Ecommerce in Romania Main Legal and Tax Aspects
Ecommerce in Romania Main Legal and Tax Aspects
Ecommerce in Romania Main Legal and Tax Aspects
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Before opening an eShop in Romania, i.e. before commencement of offering goods or services to customers via an eShop, legal requirements of
Romanian and EU law have to be taken into account. The legal regulation of eShops comprises mainly the obligation of formal establishment of the
operator of the eShop, general contract requirements, requirements relating to consumer protection and also personal data processing.
1. Formal establishment
An eShop can be operated by a legal person, Romanian or foreign.
Romanian entities need to obtain a trade authorization from the Trade Register covering the intended scope of activity carried out through the
eShop. The activity which needs to be authorized for this type of business is CAEN Code 4791 - Retail by order houses or via the Internet.
Foreign entities residing in the EU, which are entitled to operate an eShop in their country of residence/establishment, may run an eShop in
Romania, having a duty to register as tax payer if certain values are exceeded.
3. Consumer protection
Consumer protection in Romania stems partially from the EU harmonization; therefore, provisions similar to the Romanian regulations can be
expected also in other EU countries. On the other hand, EU countries are allowed to apply some additional consumer protection arrangements, so
rules applicable in each EU country (including the Romania) should be crosschecked. For an eShop, especially provisions relating to consumer
contracts (and particularly to distance contracts) are relevant. A distance contract is a contract (i) concluded without simultaneous physical presence
of the parties (ii) by using one or more means of distance communication (e.g. the Internet).
Among these rules, it is possible to highlight provisions imposing information obligation on the trader towards the consumer, provisions regulating
the process of concluding the contract and provisions regulating the content of the contract (prohibited provisions, termination of the contract, quality
guarantee and the consumer's claims from defects of the performance etc.). The operator of the eShop should secure that the web page where the
eShop is located contains all the information required by law and that the contract concluded through the eShop respects all the consumer's rights.
The Romanian Authority is this area is the National Authority for Consumer Protection.
Before conclusion of a contract, i.e. generally before an order through the eShop is finished, the consumer should be informed about:
The identity of the trader
His address, contact details
Registration Number, Vat Number
Specification of the goods or services offered, final price of the goods and services (including all taxes and fees)
Means of payment and delivery, delivery costs
Claims arising from faulty performance or warranty and conditions for their application
Length of duration of the contract
Ways to terminate it (steps, period for withdrawal and procedure of withdrawal included), costs of distance communication, amount of
eventual advance payments
ANSPDCP registration number
Competent body for settlement of consumer disputes etc.
All the information provided before conclusion of the contract should form part of the concluded contract. The most suitable way to fulfil this duty is to
include the information into the general commercial terms. The general commercial terms should be easily accessible on the web page where the
eShop is placed. Before placing the order, the customer should acknowledge the general commercial terms.
Consumers should be informed about particular steps of concluding the contract and before final placing of the order should have a chance to verify
and eventually correct the data inserted into the order. The trader should also inform the consumer where the concluded contract is available for the
consumer, about languages in which the contract can be concluded or any rules of behaviour bounding on the trader.
After the order is placed by the consumer, the trader is obligated to immediately confirm receipt of the order also by one of the means of distance
communication (for example by an e-mail).
The contract concluded through the eShop is regulated by the applicable law. For a private contract, the principle of contractual freedom usually
applies, nevertheless in case of consumer contracts; the freedom is to a significant extent limited in favour of the consumer.
First of all, certain provisions are explicitly prohibited by law and cannot be applied by the trader. Arrangements establishing disproportional
unbalance between rights and obligations of the trader and of the consumer are prohibited in general.
In addition, the contract cannot contain arrangements restricting or excluding consumers' rights from faulty performance, allowing the trader to
withdraw from the contract without any reason, allowing the trader to change unilaterally rights and obligations of the parties to the contract,
disallowing the consumer to file an action at court and forcing him to sue the trader at an arbitration court not being bound by the consumer
protection provisions etc.
Romanian law contains also some provisions protecting consumers that are applicable for all sales contracts, not only distance contracts. It is worth
mentioning that under these provisions the consumer is entitled to raise claims from faulty performance within 24 months from takeover of the goods
(or within the warranty period stated on the cover). These provisions also determine the respective claims consumers have in case of faulty
performance.
In case of distance contracts consumers also have the right to withdraw from the contract without any reason within 14 days from takeover of the
goods (it is sufficient that the consumer dispatched the withdrawal announcement within this term). For avoidance of disputes, it is recommended to
offer to the customers a template withdrawal form. When this form is used by the customer, the trader is obligated to confirm its receipt within undue
delay. The consumer must return the goods obtained on the basis of the contract within 14 days from the withdrawal. Within the same period, the
trader is obligated to return the price paid by the consumer together with delivery costs in the manner the price was paid or in a manner agreed on
with the consumer.
1. Tax Registrations
Conducting a business on the territory of Romania is usually connected with various tax registrations. The corporate income tax registration and
value added tax registration are the most common for an eShop.
Provided that the eShop carries out its activities through a company established for this purpose in Romania, it is liable to register for corporate
income tax purposes within 30 days from the establishment of the company, i.e. from its registration in the Commercial Register.
If, on the other hand, the eShop would have no physical presence on the Romanian territory, the liability to corporate income tax registration and
related duties would not arise.
Nevertheless, even if no Romania based company is set up to operate the eShop, it is highly recommendable to pay close attention to any activities
the eShop carries out on the Romanian territory. Certain activities carried out by the foreign eShop on the territory of Romania could lead to creation
of its Romanian permanent establishment. Once created the permanent establishment would be liable to corporate income tax duties in Romania.
It would a difficult exercise to provide a full list of activities that would or would not lead to permanent establishment creation. To come up with a
relevant conclusion on this issue, both the Romanian tax legislation and the Double Tax Treaty, concluded between Romania and the country of
which the entity operating the eShop is a tax resident, should be analyzed.
Possession of a warehouse that is used solely for the purposes of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the
foreign e-shop
Maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying out activities which have a preparatory or auxiliary character for
the foreign eShop, e.g. existence of a collection point for goods returned by the customers, provision of marketing research activities
Location of a server on which the website used to perform the internet sale in Romania is placed
Presence of a person on the territory of Romania acting on behalf of the foreign eShop who has and habitually exercises an authority to
conclude contracts in the name of the eShop
Once registered for corporate income tax purposes, the eShop is liable to file its Romanian corporate income tax return on a quarterly basis and one
annual corporate tax return. The quarterly corporate tax returns must be submitted by the 25th of the month following the end of the quarter, while
the annual corporate tax return should be submitted by the 25th March of the following year. The corporate income tax liabilities (self assessed by
the eShop) are payable within the filing deadlines detailed above.
Provided that the eShop has registered seat, place of business or fixed establishment in Romania, the threshold for mandatory VAT registration is
the turnover of RON 220,000 (approx. EUR 48,000) in a calendar year.
A foreign taxable person that realizes long-distance sales (i.e. sale of goods through eShop) in the Romania to Romanian final customer has to
register for VAT purposes if the total value of the goods supplied to the Romanian customers reaches RON 118,000 (approx. EUR 26,000) in a
calendar year.
The entity operating the eShop (both Romanian and foreign) may however apply for voluntary VAT registration. The process of registration is rather
time consuming and requires preparing a file with consistent information about the Company, shareholders and administrators.
Once VAT registered, a liability to file VAT returns through which the VAT liability or entitlement to VAT recovery are reported arises. Companies
with turnover below EUR 100,000 fill VAT returns on a quarterly basis by the 25 th of the month following the end of the quarter. Companies obtaining
a turnover exceeding the threshold of EUR 100,000 should submit the VAT returns on a monthly basis by the 25th of the following month.
The amount of VAT liability consists of the VAT due on supply of goods and services carried out decreased by input VAT of the same period.
Aside from the VAT returns, tax payers are also obliged to submit other informative VAT returns: (i) the VIES return regarding the EU transactions
(form 390) and (ii) the domestic informative return (return 394) which contains details such invoice number, identification of supplier or customer, tax
base, VAT).
The VAT informative returns are filed within the same deadlines as are relevant for VAT returns filing. These returns are only a reporting tool that
allows financial authorities to have more control over correct and complete reporting of VAT liabilities.
The liability to other tax registrations should be assessed with regard to the nature of the eShop and its operations. As relevant examples could
serve registration to personal income tax from employment activities provided that the entity operating the e-shop has employees, obligation to pay
local taxes if the entity operating the eShop operates vehicles or owns real estate properties in Romania etc.
2. Acquisition of goods
To be able to realize the customer supplies, the eShop will first acquire the relevant goods. The decision on the supplier of the goods to be sold by
the eShop will most likely be business driven. Nevertheless, the VAT liabilities relevant to the purchase transaction must be assessed in line with the
VAT legislation to avoid any negative consequences.
The diversity of purchase (of goods) transactions is almost unlimited. Below are commented on the most common ones.
Provided that the eShop seated in Romania will acquire goods locally (i.e. from a taxable person registered for VAT in Romania), the eShop, as the
purchasing party will be entitled to claim input VAT through its VAT return.
The relevant VAT may be claimed based on an invoice containing all the prerequisites defined by the VAT legislation.
Payment
When acquiring goods from other EU member states, reverse charge mechanism applies to the purchasing party - VAT registered eShop in
Romania.
Under the reverse charge mechanism, the supplier of the goods treats the delivery of the goods to a customer seated in another EU country as
exempt from VAT. The purchasing party (i.e. the Romanian VAT registered eShop) is subsequently obliged to declare the output VAT relevant to the
acquisition of goods from other EU member state through its Romanian VAT return. Simultaneously, the input VAT relevant to the purchase of the
goods may under standard conditions be claimed through the Romanian VAT return.
The import of goods to Romania by Romanian registered VAT payer is reported in his VAT return through the reverse charge mechanism and in the
same time, the input VAT is paid to the customs authorities. The input VAT relevant to the purchase of the goods may under standard conditions be
claimed through the Romanian VAT return.
The assessment and collection of VAT will be in the hands of the customs authority if the import to Romania will be realized by a person not VAT
registered in Romania.
a. Romania seated and VAT registered eShop sells goods to Romanian customer (non taxable person); the goods are located
on the territory of Romania at the moment of sale.
Under this scenario, the eShop will be liable to apply output VAT on the sale of the goods.
b. The Romanian seated and VAT registered eShop sells goods to an EU customer (non taxable person). The goods are
located on the territory of Romania at the moment of sale.
c. EU seated and VAT registered eShop sells goods to a Romanian final customer (non taxable person)
d. The Romanian seated and VAT registered eShop sells goods to a third country customer (non taxable person). The goods
are located on Romanian territory at the moment of sale.
Under this scenario, the sold goods exit from the territory of the EU and are released to export customs regime. Should this be the case the sale of
goods to the final customer (non taxable person) would be exempt from VAT in Romania. Any duty and VAT could be assessed to the customer
based on the legislation of the country of destination.
Disclaimer
Please note that our publications have been prepared for general guidance on the matter and do not represent a customized professional advice. Furthermore,
because the legislation is changing continuously, some of the information may have been modified after the publication has been released. Accace does not take
19 | eCommerce
any responsibility and is not in
liable for any potential
Romania Main Legal and
risks or Tax Aspects
damages caused by taking actions based on the information provided herein.
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