New provisions regarding mutual debt compensation

In the Official Gazette, Part I no. 881 of 01/11/2019, was published the Government Decree (HG) no. 773/2019 for the approval of the Methodological Norms regarding the monitoring of the not paid debts of the taxpayers, legal entities, at due date, in order to reduce the financial blockade and the losses of the economy. This Government Decree introduces new provisions regarding the compensation of the mutual debts that will enter into force on December 31, 2019.

Currently, the compensation of the outstanding debts at due date of the taxpayers, legal persons is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree (HG) no. 685/1999 for the approval of the Methodological Norms regarding the monitoring of the outstanding debts at due date of the taxpayers, legal persons, in order to reduce the financial blockade and the losses in the economy, and of the Regulation for the compensation of the outstanding debts at due date of the taxpayers, legal persons. These normative acts are repealed by the Government Decree (HG) no. 773/2019.

Thus, starting with January 1, 2020, the National Administration of the offsetting debts and claims system will be done through the SIC Compensation Information System managed by the Training Center for Industrial Staff Buşteni – Bucharest Branch – CPPI.

In order to carry out the clearing operations, legal entities with integral / majority / minority state capital send to the dedicated web address the invoices with the outstanding amounts to any trustee, respectively from any debtor legal entity with headquarters in Romania, older than 30 days from the issuance of the tax invoice or due date, if the due date is clearly specified.

The legal entities, other than with integral / majority / minority state capital, can perform invoice clearing operations by creating user accounts and sending to the dedicated address the invoices they intend to compensate. The information thus transmitted must be updated within a maximum of one working day from the moment of any modification.

All data provided by legal entities must be correct, otherwise they would attract civil and penal liability according to the law.

The clearing operations will be carried out by the legal persons by accessing the dedicated web address, published on the CPPI website for accessing the SIC, as well as for the transmission of the necessary information. The publishing of the dedicated web address, on the CPPI website, is made following the approval by decision of the general director of CPPI, within 60 days from the date of entry into force of Government Decree (HG) no 773/2019.

In order to create user accounts, the interested legal entities must carry out the operation of completing the form made available by the SIC in order to create the account.

For the creation of accounts the interested legal persons must send to the clearing structure within the CPPI through the SIC the following documents validated with the qualified electronic signature:

  1. a) copy of the registration certificate from the Trade Register;
  2. b) empowering the person who: picks up / submits documents and documents, applies the qualified electronic signature, signs the hologram, uses SIC, manages the user accounts;
  3. c) copy of the identity document with the holographic signature of the person empowered to: pick up / submit documents and documents, apply the qualified electronic signature, the holographic signature, use the SIC, manage the user accounts;
  4. d) approval of the judicial administrator according to Law no. 85/2014, with subsequent modifications and completions, where relevant.

The accounts will be validated after verifying the transmitted data. Accessing the accounts will be done by using the username and password established when registering in the SIC.

Compensation procedure

As a result of the data entry by the clearing legal entities, the SIC identifies one or more clearing circuits that are communicated through the user account, by generating in electronic format the clearing order forms.

Compensating legal entities may opt for one or more clearing circuits by completing the compensation order form (s) and applying the qualified electronic signature.

At the date of issuing all the compensation order forms completed and validated by the qualified electronic signature, related to a clearing circuit, the SIC communicates to the clearing legal persons through the user accounts the achievement of the clearing circuit / circuits.

The clearing structure within the CPPI applies the qualified electronic signature on the clearing order forms in order to validate and conclude the clearing circuit, as well as any other forms of electronic document security, approved by the CPPI management. At the time of applying the qualified electronic signature SIC generates the number of the clearing order and applies the date of issue.

The information regarding the accomplishment of the clearing to the clearing legal persons from a clearing circuit is made by communicating through the user accounts of the clearing orders at the date of their issue.

The compensation can also be initiated by the legal persons, at the headquarters of the clearing structure within the CPPI, in which case they must enter the necessary data in the SIC and indicate the predefined clearing operation. The pre-defined compensation represents the extinction of the mutual payment obligations between taxpayers, legal persons, by means of clearing orders, based on a clearing circuit identified, agreed and requested by their agreement.

As date of clearing is considered the date of extinction of debts and receivables in accounting and is operated in all the documents, being recorded in: the clearing report, the clearing order and the extinguished debt note.

The clearing orders are numbered only within the SIC, starting with the date of their validation by the CPPI through the clearing structure and is communicated to the clearing legal persons.

The clearing order is a supporting document for recording in the accounts the settlement of debts and debts that have been subject to clearing together with the extinguished debts bill for justification through the clearing order. The date of registration in the accounting is the one entered on the clearing order.

The clearing order has the character of a primary document and is attached as such to the accounting note together with the extinguished debt note for justification by the clearing order.

You can also find the Government Decree (HG) no 773/2019 at the following address: https://lege5.ro/Gratuit/gm2dsojsgq3a/hotararea-nr-773-2019-pentru-aprobarea-normelor-metodologice-privind-monitorizarea-datoriilor-nerambursate-la-scadenta-ale-contribuabililor-persoane-juridice-in-vederea-diminuarii-blocajului-financiar