The Foreign Investors Council welcomes the amendments of the normative act regarding e-VAT, as it was agreed with the representatives of the Ministry of Finance in the meeting organized on 27 June.  

The modifications decided during the meeting regard: the implementation of a 6-month grace period (in which no penalties will be applied, and the VAT information statement will not affect the tax risk of the taxpayer), the possibility of testing the system during a pilot phase for 6 months, the possibility of having access in the SPV to the data collected from the taxpayer by ANAF, the establishment by the Ministry of Finance and ANAF of a consultative group to identify, together with the business environment, the necessary adjustments for the proper functioning of e-VAT.  

We reiterate that the digitalization and modernization of ANAF, essential for increasing tax collection and implicitly for reducing the VAT gap and the pressure on the state budget, is a priority of FIC. For over a decade, FIC has been contributing position papers and examples of good practices to support the efforts of the authorities.

We also consider that the digitalization measures of the tax administration – SAF-T, e-Invoice, e Transport, etc. – which necessitates sustained efforts on the part of companies, require predictability throughout the entire implementation process and a close collaboration of the business environment with the Ministry of Finance to identify blockages and related solutions.

The expectation of the companies is that the implementation of these measures will generate both a better collection and simplified fiscal compliance, respectively a reduction of the administrative burden. Thus, the data already collected by ANAF through the existing systems should be analysed by the tax administration and additional measures should not be taken that excessively burden the taxpayers.

It is also useful to adopt good practices from other countries that have recorded a higher collection of taxes due to digitalization measures and that have previously carried out studies to detect the causes of the fiscal gap, established clear measures, and a feasible calendar of their implementation.

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) is the association that brings together the most important investors with foreign capital from Romania, approximately 110 of the largest companies in the country with a cumulative turnover representing approximately one-fifth of the gross domestic product and having a significant contribution to the state budget. In more than 25 years since the organization was set up, FIC member companies have always sustained the importance of dialogue between the business community and the authorities.