As of January 1st 2023, the sanctions for failing to comply with the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 41/2022 on the creation of the National System for monitoring the road transport of high fiscal risk goods enter into force.
A. Status
The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 41/2022 on the creation of the National System for monitoring the road transport of high fiscal risk goods RO e-Transport and repealing art. XXVIII of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 130/2021 (“GEO no. 41/2022”) was published in the Official Gazette no. 365 / 11 April 2022 and has entered into force on the same date.
B. The purpose of GEO no. 41/2022
The purpose of GEO no. 41/2022 is to encourage the collection of taxes, as well as to prevent the illicit trade of goods, by implementing an IT system for monitoring the transport of goods, namely the RO e-Transport IT system (“RO e-Transport System”), a system interconnected with other IT systems operated by the Ministry of Finance, namely the system for monitoring electronic invoices and the system for monitoring intra-community acquisitions (RO e-Factura and Trafic control, respectively).
C. Obligations under GEO no. 41/2022
The companies dealing with high fiscal risk goods and falling under the categories below must declare certain data in in the RO e-Transport System, namely data regarding the consignor, the beneficiary, as well as, in relation to the transported goods: the name, the characteristics, the quantities and value, the loading and unloading places, the details regarding the means of transport used and the unique code generated in the RO e-Transport System (UIT).
High fiscal risk goods are defined (according to Order no. 802/2022 issued by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (the “NAFA”)) as:
a. vegetables, plants, roots and tubers, food, falling within CN codes 0701 to 0714;
b. edible fruits; peel of citrus fruits or melons falling within CN codes 0801 to 0814;
c. beverages, alcoholic beverages and vinegar, falling within CN codes 2201 to 2208;
d. salt; sulfur; earth and stones; plaster, lime and cement falling within CN codes 2505 and 2517;
e. knitted or crocheted clothing and clothing accessories falling within CN codes 6101 to 6117;
f. clothing and clothing accessories, other than knitted or crocheted, falling within CN codes 6201 to 6212 and CN codes 6214 to 6217;
g. footwear, gaiters and similar articles; parts of such articles falling within CN codes 6401 to 6405;
h. cast iron, iron and steel, falling within CN codes 7213 and 7214.
Companies subject to the obligations under GEO no. 41/2022:
a. the consignee or consignor entered on the import or export customs declaration with respect to high fiscal risk goods;
b. the beneficiary in Romania, in the case of intracommunity acquisitions of high fiscal risk goods;
c. the Romanian supplier, in the case of internal transactions or intracommunity deliveries of high fiscal risk goods;
d. the depositary, both for the high fiscal risk goods unloaded on the territory of Romania for storage or for the formation of a new transport, and for the high fiscal risk goods loaded after storage or after the formation of a new transport on the national territory;
e. the economic operator, for high fiscal risk goods owned and transported between the place of loading and the place of unloading, located in Romania;
f. the service provider in Romania in the case of commercial operations representing a non-transfer both for the goods unloaded on the territory of Romania for the provision of services, and for the resulting goods reshipped to the state of the commercial partner;
g. the beneficiary from Romania in the case of commercial operations representing a non-transfer both for the goods shipped from Romania for the provision of services in a Member State of the European Union, and for the resulting goods reshipped to Romania;
h. the customer from Romania in the case of commercial operations that subscribe to the regime of stocks at the disposal of the customer, where Romania is the Member State to which the goods were shipped or transported, both for the goods unloaded on the territory of Romania and for the goods delivered at a later stage after arrival, to another taxable person in Romania or in case the such goods are returned to the Member State from which they were originally shipped or transported;
i. the supplier from Romania in the case of commercial operations that fall under the regime of vendor-managed inventory, where Romania is the Member State from which the goods were shipped or transported, both for the goods shipped from Romania, and in the case where such goods are returned to Romania.
According to Order no. 1190/4625/2022, jointly issued by the NAFA and the Romanian Customs Authority (the “RCA”), for the approval of the Procedure on the usage and operation of the RO e-Transport System (the “Order no. 1190/4625/2022”), the types of vehicles subject to monitoring under the RO e-Transport System are the vehicles which:
i. have a maximum authorized mass of minimum 3.5 tons; and
ii. are loaded with high fiscal risk goods having a total gross mass of over 500 kg or a total value of over RON 10,000 (i.e., app. EUR 2,000), related to at least one commercial relationship.
D. Sanctions under GEO no. 41/2022
As regards companies, the sanctions for breaching certain provisions of GEO no. 41/2022 (such as not declaring the high fiscal risk goods, as set out under GEO no. 41/2022) may consist in (i) an administrative fine ranging from RON 20,000 (i.e., app. EUR 4,000) to RON 100,000 (i.e., app. EUR 20,000), as well as, if applicable, (ii) the seizure of the value of the undeclared goods. The sanctions may be applied by authorized persons from the NAFA, the RCA, as well as by officers and police agents from the Romanian Police.
As of 1 July 2022, the provisions of GEO no. 41/2022 are mandatory for all entities subject to the obligation to declare data with the RO e-Transport. However, the relevant authorities may apply sanctions related to non-compliance with such obligations as of 1 January 2023.
E. Possible further developments
The representative of the Fiscal Anti-fraud General Directorate (in Romanian: Direcția Generală Antifraudă Fiscală) recently indicated possible further developments of the RO e-Transport System regulations, among which the submission for debate of a proposal setting out that, in order for a transport to be subject to monitoring through the RO e-Transport System, such transport should meet both conditions provided in Section C letter ii) above regarding weight (over 500 kg) and value (over RON 10,000).
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