Fiscal representative in Romania for companies established outside the EU

What a fiscal representative is in Romania

A fiscal representative is a taxable person established in Romania and registered for VAT, appointed by a foreign company to take on that company’s Romanian VAT obligations. The mechanism sits in article 316 paragraph (7) of the Fiscal Code, which governs the VAT registration of taxable persons not established in Romania, and in points 88 and 89 of the methodological norms to Title VII, which set out how it actually works. The consolidated text is published by ANAF.

The representative is not an adviser standing next to the taxpayer. It steps into the VAT position: a VAT code is attributed to the foreign company through it — separate from the code the representative holds for its own activity — and under that code it invoices the represented operations, keeps their records, files the VAT return for them, pays the VAT due and answers to ANAF for them. Point 89 paragraph (4) of the Methodological Norms to article 316 Fiscal Code puts it in one line: once accepted by the tax authority, the representative “is bound, in terms of the rights and obligations concerning value added tax, for all the operations for which it has been mandated, for as long as its mandate lasts”. That single sentence explains almost everything else about how representation works in practice — the documentation, the selectivity, the data deadlines.

When representation is mandatory

The determining factor is where the company is established, not where it is incorporated for other purposes and not the size of its Romanian turnover.

For a company established in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Turkey, China or any other third country, representation is the only route into Romanian VAT registration where no fixed establishment exists. For an EU company it is a choice, and the choice is usually commercial: a representative absorbs the administrative relationship entirely, which some groups prefer, while direct registration with a mandated agent keeps the liability where it already sits.

Representative, agent, or fixed establishment

Three arrangements get confused with each other, and they carry different risk.

Fiscal representative. Assumes the VAT obligations of the represented company: a separate VAT code is issued for that company through the representative, and the representative invoices and files under it and pays the VAT due on the mandated operations. ANAF addresses the representative for that VAT while the mandate lasts. Mandatory for non-EU companies.

Mandated agent. Performs the work — preparing declarations, filing them, dealing with correspondence — under a mandate, without stepping into the VAT position. The company files under its own VAT code and remains the person obliged to declare and pay. Available to EU companies registered directly, and to Romanian companies.

Fixed establishment. Not a representation arrangement at all, but a factual situation: the company has enough permanence plus human and technical resources in Romania. It changes the obligations rather than who performs them — most visibly, a fixed establishment issues its invoices through RO e-Factura, B2C included, while a non-established registered company keeps invoicing under its ordinary rules and transmits only its B2B invoices to the system, for reporting.

The three are alternatives. A company does not appoint a representative on top of a fixed establishment, and a non-EU company cannot substitute an agent for a representative.

What the representative actually does

The mandate covers the VAT life of the represented operations:

• registration for VAT purposes in Romania, through form 015, under a VAT code attributed to the represented company through the representative and distinct from the representative’s own, plus any subsequent changes to the registration data;
• keeping the records of the represented operations, separately from the representative’s own records and from those of any other represented company; those operations are not recorded in the representative’s own accounts;
• issuing and receiving the invoices relating to the represented operations, within the limits of the mandate, showing both the represented company and the name, address and VAT code of the representative, including the transmission of B2B invoices to RO e-Factura for reporting;
• preparing and filing the VAT return, the EC Sales List, the domestic transactions report where there are supplies or purchases in Romania with Romanian VAT-registered persons and, where applicable, Intrastat;
• filing the simplified SAF-T D406, which has applied to non-residents registered for Romanian VAT since 1 January 2025;
• handling correspondence with ANAF, including information requests and the VAT refund procedure;
• deregistration when the Romanian activity ends.

The represented company keeps its commercial decisions, its pricing and its contracts. What it cedes is the tax interface.

What the representative is bound for, and what follows from it

Being bound for the mandated operations is not a formality. The representative is the person who files the VAT return for those operations and pays the VAT they produce, so ANAF addresses the representative, not the foreign company, for that VAT — and the interest and late-payment penalties that build up on VAT paid late attach to the same obligation. There is no cap tied to a fee.

In practice this shapes the engagement in three ways. Onboarding involves a genuine assessment of the business, its flows and its counterparties, rather than a form-filling exercise. The agreement sets firm deadlines for data delivery, because a representative that cannot verify a period cannot file it. And the agreement sets out grounds for termination — a representative who loses visibility over the operations it is liable for has to be able to step out in an orderly way.

None of this is adversarial. It is the reason a serious representative is worth more than a cheap one: the party carrying the liability has an incentive to catch the error before ANAF does.

What this means for you

You keep your contracts, your prices and your bank account. What changes is that a licensed Romanian adviser checks every period before it is filed — because we sign it. TaxOlia holds professional indemnity insurance. In practice: a short onboarding review of your flows and counterparties, a fixed monthly data cut-off, and a written answer, together with the quote, on whether we can act as your representative.

How the appointment works

1. Analysis. We establish which Romanian operations you carry out, whether they create a fixed establishment, and therefore whether representation is the right instrument. Where a fixed establishment exists, representation is not available and the route is different — see VAT registration for non-residents.
2. The document file. Register extract, articles of association, proof of VAT registration at home, contracts evidencing the Romanian operations, identification of the legal representative. Authorised Romanian translation, apostille where required. This is the step that sets the timeline.
3. The representation agreement. Scope of the mandate, data delivery deadlines, responsibilities on each side, termination. The norms require the contract showing the extent of the mandate and our written acceptance stating the nature of the operations, so both are signed before the registration file is submitted.
4. Registration. Form 015 is filed through the representative, and we answer the tax authority’s questions during review. About one week is typical once the file is complete.
5. Setup. Digital certificate mandate, Virtual Private Space access, mapping of your ERP or platform data to the Romanian nomenclatures, and the reporting calendar. The first VAT return and the first SAF-T are produced from that mapping.

Ending or transferring a mandate

A mandate ends when the Romanian activity ends and the registration is closed, or when the representative is replaced. The norms set the sequence: the outgoing representative notifies ANAF in writing that its mandate has ended and states the last VAT return it files in that capacity, and the mandate cannot end before that return is due. Where the Romanian activity continues, the company extends the mandate, appoints another representative, or — if it is established in the EU — registers directly. The incoming representative needs the historical data before it takes on the periods ahead.

A registration left without a representative is not a neutral state. It puts the VAT registration itself at risk, which in turn puts at risk the customers relying on your VAT number for their own treatment.

Specific situations

Non-EU e-commerce sellers with Romanian stock. The most common case we handle. Stock in a Romanian fulfilment centre triggers registration, and non-EU establishment makes representation mandatory. Volumes are high and the data comes from a platform, so the mapping work is done once and reused.

Third-country manufacturers supplying Romanian customers with installation. A supply with assembly is taxable in Romania and normally cannot be pushed onto the customer through the reverse charge, so registration follows.

Groups restructuring after a change in establishment status. Where a company acquires or loses a fixed establishment, the registration basis changes. This is worth planning, because the e-Factura obligation changes with it — from reporting B2B invoices alongside ordinary invoicing to issuing everything through the system, B2C included, or the reverse.

Companies that already have Romanian arrears. These need quantifying before any mandate is signed. The representative is bound for the operations it is mandated for, but an unreconciled history blocks the returns that come after it, and a registration carrying unresolved arrears draws attention from the first filing. The Romanian tax calendar and the guide to VAT in Romania for foreign companies set out what should already have been filed.

The errors we see most often

• Non-EU companies attempting direct registration, and having the file rejected after weeks of document preparation.
• Treating representation as bookkeeping. The representative files and pays the VAT under a code issued for the represented company; the arrangement is not comparable to outsourcing a return.
• Late or partial data. A representative that cannot reconcile a period will not file it, and the deadline does not move.
• Appointing a representative while a fixed establishment exists, which is the wrong instrument for the situation.
• Letting a mandate lapse instead of transferring it, leaving a live VAT registration unrepresented.
• Getting e-Factura wrong in either direction. A non-established company does not issue its invoices through the system, but its B2B invoices still have to be transmitted there for reporting, in parallel with its ordinary invoicing.