What declaration do you have to file starting this year?

Given the multitude of tax and reporting changes that were implemented last year, it is important to highlight one that may have been overlooked or not given its due importance, namely the extension of the reporting obligation for RO-e Transport.

Extension of the RO-e Transport obligation from 2024

Another impact change for companies with the advent of GEO 115/2023 is the obligation to report goods with high fiscal risk within Romania (for cars over 2.5 tons or over 500 kg weight of goods or over 10,000 lei value), but also for all goods in international transport. Initially, the obligation only concerned the transport of goods with high fiscal risk. It now applies to all international road haulage of goods on national territory.

What is declared?

Data on the consignor and consignee, the name, characteristics, quantities and value of the goods transported, the places of loading and unloading, details of the means of transport used for the international carriage of goods are declared.

Who declares?

1. the consignee entered on the customs import declaration or the consignor entered on the customs export declaration in the case of goods covered by import or export operations, as appropriate;

2. the beneficiary in Romania in the case of intra-Community acquisitions of goods;

3. the supplier in Romania in the case of intra-Community supplies of goods;

4. the warehousekeeper, in the case of goods which are the subject of intra-Community transactions in transit, both for goods unloaded on Romanian territory for storage or for the formation of a new consignment from one or more consignments of goods, and for goods loaded after storage or after the formation of a new consignment on national territory from one or more consignments of goods.

Although this obligation came into force on 15 December 2023, the only “good news” is that GEO 115/2023 also states that the sanctions will apply from 1 July 2024. The penalties apply to both individuals (between 10,000 and 50,000) and legal entities (between 20,000 and 100,000 lei) as well as the confiscation of the value of undeclared goods.

What are the steps to follow?

To report RO e-Transport to ANAF, access the RO e-Transport system from the taxpayer’s Virtual Private Space (VPS) and fill in, in the dedicated sections: data related to trading partners, goods transported, including their description, characteristics, quantities and value, places of loading and unloading or details about the type of transport used.

The e-Transport report is made by sending the .xml file with the above mentioned data, which will be subject to a series of validations by the tax authority, like the other ANAF reports.

Based on the checks, if the information is entered correctly, the system will apply the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance, which certifies receipt of the declaration. In case of incorrect completion, the return cannot be submitted to the system and the taxpayer will receive an .xml file with the errors identified. The data declared in the RO e transport to ANAF can be modified before entering the national territory or before the vehicle with which the transport is carried out is put in motion.

After data transmission and validation, the RO e Transport System automatically generates a unique identification code (UIT), which will be used as a reference and is valid for 5 days from the date of commencement of the transport. The ITU code assigned to the carrier will be affixed to the transport documentation and the drivers of the vehicles transporting the goods are obliged to hold the ITU code for the duration of the transport.

In the case of the following situations: intra-Community acquisitions of goods, intra-Community transactions in transit, commercial operations representing a non-transfer, transport of goods representing stocks at the disposal of the customer according to the Fiscal Code, the validity period for the ITU code is extended from 5 to 15 calendar days.