VAT Registration in Romania

A company established in Romania must register for VAT purposes when its annual turnover exceeds the VAT exemption threshold of RON 395,000 (applicable since 1 September 2025). The threshold applies to all types of activities, including online sales. The registration must be requested no later than the date on which the threshold is exceeded. A company can also register voluntarily, including at incorporation.

Our team assists foreign and local investors who wish to make this registration, either voluntarily or when the company exceeds the mandatory registration threshold.

The establishment of a company involves several steps, part of which take place before the actual corporate registration, while others must be completed after registration with the Trade Register.

One of the steps that must be taken into account by investors once they register a company in Romania is the subsequent registration for VAT purposes.

The value-added tax is one of the most important taxes to which Romanian companies are subject, however, registration for VAT purposes is not performed automatically.

Companies can register for VAT purposes by option (voluntarily) or when exceeding the threshold of RON 395,000 (since 1 September 2025) for their annual turnover.

Below, we invite you to read about the registration for VAT purposes in 2026.

If you need more information, or if you require specialized assistance for this registration (through a power of attorney), our team specializing in registering a company in Romania can give you the needed details and can assist you.

VAT registration in Romania for foreign companies

Companies established outside the EU are required to register for VAT purposes in Romania when they carry out taxable operations here, regardless of their turnover, as the registration threshold only applies to taxable persons established in Romania.

Non-resident companies are expected to register when they engage in certain types of activities, such as the transfer of goods to Romania, Intra-Community acquisition of supply of goods in the country, the export of goods, distance sales (subject to conditions), or other cases involving the dispatch of goods to Romania.

The following issues are relevant to non-resident legal entities:

• a taxable person that has its seat of economic activity outside Romania does not have a fixed seat/s in Romania is obliged to register for VAT purposes in Romania for the operations defined in the Fiscal Code (see below);
• a taxable person whose economic activity is based in Romania and who has branches and other secondary offices on the territory of Romania, without legal personality, is assigned a single registration code for VAT purposes according to art. 316 of the Fiscal Code;
• a non-resident company without a fixed establishment in Romania may be required to register for VAT purposes through a fiscal representative;
• the foreign company will observe the VAT filing and reporting requirements set forth by the authorities (you can read more about these below) and the appointed tax agent, if applicable, will handle the submissions.

A taxable person who has the headquarters of economic activity outside Romania, but has a fixed seat in Romania must register for VAT purposes as follows:

1. before the receipt of the services, in those situations in which the company will receive, at its fixed headquarters in Romania, services for which it is obliged to pay the value-added tax in Romania according to the law if the services are provided by a taxable person who is established in another Member State (within the meaning of the applicable laws);
2. before the provision of the taxable services, in the situation in which the foreign company will provide the services from its fixed headquarters in Romania to a beneficiary who is a taxable person in another Member State and who is required to pay VAT in another Member State, according to the equivalent laws in that respective Member State;
3. before carrying out certain economic activities from its respective fixed headquarters under the conditions established by law, activities that involve the following:

• the delivery of taxable and/or exempt goods with the right to deduct, including intra-Community supplies exempt from VAT;
• services that are either subject to or exempt from value-added tax, with deduction right, other than those provided for in letters a) and b);
• operations exempt from tax, when the company opts for their taxation, according to art. 292 paragraph (3) of the Fiscal Code;
• intra-Community acquisitions of taxable goods.

The provisions briefly listed above do not apply to a person treated as a taxable person only because they occasionally make intra-Community supplies of new means of transport.

VAT registration requirements in 2026 for local companies

National Agency for Fiscal Administration (NAFA/ANAF) President’s Order no. 239 of February 17, 2021, published in the Official Gazette no. 182 of February 23, 2021, offers the legal context for the Registration Procedure approved for value-added tax purposes, according to the provisions of art. 316 paragraph (1) letter. a), b) or c) of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with its subsequent amendments and additions.

According to the legal procedure, any taxable person having its seat of economic activity in Romania, that carries out or intends to carry out an economic activity that involves taxable operations, is exempt from VAT with the right of deduction, and/or operations that have the place of delivery of the service outside Romania, but which give the right to deduction, must be registered for VAT purposes according to article 316 paragraph (1) letter a), b) or c) of the Fiscal Code.

According to law, registration for VAT purposes takes place before or after the commencement of economic activity in Romania.

Our agents can assist with this registration.

Voluntary VAT registration in Romania

Voluntary registration for VAT purposes in Romania is the situation in which the taxable person submits the VAT registration request before the start of its economic activity, upon declaring that it will exceed the standard registration threshold of RON 395,000 for the fiscal year.

This type of voluntary registration can also take place if the taxable person declares that they will have a turnover below the threshold, but opts for the registration, nonetheless.

The applicant has two options:

• for an SRL or SA company that is subject to registration with the National Trade Register, the VAT registration can be requested at incorporation, in the VAT section of the fiscal registration application filed together with the application for registration with the Trade Register, or later, with the tax authority;
• submit the application for registration (Forms 010, 070) for taxable persons that are not subject to registration with the National Trade Register (associations, foundations, etc.); in this case, the registration form is submitted at the same time as the first fiscal registration, usually upon establishment, and the request of registration for VAT purposes is done by filling in the information on the fiscal vector (found within the section concerning VAT within the form).

The VAT registration certificate can be received electronically, in the company’s Virtual Private Space (SPV).

The registration process was simplified through Emergency Ordinance 69/2020 through which locally registered companies can be registered for VAT purposes and are no longer subject to risk analysis, irrespective of whether they request the VAT code upon their initial registration or afterward.

For these companies, the risk analysis is to be performed following the VAT registration, during the company’s activities.

Our team can help you throughout the VAT registration procedure.

We also provide accounting services upon request and you can find out more information about our VAT-submission-related services by reaching out to us.

Our team will handle all of the aspects concerning the business formation, including VAT registration for legal entities such as SRL and SA companies, and also for entities that are not subject to compulsory registration.

Registration for VAT purposes after exceeding the threshold in 2026

Once the threshold of 395,000 lei has been exceeded, a company will have the obligation to register for VAT purposes in Romania. The steps for obtaining the VAT code both at the optional registration and at exceeding the ceiling include:

• submitting the statutory statement of the administrators or associates, according to the type of company (this is usually done online);
• filing in the required information, along with the data concerning the company’s  directors and associates;
• submitting the forms and other documents;
• waiting for the verification of the documents submitted both online and in physical format with NAFA;
• receiving the decision approving the registration for VAT purposes.

It is good to keep in mind that the National Agency for Fiscal Administration can reject the application if the submitted documents are non-compliant.

We advise company owners in Romania to reach out to our team if they wish to verify the list of documents that need to be submitted for VAT registration purposes.

By working with us, you can rest assured that the registration process will be straightforward.

We can also help you obtain the EORI code, which is required for customs operations, such as imports from and exports to countries outside the EU.

Other information about registration for VAT purposes in Romania

If the taxable person applying for registration for VAT purposes is declared inactive for fiscal purposes, the specialized department will draw up the Decision to cancel the registration for VAT purposes;

Our team can give you more details about particular situations and can provide you with counseling as needed, according to the type of company, its economic activities, and the projected annual turnover.

The VAT number is used by companies that sell goods or services in Romania and across the European Union. The former register of intra-community operators was abolished in 2017, so a company registered for VAT in Romania can carry out intra-community transactions with its VAT number, which can be checked in the European VIES system.

The Romanian VAT number

Once the registration is approved, the company receives a VAT number made up of the RO prefix followed by its fiscal identification code (CUI), which has between 2 and 10 digits. From the date of registration, the company charges Romanian VAT on its taxable supplies, issues its invoices through the national RO e-Factura system and files periodic VAT returns.

When the VAT registration can be cancelled

The tax authority can cancel the VAT registration in situations such as the following:

-    if the company is declared fiscally inactive;
-    if no VAT return was filed for six consecutive months (or two consecutive quarters);
-    if the VAT returns filed for six consecutive months (or two consecutive quarters) show no acquisitions and no supplies;
-    if the company presents a high fiscal risk, under the criteria set by law.

VAT rates in Romania

Value-added tax is an indirect tax applied to the provision of certain types of goods and services.

The following rates apply in 2026:

• 21% standard tax rate applicable to the provision of most types of goods and services, other than those explicitly exempted or subject to lower rates;
• 11% reduced tax rate applicable for certain types of goods and services;
• Exempt under specific rules: the export of goods, the intra-Community supply of goods, international passenger transport, some banking and financial operations, and medical and educational services.

Our team can give you more details about the conditions for the VAT exemptions in Romania.

A transitional 9% rate applied to certain housing deliveries until 30 September 2026 and no longer applies.

The Romanian value-added tax rates have undergone significant changes in 2025. Our local team of experts can provide a complete guide to new and existing investors, allowing them to maintain an updated approach on their VAT and other tax contributions in 2026.

VAT reporting and submission requirements

As in all other countries that impose this indirect tax, local and foreign companies in Romania are not only required to observe the VAT registration threshold and mandatory requirements, but also those for periodic VAT reporting, filing and payments.

VAT returns are generally submitted monthly. Taxable persons whose turnover in the previous year did not exceed EUR 100,000 and who made no intra-Community acquisitions of goods in that year submit quarterly returns and make quarterly payments.

VAT submissions are to be made no later that the 25^th day of the month following the one for which the return is made or following the period for which the return is submitted.

Besides the VAT return, companies must observe the electronic reporting obligations in force: invoices are issued through the national RO e-Factura system, the standard audit file for tax (SAF-T, form D406) is submitted to the tax authority, informative returns such as D394 and D390 are filed where applicable, and road transports of goods with high fiscal risk are declared in the RO e-Transport system.

Working with an accountant is the usual practice, and VAT reporting and filing will be handled accordingly.

Our team assists local and foreign companies operating in Romania that engage in transactions that are subject to the standard or reduced value-added tax rates. 

We can also provide you with more details about the micro-company regime and the conditions that apply to this regime in 2026.

You can always reach out to us for updated information about corporate compliance in Romania.

For help in setting up a company and registering for VAT purposes in 2026, please contact us.