In the Official Gazette no.960 of October 7, 2021 was published EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no.120 / 2021 on the administration, operation and implementation of the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice and electronic invoice in Romania, as well as to complete OG no.78 / 2000 regarding the homologation, issuance of the vehicle identity card and certification of the authenticity of road vehicles in order to be placed on the market, made available on the market, registered in Romania, as well as the market surveillance for them.
Regarding the implementation and operationalization of the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, three main directions of action are considered:
– providing an electronic public service necessary for the development of public procurement contracts and transactions between economic operators, in fact a support tool adapted to the evolution of the pandemic context;
– coherence in the implementation and application of fiscal-budgetary policies and reforms by efficiently managing the budgetary resources allocated to public institutions and authorities, respectively implementing correct and efficient mechanisms to ensure the monitoring of budget execution and amounts allocated to various investment programs;
– increasing the efficiency and effectiveness in the collection of taxes and fees, with a special focus on improving and consolidating the degree of VAT collection, as well as preventing and combating fraud, evasion and possible abuses in the field of VAT.
National system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice:
Thus, the Ministry of Finance, through the National Center for Financial Information, creates, develops and administers the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.
The national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice represents the set of principles, rules and IT applications aimed at receiving the electronic invoice from the issuer in compliance with the electronic invoice structure provided by EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021, storing invoices by electronic means and sending to consignee.
It is important to mention that the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice becomes operational within maximum 30 days from the date of entry into force of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021 (October 7, 2021).
(4) The procedure for using and functioning of the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice shall be approved by order of the Minister of Finance within 15 days from the date of publication of this emergency ordinance in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
According to Article 4, paragraph 1 of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120, the structure of the electronic invoice respects:
- the technical and use specifications of the basic elements of the electronic invoice as provided in the European standard SR EN 16931-1, which are applicable at national level;
- the technical and use specifications of the basic elements of the electronic invoice – RO_CIUS – and the specific operational rules applicable at national level;
- the semantic content as described in standard SR EN 16931-1, the syntaxes identified in CEN / TS 16931-2, in accordance with Article 2 (1) (j), and the appropriate correlation defined in the applicable subpart of CEN / TS16931-3.
The main elements of the electronic invoice are:
- process and invoice identifiers;
- the date of the invoice;
- information regarding the identification of the economic operator that delivered the goods / products, provided the services or executed the works;
- information regarding the recipient of the electronic invoice;
- information regarding the payment beneficiary;
- information regarding the fiscal representative of the issuer;
- identification of the type of goods / products delivered, services provided or works performed;
- the reference to the public / sectoral procurement contract, for the concession of works and services, as well as, as the case may be, to the public procurement contract in the fields of defense and security;
- details regarding the execution of works, delivery of goods / products or provision of services;
- payment instructions;
- information regarding creditors or debtors;
- information regarding the positions on the invoice;
- breakdown of VAT;
- the total invoice.
The electronic invoice is sent by the issuer in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.
Provided that the electronic invoice sent complies with the structure provided for in Article 4, paragraph (1), the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance shall be applied and shall be communicated immediately to the addressee.
The application of the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance certifies its receipt in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice. In the situation when the transmitted electronic invoice does not respect the mentioned structure, the issuer receives a message with the identified errors. After correcting the identified errors, the electronic invoice is sent within the same national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.
The original copy of the electronic invoice is considered the XML file accompanied by the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance.
It is very important to mention that the date of communication of the electronic invoice to the recipient is considered the date on which the electronic invoice is available to him for download from the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice. The consignee shall be notified of the electronic invoices received in the national electronic invoicing system RO e-Invoice in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 3 (4). The communication date is accessible in the system and to the issuer of the electronic invoice.
The electronic invoice communicated to the recipient cannot be returned in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.
In the case of an electronic invoice to which the recipient has objections, he notifies the issuer of the electronic invoice, including in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, by entering a message in this regard.
Important! The correction of the electronic invoice communicated to the recipient in the RO e-Invoice system is performed according to article 330 of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent amendments and completions.
The corrected electronic invoice is sent within the same national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.
The technical and use specifications of the basic elements of the electronic invoice – RO_CIUS – and the specific operational rules applicable at national level are regulated by order of the Minister of Finance, within 15 days from the date of publication EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021 (October 7).
Electronic invoicing – public procurement:
Electronic invoicing in the field of public procurement is applied in case of the existence of a B2G relationship, defined according to article 2 paragraph (1) letter m) of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021, in case the economic operators opt for the use of the national electronic invoicing system RO e -Invoice.
We mention that B2G refers to the transaction between an economic operator that has the quality of contractor or subcontractor / subcontractor under Law no. 98/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 99/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 100/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, and of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 114/2011 on the award of certain public procurement contracts in the fields of defense and security, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 195/2012, with subsequent amendments and completions, and contracting authorities or contracting entities that receive and process electronic invoices.
The new regulations do not apply to electronic invoices issued as a result of the execution of contracts classified according to law or if the award and execution of the public procurement contract required the imposition, according to legal provisions, of special security measures to protect essential security interests of the state.
It is good to know that, in case the economic operator has chosen to use the national system on electronic invoicing RO e-Invoice, it has the obligation to issue only electronic invoices and to use this system to send them to all recipients of an invoice. issued in the B2G relationship, except for the electronic invoices mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Given that the economic operator transmits the electronic invoice in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, the recipient of the electronic invoice issued in the B2G relationship has the following obligations:
– to receive and download the electronic invoice through the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice;
– to process the electronic invoice;
– to verify the legality, conformity and regularity of the electronic invoice, in accordance with the legal provisions in force.
The processing of the electronic invoice can be done exclusively in electronic format using the computer applications available at the level of the recipients of the electronic invoices issued in the B2G relationship. By processing the electronic invoice is meant also going through the phases of budget execution.
In the situation where the invoice cannot be processed in electronic format, a document obtained by converting the information from the electronic invoice that allows reading and listing can be used.
The application through which the conversion is performed must ensure the integrity of the content of the electronic invoice.
Electronic invoicing in the B2B relationship:
According to EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021, in the B2B business relationship, the issuer of the electronic invoice may opt for its transmission to the recipient using the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice in compliance with the provisions of Article 4 paragraph (1) – defined above.
If the issuer of the electronic invoice opts for its transmission in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, it is obliged to be registered in the Register of operators who have chosen to use the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, hereinafter referred to as the Register: RO e-Invoice.
We mention that the economic operator that has opted for the use of the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice is registered in the Register of RO e-Invoice starting with the 1st of the month following the exercise of the option. From the moment of registration in the RO e-Invoice Register, the issuer also acquires the quality of the recipient.
In order to use the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, the issuer and the recipient must be registered in the Register RO e-Invoice.
The procedure regarding the organization and registration within the RO e-Invoice Register is established by order of the president of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration within 15 days from the date of publication of this emergency ordinance in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. RO e-Invoice Register it is public and is displayed on the website of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.
If the issuer and the recipient of the electronic invoice are registered in the RO e-Invoice Register, the use of the electronic invoice is considered accepted at the date of communication in the national system regarding the RO e-Invoice electronic invoice. We emphasize the fact that, for the invoices issued by the economic operators registered in the RO e-Invoice Register to the recipients who are not registered in the RO e-Invoice Register, the provisions of article 319 of Law no. 227/2015, with subsequent amendments and completions.
Final provisions:
Non-resident economic operators may opt for the use of the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice in B2B or B2G, according to the procedure established by order of the President of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration issued within 15 days from the date of publication of this ordinance.
Emergency in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. The Ministry of Finance and the National Agency for Fiscal Administration ensure the management of the existing data and information in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, keeping the fiscal secret.
The national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice ensures the interoperability with the invoicing systems of the economic operators. Without prejudice to the provisions of article 1-16 of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021, for the electronic invoices sent in the national system regarding the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, the provisions of article 319 of Law no. 227/2015 shall apply accordingly, with the amendments and subsequent completions, and of the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, approved by Government Decision no. 1/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions.
Legal basis:
– EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 120/2021 on the administration, operation and implementation of the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice and electronic invoice in Romania, as well as for completing Government Ordinance no. 78/2000 regarding the homologation, issuance of the vehicle identity card and certification of the authenticity of road vehicles in order to be placed on the market, made available on the market, registered in Romania, as well as the market surveillance for them;
– Fiscal Code (approved by Law no. 227/2015, published in the Official Gazette no. 688 of 10.09.2015), with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Methodological Norms for the application of the Fiscal Code (approved by Government Decision no. 1/2016).