The History and Timeline of e-Invoicing in Romania
The Romanian Ministry of Finance has taken the place of e-compliance for SAF-T, e-Transport and e-Invoicing. With the scope of SAF-T, MoF included 3 different types of report which are; monthly D-406 declaration, yearly D-406 asset declaration and on-demand D-406 stock information declaration. This requirement has gradually become mandatory. As of January 2022, it became mandatory for large taxpayers, as of January 2023 became mandatory for medium taxpayers and as of 2025, will become mandatory for small taxpayers.
In parallel, the Ministry of Finance also implemented the e-Transport in electronic system in order to monitor and track the transportation of high-fiscal-risk products for the taxpayers starting from July 2022. These products are including: alcohol, fruits and vegetables, minerals and so on. The scope contains all domestic, exports, imports and intra-community transactions. This e-Transport obligation is completed through the virtual private space (SPV).
The B2B and B2G e-Invoicing was originally announced in Romania back in September 2021, with the Romanian Ministry of Finance’s draft law publication regarding the B2G e-invoicing enablement through the RO e-Factura system of the ANAF.
Right after this announcement, in October 2021, Ministry of Finance created a pilot program in order to test the system of e-Factura for B2G invoicing in Romania, included in the Ordinance no. 120/2021.
What are the Requirements for e-Invoicing in Romania?
The Romanian Ministry of Finance has approved the technical aspects of the e-Factura at the end of the same year, December 2021 with Order no. 1366/2021. That elevated the speed of e-Invoicing obligation across the country and accepted the CIUS_RO format. Both B2B and B2G invoicing was a voluntary basis for the taxpayers, as long as both parties were registered in the e-Factura system.
Is e-Invoicing Mandatory in Romania?
Ministry of Finance’s determination to use of the e-Factura took a step further, and in January 2022, it was announced that B2B e-invoicing obligation for the high-tax-risk products (such as; fruits and vegetables, alcoholic beverages, minerals, construction materials, clothing and footwear) would become mandatory to use e-Invoicing through e-Factura system in order to reduce the VAT gap and tax evasion, starting from July 2022.
Who is Liable to Send e-Invoices in Romania?
Recently, in September 2023, the Ministry of Finance has published a draft law regarding the extending the scope of the e-invoicing obligation of B2B e-invoicing for not only VAT-registered and residents but also for the non-resident taxpayers from January 1, 2024.
Starting from the 1st of January, 2024, the taxpayers shall send their invoices to the Ministry of Finance through the e-Factura system, within the five days of issuance of the invoice. There will be a grace period until the end of March 2024 for the taxpayers, meaning that starting from April 2024, there will be penalties and fines for the non-compliance depending on their business sizes. These fines will be; RON 5.000 – 10.000 for the large entities, RON 2.500 – 5.000 for medium entities and RON 500 – 2.500 for other entities.
How Do You Send e-Invoices in Romania?
According to the draft law for e-Invoicing in Romania, only domestic invoices are included in the scope for the period of January 2024 – June 2024. Non-domestic and intra-community invoices will become mandatory in the scope by the beginning of July 2024. Both the sender and the receiver shall be registered in the e-Factura system. After July 2024, the main aim is to make a full clearance model of e-invoicing, as it is now Italy’s FatturaPA.
In the technical aspect, the requested format is the XML (UBL 2.1) in accordance with the RO_CIUS. e-Signature is not mandatory, yet the Ministry of Finance will implement e-Seal on the document for its validation and completion. Aside from that, the receivers are able to get their invoices manually, via APIs or through a service provider. In addition, archiving these e-invoices for 10 years is also mandatory.
To sum up, e-Invoicing scope will gradually expand its scope in the upcoming months and is planning to implement a full clearance model to reduce tax fraud and increase the accuracy and transparency.
