New tax benefits and tax deferrals

On 16 October a draft legislative act concerning certain tax measures was published on the website of Min. Finance, which essentially lays down the following:

• for principal and ancillary tax liabilities whose date for payment has expired after the date of the emergency declaration and not notified until the date of issue of the tax certificate administered by the central tax authority, hereinafter referred to as the tax authority, the payment plan for a period not exceeding 12 months shall be approved;
• the same applies to tax credits: fines administered by the tax authorities and budget credits established by other budgetary individuals and sent to ANAF for implementation (e.g. court decisions);
• minimum limit of the amount for which the payment installment is granted: 500 lei for natural persons and 5,000 lei for legal persons;
• the request for payment of the installment will be submitted by 15 December, subject to the penalty of revocation;
• the conditions for the approval of the payment schedule and for the subsequent maintenance of the payment schedule must be fulfilled;
• interest and penalties for late payment are still calculated for the period of installments of payment.
• the issuing of the installment decision also suspends enforcement (if enforcement has commenced) or no enforcement is initiated. Those with bank accounts that have been blocked will be able to use only future sums received after notification to the bank of the address to suspend the forced execution.

Other provisions:

• taxpayers subject to the payment of specific taxes for certain activities (hotels, restaurants, bars, catering) shall not be liable for specific taxes for the period from the date of entry into force of this emergency order to 31 December 2020 inclusive.
• Local Councils may take decisions until 2 December 2020 on the reduction of the building tax/annual exemption for buildings under the following conditions:
  • reduction of annual real estate tax at a rate of up to 50% for non-residential buildings owned by natural or legal persons, used for their economic activity or put into service under a rental agreement, Convenient or otherwise procured for carrying out economic activities to other natural or legal persons, as appropriate, if, during the period for which the state of emergency and/or alert has been established, as a result of the effects of the SARS-crown epidemicCOV2;
  • exemption from the payment of the monthly rent for buildings owed by concessionaires, tenants, holders of rights to the administration or use of a building, publicly or privately owned by state or territorial administrative units, where appropriate, during the period for which the state of emergency and/or alarm was established due to the effects of the SAR-Cov-2 virus pandemic, the users of buildings were legally obliged to cease their economic activity altogether.
• extension of the time limits laid down by the OUG. 6/2019 on the restructuring of debtors whose debts exceed 1 million lei, with the granting of new deadlines.

• amend the provisions of the Tax Code as regards the deductibility of certain expenses, namely the expenses incurred by the employer/payer in carrying out medical examinations to diagnose COVID-19 infection, on its own initiative, for natural persons who receive wages, are tax deductible, in order to detect and prevent the spread of the SAR-Cov-2 corona virus to ensure safe and healthy work during the establishment of a state of emergency or alarm, as required by law.