to.

Taxable persons exceeding the registration threshold must submit Form 098 within ten days from the end of the month they reached or exceeded this threshold. With Form 098, local businesses must submit the Trade Register Extract, legalized copies of the directors' ID documents, and other relevant documents.

Romania VAT Registration for Foreign Businesses

All foreign businesses must register for VAT in Romania if they are engaged in taxable activities, more precisely, before commencing any taxable activity. Businesses established in another EU country do not need to appoint a tax representative to complete the VAT registration process in Romania. Conversely, non-EU companies must appoint a tax representative established in Romania who is also liable for the foreign company's tax-related matters.

Additionally, the documents required for EU businesses differ slightly from those for non-EU businesses, which include the expected annual sales and revenues.

VAT Returns in Romania

The filing frequency for VAT returns in Romania depends on the annual turnover generated by the VAT-registered persons. In addition to this criterion, another critical factor is determining how often VAT returns must be submitted. The second criterion is whether the intra-Community acquisitions of goods were performed during the previous year.

VAT-registered persons involved in the intra-Community acquisitions of goods or with an annual turnover above EUR 100,000 must submit monthly VAT returns. Those not engaged in such activities or with an annual turnover of less than EUR 100,000 may submit quarterly VAT returns.

Penalties for Failure to File Tax Return

The penalty for failing to file a tax return depends on several factors, including the frequency of the offense, whether it was corrected voluntarily by the offender or only after receiving notification from the Tax Authority, and the number of days that have passed since the filing deadline. Once all factors are considered, the penalty can vary from RON 1,000 to RON 5,000.

Additional penalties, ranging from RON 500 to RON 5,000, are imposed for non-compliance with deadlines and rules regarding tax registration or the cancellation of tax registration.

VAT Rules for Electronically Supplied Services

Following the harmonized VAT rules at the EU level, Romania implemented the most important rules from the EU VAT Directive into its national legislation. Rules on Electronically Supplied Services (ESS) are also part of the new EU-wide VAT rules and, as such, are also incorporated into Romanian VAT law.

Taxability Rules for ESS:

The EU-wide rules are precise regarding the B2B supply of ESS, the B2C supply of ESS, and VAT for distance sales of goods and B2C ESS.

For the B2B supply of ESS, general rules regarding the place of supply apply. For the B2C supply of ESS provided by foreign taxable persons, the VAT rate applicable to the consumer's country of residence is used.

For VAT on distance sales of goods and B2C ESS, the rules are different for taxable persons below the EU-harmonized threshold of EUR 10,000 and those above this threshold. Taxable persons below the threshold may apply their countries' VAT rates or voluntarily register for OSS and comply with those rules. Taxable persons above the threshold must apply the VAT rate applicable to the consumer's home country, e.g., the VAT rate Romania.

How much is VAT in Romania on ESS?

The Romania VAT rate for ESS is 21%.

E-Commerce Rules

Since 2021, the European Union has introduced new rules for e-commerce, regulating cross-border sales of goods valued up to EUR 150 from non-EU countries, imposing the deemed suppliers' rules for online platforms, and further expanding the scope of the previously established Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) to the current One Stop Shop (OSS) system.

In this process of additional regulation of the e-commerce industry in the EU, a third scheme was added to the two established with the MOSS, so that the current OSS counts three schemes:

Union Scheme,
Non-Union Scheme,
Import Scheme.

VAT EU Reporting

In Romania, taxable persons are required to submit both the EC Sales List (ESL) and Intrastat reports under different conditions.

EC Sales List

Every taxable person providing goods or services to another EU-based business must submit a monthly ESL within 25 days after the end of the previous period.

Unlike some other EU countries, Romania does not have a specific threshold for ESL reporting. However, like some other EU countries, a nil ESL return is not required when taxable persons are not engaged in intra-EU transactions.

The Romanian Tax Authority may impose a fine, similar to late VAT return filing, ranging from RON 1,000 to RON 5,000 on taxable persons who fail to file ESL on time.

Intrastat

Intrastat must be reported monthly if the company's annual turnover exceeds the thresholds for arrivals and dispatches, both set at RON 1,000,000. It must be reported starting the first month after exceeding the threshold.

The deadline for Intrastat is the 15th of the month following the end of the period, which differs from that for VAT returns and ESL filing.

Digital Reporting

Local Businesses

In Romania, there are two types of digital reporting that local businesses must comply with:

E-invoicing,
Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T).

E-invoicing

In 2021, Romania launched the RO e-Invoicing platform (RO e-Factura) for exchanging e-invoices for B2G and B2B transactions. Initially, e-invoicing was mandatory only for B2G transactions. Between 2022 and 2024, the Romanian government introduced e-invoicing rules in several phases for business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

All invoices related to B2G or B2B transactions must be sent to the RO e-Factura system within five calendar days from the invoice date.

As of July 1, 2024, all businesses can voluntarily submit invoices related to B2C transactions to the RO-e Factura system. However, on January 1, 2025, these requirements became mandatory for domestic taxable persons, who must report B2C domestic transactions within five calendar days.

Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T)

In 2022, the National Tax Authority of Romania (ANAF) issued an official Order to implement the SAF-T system in several phases from 2022 until January 1, 2025. The first taxpayers to fall under the scope of SAF-T were large taxpayers in 2022, followed by medium taxpayers in 2023. From 2025, small taxpayers are subject to SAF-T requirements. Additionally, as of January 1, 2025, all newly registered taxpayers are required to comply with SAF-T rules.

There are three types of SAF-T declarations, known as Form 406: Declaration 406, submitted monthly; Declaration 406 for Fixed Assets, submitted yearly; and Declaration 406 for Inventory, submitted upon request by the Tax Authority.

Non-Resident Businesses

Non-resident businesses registered for VAT in Romania must follow the same rules and meet the exact requirements regarding e-invoicing and SAF-T as local businesses do.

What is the VAT registration threshold in Romania?

In Romania, the VAT registration threshold for domestic taxable persons is RON 395,000, whereas there is no such threshold for foreign taxable persons.

Do foreign businesses need to appoint tax representatives for VAT registration?

The answer to this question depends on whether foreign businesses are located in another EU Member State or a non-EU country. Those from other EU countries are not required to appoint a tax representative, whereas those from non-EU countries must do so.

What determines VAT return filing frequency?

Two factors for determining VAT return filing frequency are intra-community acquisitions of goods and annual turnover. VAT-registered persons engaged in intra-community acquisitions of goods and whose annual turnover is above EUR 100,000 must submit monthly VAT returns. If VAT-registered persons are not involved in such activities or their turnover does not exceed EUR 100,000, they may file VAT returns quarterly.

What is the Intrastat threshold in Romania?

The Intrastat reporting threshold is RON 1,000,000 for either imports from or exports to another EU Member State.

What are digital reporting requirements in Romania?

In Romania, VAT-registered persons face both e-invoicing and SAF-T reporting requirements.

What transactions are subject to e-invoicing rules?

E-invoicing rules are implemented for B2G and B2B transactions. Until January 1, 2025, B2C transactions could be reported through the RO-e Factura system on a voluntary basis, but this became mandatory as of 2025.

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