Foreign companies in Romania: which taxes and filings apply, by situation
Most foreign companies do not need everything Romania can ask for. What applies depends on one fact: what your company physically does here. Pick your situation below and you get the obligations that follow from it, the deadlines, the legal basis and the page to continue on. Written by licensed Romanian tax advisers; no software summaries.
- EU and non-EU companies
- VAT, e-Factura, e-Transport, SAF-T
- No travel, fully online
- Correspondence in English, Italian or Romanian
Checked against the legal texts on · Reviewed by Silvia, Chartered Accountant (CECCAR)
Start from your situation
Six situations cover almost every foreign company we work with. Each card lists what it triggers; the full section follows below.
- 01Stock in a Romanian warehouse or marketplaceYour goods are stored in Romania and sold from here (fulfilment, eMAG, Amazon, your own 3PL).
- 02Selling to Romanian businesses from abroadGoods shipped from your country, or services, invoiced to Romanian companies.
- 03Working on Romanian projectsConstruction, installation, events, consulting or staff on site in Romania.
- 04Trucks to, from or through RomaniaRoad transport of goods with a Romanian leg: arrivals, dispatches, transit, import, export.
- 05Opening a Romanian company (SRL)A local entity with its own bookkeeping, payroll and corporate tax.
- 06Already registered for Romanian VATYou hold a Romanian VAT number and need the monthly filings done, checked or taken over.
Not sure which one you are? The one-minute VAT check asks two questions.
Romania in six numbers, for a foreign company
- 21% · 11%VAT rates since 1 August 2025Law 141/2025
- 0registration threshold for companies not established in Romania: the first taxable operation creates the obligationFiscal Code, art. 316
- ~1 weekto obtain the VAT number, from a complete fileour practice; the document file is the slow part
- 5 working daysto transmit each B2B invoice to RO e-Factura, for VAT-registered non-residentsLaw 296/2023, art. LIX
- 500 kg · RON 10,000the e-Transport thresholds, in a vehicle of at least 2.5 tonnes; international transports of any goodsOrder 1,337/1,268/2024, art. 1(4)
- 25thof the following month: VAT return D300 and payment; D390 for intra-Community operations; D394 by the 30th; SAF-T by the last dayFiscal Code, art. 323–325; OPANAF 1783/2021
Stock in a Romanian warehouse or on a marketplace
The most common case, and the one with the fullest set of obligations. Once goods that remain yours are physically in Romania, the sale to a Romanian customer is a local supply, and getting the goods here is itself a taxable event: a transfer of own goods from another member state is treated as an intra-Community acquisition (art. 273(2)(a) of the Fiscal Code); goods from outside the EU are an import. There is no threshold, so the VAT number has to exist before the first truck leaves.
What applies
- VAT registration
- Required before the first shipment. EU companies register directly; companies established outside the EU only through a Romanian fiscal representative (art. 316(7)).
- Monthly returns
- D300 and payment by the 25th; D390 for intra-Community acquisitions, transfers and supplies; D394 by the 30th for sales to or purchases from Romanian VAT-registered businesses; SAF-T D406 in the reduced form for non-residents; Intrastat above RON 1,000,000 a year on a flow.
- RO e-Factura
- B2B invoices for supplies located in Romania are transmitted within 5 working days, in parallel with your ordinary invoicing. Consumer sales, exports and intra-Community supplies stay out.
- RO e-Transport
- A UIT code for the Romanian leg of every road transport above the thresholds: from the border crossing point or the customs office to the warehouse; from the warehouse to the border for dispatches.
- Marketplace sales to consumers
- For sellers established outside the EU, the platform is treated as the supplier to the consumer (art. 270(16)); your supply to the platform is exempt. The registration for the stock remains.
Selling to Romanian businesses from abroad
If the goods ship from your country to a Romanian business customer, or you provide services to one, Romania usually taxes the transaction through your customer. Goods arriving from another member state are an intra-Community acquisition for the Romanian buyer; imported goods are cleared by the importer; B2B services follow the general rule of art. 278(2) and are taxed where the customer is established, under the reverse charge. In all three cases you stay outside Romanian VAT registration.
What applies
- VAT registration
- Generally not required: the Romanian customer accounts for the VAT.
- Exceptions that pull you in
- Goods supplied with installation or assembly in Romania; stock kept here for your customers (call-off stock has its own simplification under art. 270^1, with a 12-month limit); distance sales to consumers above the EU-wide EUR 10,000 threshold, unless declared through the one-stop shop.
- What your customer expects
- A valid VAT number of yours in VIES for intra-Community supplies, and invoices that mention the reverse charge. Your customer reports the purchase in its D390 and D394; nothing is filed by you in Romania.
- RO e-Factura
- Not applicable to a company that is neither established nor registered for VAT in Romania.
Working on Romanian projects
Construction and installation sites, events, consulting mandates and staff seconded to Romania raise two separate questions. The first is VAT: services connected with immovable property are taxed where the property is (art. 278(4)(a)), so a construction or installation contract in Romania is a Romanian supply even when the customer is a business, and it may require registration. The second is direct tax: whether the activity creates a permanent establishment, which would bring corporate income tax, and whether the Romanian payer must withhold tax on what it pays you.
What applies
- VAT
- Case by case. Services on Romanian real estate are located in Romania; where the customer is a Romanian VAT-registered business, the reverse charge may still apply. Services to consumers in Romania are taxed here.
- Withholding tax
- Romanian payers withhold tax on certain payments to non-residents (services, royalties, interest, commissions) and file the D207 return; a double tax treaty can reduce the rate on presentation of a tax residence certificate.
- Permanent establishment
- A question of fact: duration of the site, people and equipment, authority to conclude contracts. The answer decides whether corporate income tax and bookkeeping in Romania follow. We give it in writing, before the project, not after.
- People on site
- Posted workers have their own rules (notification, social security A1 certificates), and their Romanian income tax depends on the duration of the stay and on the tax treaty. Worth settling before the first secondment.
Trucks to, from or through Romania
Romania monitors road transport of goods through RO e-Transport. Every international transport with a Romanian leg is in scope whatever the goods are, and so are domestic movements of high-fiscal-risk goods, in both cases above the thresholds of the joint order: a vehicle of at least 2.5 tonnes carrying goods over 500 kg or over RON 10,000. The declaration produces a UIT code that the driver carries. It is made by the party with the commercial interest (the Romanian beneficiary for arrivals, the supplier for dispatches, the consignee in the customs declaration for imports), not by the carrier.
What applies
- UIT code
- Declared at most 3 calendar days before the start and before the truck reaches the border or the place of import. Valid 5 calendar days; 15 for intra-Community acquisitions, transit with storage, non-transfers and call-off stock.
- Which leg is declared
- Only the Romanian part: from the border crossing point or the customs office to the unloading place, or from the loading place to the border. The journey abroad is not declared.
- Penalties
- RON 20,000 to 100,000 for legal persons; from the second breach within twelve months, confiscation of 15%, 50% and then the full value of the undeclared goods.
- VAT on the transport service itself
- A transport company invoicing a business customer follows the general rule: taxed where the customer is established. No Romanian registration for the carrier.
Opening a Romanian company (SRL)
A Romanian subsidiary is the right instrument when the activity needs local presence, employees or a legal entity customers can contract with. It replaces the non-resident obligations with a full set of local ones: double-entry bookkeeping, annual financial statements, corporate tax under the micro-company regime (1% of revenue, with conditions) or the 16% profit tax, payroll if there are employees, and the whole VAT cycle once registered. Incorporation is done remotely, by power of attorney, in one to two weeks with the documents prepared, bank account included.
What applies
- Incorporation
- Trade Register file by proxy, a tax identification number for the non-resident shareholder and administrator, registered office, bank account, VAT registration if needed.
- Corporate tax
- Micro-company regime at 1% of revenue, subject to the conditions (including at least one employee within 90 days of registration), or profit tax at 16%. Dividends to the shareholder: 16%.
- Accounting and filings
- Monthly bookkeeping, VAT returns when registered, payroll declarations, SAF-T in the full structure, annual financial statements.
- e-Factura and e-Transport
- A Romanian company issues its invoices through RO e-Factura, B2C included, and declares its transports like any local operator.
Already registered for Romanian VAT
A Romanian VAT number comes with a fixed monthly rhythm, and the filings cross-check each other: ANAF compares e-Factura data, the D300, the D394 and the SAF-T file. A period that was filed from incomplete data shows up as a difference, and a missing return can end with VAT assessed ex officio. The work is in the data flow from your systems to the Romanian formats, every month, on time.
What applies
- Each month
- D300 and payment by the 25th; D390 by the 25th when there are intra-Community operations; D394 by the 30th; SAF-T D406 by the last day of the following month; Intrastat by the 15th above the threshold.
- Each invoice and each truck
- B2B invoices to e-Factura within 5 working days; UIT codes before departure; your Romanian suppliers’ invoices collected from the system and reconciled before the return.
- Refunds
- A refund position is claimed through the D300 and checked against risk criteria; documentation decides how long it takes.
- Taking over from another provider
- Historical data first, then the periods ahead. For non-EU companies, the outgoing representative files its last return and the mandate transfers; the registration is never left unrepresented.
EU or non-EU: the two routes into Romanian VAT
Where your company is established decides how it registers and who answers to ANAF. The obligations after registration are the same.
| Established in another EU member state | Established outside the EU (UK, Switzerland, China, Turkey, USA…) | |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Direct, in your own name (form 015); a mandated agent can do the filings | Only through a Romanian fiscal representative (art. 316(7)); the representative is designated as the person liable to pay the VAT |
| Who ANAF turns to | Your company | The fiscal representative, under a VAT code issued for you through it |
| Guarantee | None | Usually a deposit or a bank guarantee asked by the representative; market practice, not a legal requirement |
| Documents | Register extract, articles, home VAT registration, evidence of the Romanian operations, in authorised translation | The same, apostilled where required, plus the representation agreement and the representative’s written acceptance |
| Marketplace sales to consumers | You are the supplier; Romanian VAT on the sale | The platform is the deemed supplier (art. 270(16)); your supply to the platform is exempt |
| Services received in Romania | General rule: taxed where you are established | Handling, work on goods and transport performed in Romania carry Romanian VAT (art. 278(6)(a)); services linked to an import are exempt |
A fixed establishment in Romania (people and technical resources with permanence) changes everything above: the company registers on that basis, uses no representative and issues its invoices through RO e-Factura, B2C included.
A month with a Romanian VAT number
The rhythm is the same for every registered company. A deadline that falls on a non-working day moves to the next working day; the 25 December deadline moves back to the 21st.
- 15IntrastatFiled with the National Institute of Statistics, not with ANAF, once the annual threshold of RON 1,000,000 per flow is passed.
- 25D300 · D390 · D112 · D100The busiest day: the returns are filed and the amounts they produce are paid.
- 30D394The information return for domestic transactions. In February, the last day of the month.
- last daySAF-T (D406)The standard audit file, for the period that closed.
A deadline falling on a non-working day moves to the first working day that follows (art. 75 of the Fiscal Procedure Code), and the 25 December due date moves back to 21 December (art. 155 (2)). Build your company’s calendar, with exact dates.
Free tools for foreign companies
Built by our tax advisers on the law in force. Free, no account needed.
Do I need to register for VAT in Romania?
Two questions for foreign companies: whether the registration obligation arises in Romania and which route applies — direct or through a fiscal representative.
Check the obligation →ANAF · VIES · ONRC · financialsRomanian company check by tax ID
Enter a Romanian tax ID (CUI) and see in one table: VAT registration, cash-accounting VAT, inactive status, e-Factura, VIES, Trade Register status and authorised activities, five years of financials and a PDF report, with the tax consequence of each line.
Check a company →EU-27 · 2026Romania VAT calculator
Net to gross and back, with the standard and reduced rates of every member state. Romania is preselected: 21% and 11%.
Calculate VAT →VAT Directive art. 59cOSS threshold calculator (EUR 10,000)
Distance sales to consumers in other member states: how much of the threshold is used, how much is left, and what changes once you hold stock in another country.
Check the threshold →EU data · 2026EU VAT rates: map and table
Standard, reduced and special rates in all 27 member states, checked against the European Commission’s data, with an interactive map and search.
See the rates →Fiscal Code · FPC art. 75Romanian tax deadlines calendar
Pick the regime, the VAT period and a few facts about the business, and the year comes out with exact filing dates, including deadlines moved off non-working days. Download it as an Excel file.
Build the calendar →Guides and articles for foreign companies
Written on the text of the law, with the article cited, and updated when the law changes.
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Read moreTell us your situation in three sentences
Where the company is established, what it does in Romania and since when. You get a written answer on what applies and a fixed-fee quote, in the same working day.
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Frequently asked questions
01Does a foreign company need to register for VAT in Romania?
Only when it carries out an operation taxable in Romania that its customer cannot account for: keeping stock in Romania and selling from it, supplying goods with installation, distance sales to consumers above the EU threshold outside the one-stop shop, or services connected with Romanian real estate. A B2B sale shipped from abroad or a B2B service under the general rule does not require registration. There is no turnover threshold for companies not established in Romania.
02What is the difference between an EU and a non-EU company?
The route into registration. A company established in another member state registers directly and may use a mandated agent. A company established outside the EU must register through a Romanian fiscal representative, who files and pays the VAT under a code issued for the company and is designated by law as the person liable to pay it; representatives therefore screen clients and usually ask for a deposit or a bank guarantee.
03How long does Romanian VAT registration take?
About one week from a complete file. Assembling the file is the slow part: a recent commercial register extract, the articles of association, proof of VAT registration at home, the contract that evidences the Romanian operations, identification of the legal representative, all in authorised Romanian translation and apostilled where required.
04Which returns does a non-resident file every month?
The VAT return D300 by the 25th, with payment; the recapitulative statement D390 by the 25th for intra-Community operations; the D394 statement by the 30th for sales to or purchases from Romanian VAT-registered businesses; the SAF-T file D406, in the reduced structure for non-residents, by the last day of the following month; Intrastat by the 15th once arrivals or dispatches pass RON 1,000,000 a year.
05Does a foreign company have to use RO e-Factura?
A company registered for VAT but not established in Romania does not issue its invoices through the system. It transmits its B2B invoices for supplies located in Romania within five working days, for reporting, while invoicing its customers as usual. Consumer sales, exports and intra-Community supplies are not transmitted. A company with a fixed establishment, or a Romanian subsidiary, issues all invoices through the system.
06When does a truck need a UIT code?
For every international road transport with a Romanian leg, whatever the goods, and for domestic transports of high-fiscal-risk goods, when the vehicle has a maximum authorised mass of at least 2.5 tonnes and the goods on it weigh more than 500 kg or are worth more than RON 10,000. The code is obtained before the truck reaches the border or sets off, and only the Romanian leg of the journey is declared.
07Can we manage everything from abroad?
Yes. Registration, representation, the monthly returns, e-Factura and e-Transport are handled remotely: documents travel electronically, the power of attorney is signed digitally, and the filings are submitted under our qualified certificate. Correspondence is in English, Italian or Romanian; the monthly summary arrives by email with the ANAF receipts attached.
08Is a Romanian subsidiary better than a VAT registration?
They answer different needs. A VAT registration covers goods and services taxed in Romania without creating a local entity; a subsidiary is a Romanian company with bookkeeping, financial statements, corporate tax and, often, employees. A subsidiary makes sense when customers need a local contracting party, when staff work in Romania, or when the activity would in any case create a permanent establishment. We compare the two on your numbers before you decide.
Sources and legal basis
- Romanian Fiscal Code (Law 227/2015) and its methodological norms, ANAF consolidated text (art. 266 (establishment), 270(16) and 270^1 (marketplaces, call-off stock), 273(2)(a) (transfer of own goods), 278 (place of supply of services), 307(7) and 316(7) (fiscal representative), 322–325 (VAT period, returns, statements), 326 (payment and import VAT).)
- Law 296/2023, art. LIX (RO e-Factura reporting by non-established companies registered for VAT: B2B invoices within 5 working days; exceptions and fines.)
- Government Emergency Ordinance 41/2022 on RO e-Transport, consolidated text, and Joint Order ANAF/Customs 1,337/1,268/2024 (art. 2(9) (monitored routes), art. 8^1 (who declares), art. 11 (3-day window; 5 or 15 days of validity), art. 13^1 (fines and graduated confiscation); order art. 1(4) (2.5 t, 500 kg, RON 10,000).)
- OPANAF 1783/2021 on the SAF-T file (D406) (Annex 5: non-residents registered for VAT file the reduced structure since 1 January 2025; annex 4: deadlines and grace periods.)
- Law 141/2025 on certain fiscal-budgetary measures (VAT rates of 21% and 11% from 1 August 2025; dividend tax 16%.)
The information above is general and reflects the legislation in force at the date of the last update. It does not replace an analysis of your company’s specific situation.
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