Relaxation of business register procedures during emergency

In the Official Gazette n. 311/14.04.2020 was published the Decree no. 240/14.04.2020 on the extension of the emergency situation on Romanian territory for a period of 30 days from 15.04.2020.

In some areas of activity, the new decree provides for changes to the special measures adopted by Decree no. 16.03.2020 on the establishment of a state of emergency on Romanian territory, thus facilitating the relationship with some public institutions.

This measure concerns the activity of the National Trade Register which, from the date of the emergency declaration has registered the reuests related to legal entities and natural persons only upon request for registration of the information in electronic form, attached or logically associated with the electronic signature.

In the Official Gazette n. 311/14.04.2020 was published the Decree no. 240/14.04.2020 on the extension of the emergency situation on Romanian territory for a period of 30 days from 15.04.2020.

In some areas of activity, the new decree provides for changes to the special measures adopted by Decree no. 16.03.2020 on the establishment of a state of emergency on Romanian territory, thus facilitating the relationship with some public institutions.

This measure concerns the activity of the National Trade Register which, from the date of the emergency declaration has registered the reuests related to legal entities and natural persons only upon request for registration of the information in electronic form, attached or logically associated with the electronic signature.

This procedure has blocked many companies from registering several applications in the Trade Register as most of the legal representatives of the companyes registered in the Trade Register do not have an electronic signature.

Pursuant to Decree 240/14.04.2020, the activity of recording requests related to legal entities and natural persons will also be carried out on the basis of written requests on paper.

Another novelty is that the rules concerning the form of self-declarations and the signing of models requesred at the registration of the documents by the Trade Registry were smplified.  Before the State of Emergency, these documents had to be authenticated/certified by a public notary or handed over to the official designated in the Trade Register for validity. In practice, these procedures could no longer be carried out because of the suspension of the activities of notarial offices and public services by the Trade Register during the State of Emergency.

According to the provisions of Decree 240/14.04.2020, the declaration under its own responsibility may take the form of a written signature (only with autograph signature) or an electronic form (From this it is understood that the electronic document does not need signature, but it is sufficient to indicate the name of the person issuing the declaration at the end of the document).

The signature template may also take the form of a notarized document or lawyer’s certificate, or the form of private signature inscription (with only a handwritten signature).