Important amendments and completions regarding the Fiscal Code – GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 4

Government Ordinance no. 4 for amending and supplementing Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, as well as for the Government Ordinance the term of a term was published in the Official Gazette (Part I) no. 92 of January 28, 2022, with applicability from January 31, 2022.

Modifications/VAT additions:

According to GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 4/2022, they are assimilated to an intra-community acquisition with payment and use by the Romanian army forces participating in a defense action carried out to implement an activity of the European Union within the common security and defense policy, for their use or for the use of civilian personnel accompanying them, of goods which they have acquired in another Member State, the acquisition of which did not apply the general rules of taxation of that Member State, when the importation of those goods cannot benefit from the exemption provided for in Article 293 (1) letter (g1).

The following transactions are exempt from VAT (Article 293 (1) letter (g)) – Exemptions for imports of goods and for intra-Community acquisitions:

 

  • the import of goods carried out in Romania by the armed forces of other Member States for the purpose of use by the respective armed forces or by the civilian personnel accompanying them or for the supply of their villages or canteens, when the respective armed forces participate in an actiondefense carried out to implement an activity of the European Union within the common security and defense policy;;

Exempt from VAT – Exemptions for exports or other similar operations, for intra-Community deliveries and for international and intra-Community transport:

 

  • the delivery of goods not transported outside Romania and / or the provision of services performed in Romania, intended either for use by the armed forces of other Member States or by the civilian personnel accompanying them, or for the supply of their villages or canteens, when the respective armed forces participates in a defense action carried out to implement an activity of the European Union within the common security and defense policy;
  • the supply of goods and / or services to a Member State other than Romania, intended for the armed forces of any Member State other than the Member State of destination, for use by the respective armed forces or by the accompanying civilian personnel or for supply their respective armed forces, when the respective armed forces participate in a defense action carried out in order to implement an activity of the European Union within the common security and defense policy;

Introduction of a new article in the Fiscal Code “Application of the Customs Code of the European Union in the case of excisable products“, with the following provisions:

The formalities laid down by the customs provisions of the European Union for the entry of products into the customs territory of the European Union shall apply mutatis mutandis to the entry into the territory of the European Union of excisable products originating in one of the territories referred to in Article 337 paragraph (1).

The formalities laid down by the customs provisions of the European Union for the exit of products from the customs territory of the European Union shall apply mutatis mutandis to the exit from the territory of the European Union of excisable products destined for one of the territories referred to in Article 337 paragraph (1).

Modifications / completions regarding excise duties:

 

  • Redefining the authorized warehousekeeper and the fiscal warehouse:

According to the new regulations, the authorized warehousekeeper is the natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority, within its activity, to produce, transform, hold, store, receive or ship excisable products under excise duty suspension in a tax warehouse.

We specify that the old definition: “the authorized warehousekeeper is a natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority, within its activity, to produce, transform, hold, receive or ship excisable products under excise duty suspension in a tax warehouse” ‘.

The tax warehouse, according to the new provisions, is a place where excisable products are produced, processed, held, stored, received or shipped under excise duty suspension by an authorized warehousekeeper in its activity, subject to certain conditions established by the competent authorities of the Member State in which the fiscal warehouse is located, respectively under the conditions provided by this chapter, in case the fiscal warehouse is in Romania.

The old definition: “the fiscal warehouse is the place where excisable products are produced, processed, held, received or shipped under excise duty suspension by a warehousekeeper authorized in his activity, under the conditions provided by this chapter”.

  • Appearance as a certified consignee, representing a natural or legal person registered with the competent authority of the Member State of destination in order to receive excise goods, in the course of his activity, which have been released for consumption in a Member Stateand which are then relocated to another Member State;

 

  • Redefining of the registered consignee:

The registered consignee, according to the new regulations, represents the natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority of the Member State of destination to receive, under the conditions established by the competent authority and within its activity, excisable products moving under excise duty suspension from the territory of a another Member State;

Old definition: “registered consignee means the natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority to receive, in the course of his activity, excise goods moving under excise duty suspension from another Member State”.

  • The appearance of the quality of certified sender. This is a natural or legal person registered with the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch for the purpose of dispatching excise goods in the course of that person’s business which has been released for consumption in one Member State and subsequently moved to another Member State;;
  • Redefining of the registered sender:

 

The registered consignor is the natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority of the Member State in which the import takes place, excluding to dispense excise duty on excisable products released for free circulation in accordance with Article 201 of Regulation (EU) no. 952/2013 within the activity carried out by the respective person and under the conditions established by the competent authority.

Old definition: “registered consignor means the natural or legal person authorized by the competent authority of the Member State in which the importation takes place (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code “.

  • Redefining of import:
  • The import represents the release for free circulation of the goods in accordance with the provisions of Article 201 of Regulation (EU) no.952/2013.

              Old definition: “importation of excisable products means the entry into the territory of the European Union of excisable products, unless the products, upon their entry into the territory of the European Union, are placed under a customs procedure or suspensive procedure, and their exit from – a customs procedure or a suspensive customs procedure “.

              GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 4/2022 introduces the notion of irregular entry, which represents the entry into the territory of the European Union of products that have not been released for free circulation in accordance with the provisions of Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 and for which has incurred a customs debt pursuant to Article 79 (1) of that Regulation or which would have arisen if the products had been subject to customs duties

  • The suspensive excise regime represents a fiscal regime applied to the production, transformation, possession, storage or movement of excisable products, through which the excises are suspended;

              The old definition: “excise duty suspension regime means a tax regime applied to the production, processing, possession or movement of excisable products that are not subject to a procedure or a suspensive customs procedure, excise duties being suspended”. “.

  • The emergence of the small independent producer, the producer of beer, wines, fermented beverages, other than beer and wines, and intermediate products, legally and economically independent of any other producer, which uses buildings physically separate from those of any other producer, does not work under license, and the production made in the last 12 consecutive months does not exceed certain quantitative levels provided in the Fiscal Code.

The maximum quantitative limits achieved by the small independent producers in the last 12 consecutive months of operation for maintaining the category of small independent producers, for each category of products separately, are the following:

  1. a) beer: 200,000 hl of product;
  2. b) wines: 1,000 hl of product;
  3. c) fermented beverages, other than beer and wine: 15,000 hl of product;
  4. d) intermediate products: 250 hl of product.

It is important to note that small independent producers who meet the requirements set out in this title to remain in these categories may request, through an application, the territorial customs authorities to issue an annual certificate attesting to the status of small independent producer, framing their production in the maximum annual quantitative limits and the observance by them of the other conditions for the classification in the category of small independent producer or small distillery, as the case may be.

Exemption from excise duty on beer, wine, fermented beverages, other than beer and wine, whether or not sparkling, produced by individuals and consumed by them, their family members or their guests, provided that no sale is made, not to take place.

Fruit alcohol, up to 50 liters per year, consumed by an individual, by members of his family or by guests, is exempt from the payment of excise duties, provided that no sale takes place, and fruit alcohol , regardless of its concentration, to be:

  1. produced by that individual from fruit owned, cultivated and supplied by that individual on a plot of land held under a right in rem, using a simple, small distillation device registered with the competent authority, and / or
  2. produced for the respective natural person in the authorized distilleries from the fruits owned, cultivated and supplied by the respective natural person from a land area owned under a real right.

              For the purposes of these provisions, we specify that the term family means husband and wife or husband, wife and their unmarried children, who live or manage together. It is assimilated to the term family and the situation of the unmarried person who lives with his dependent children, as well as the unmarried man and woman, with their children and of each of them, who live and manage together.

              The term child means the child up to 18 years of age or young adults, provided that they attend high school or vocational education, from the marriage of spouses, the child of one of the spouses, the adopted child, and the child entrusted to one or both spouses. or given in family placement or for which guardianship or guardianship has been established according to the law.

              Each small independent producer has the obligation to submit to the competent authority, by 15 January of each year, a declaration on its own responsibility regarding the quantity of beer / wines / fermented beverages, other than beer and wines / intermediate products, which it has produced in the previous calendar year and / or the quantity of beer to be produced in the current year, according to the provisions of the methodological norms.

              Each small distillery has the obligation to submit to the competent authority, by January 15 of each year, a statement on its own responsibility regarding the amount of pure alcohol it produced in the previous calendar year, with a clear indication of the amount of alcohol, carried out in the system of providing services for individuals, as well as the quantity of pure alcohol that it is going to produce in the current year, according to the provisions of the methodological norms of the Government Ordinance.

 

              With respect to excise payers, the excise payer who has become due is:

  1. a) as regards the withdrawal of excise goods from a suspension of excise duty, in accordance with the provisions of Article 340 (1) letter (a):
  2. the authorized warehousekeeper, the registered consignee or any other person who releases excisable products under the excise duty suspension regime or in whose name this release is made and, in case of irregular exit from the tax warehouse, any other person who participated in this exit;
  3. in the event of an irregularity in the movement of excise goods under excise duty suspension as defined in Article 412 paragraph (1), para (2) and (4): the authorized warehousekeeper, the registered consignor or any other person who has guaranteed the payment of excise duties in accordance with the provisions of Article 348 para (1) and (3) and any person who participated in the irregular exit and who was aware or who should have been normally aware of the irregular nature of this exit;
  4. in respect of the possession or storage of excise goods, as referred to in Article 340 (1)

the person who owns or stores the excise goods or any other person involved in their possession or storage or any combination thereof persons, in accordance with the principle of personal and joint and several liability;

  1. as regards the production, including processing, of excise goods, in accordance with the provisions of Article 340 (1) (a) b) the person who produces the excisable products and, in case of an irregular production, any other person involved in their production;
  2. as regards the importation or irregular entry of excise goods, in accordance with the provisions of Article 340 (1) (a) c) the declarant as defined in Article 5 point 15 of Regulation (EU) no. 952/2013, hereinafter referred to as the declarant, or any other person according to the provisions of Article 77 paragraph (3) of the respective regulation and, in case of irregular entry, any other person involved in the respective irregular entry; d) in the cases provided for in Article 340 (4) to (7), the person who determines the release for consumption;
  3. in respect of excisable products which have been released for consumption in a Member State and are moved to the territory of Romania to be delivered to Romania for commercial purposes or to be used in Romania, as provided in Article 414 paragraph (1), the certified consignee.
  • Changes regarding the regime of movement of excisable products under excise duty suspension regime.

Extension of the deadline for submitting the restructuring request:

The term provided in article 22 paragraph (1) of the Government Ordinance no. 6/2019 on the establishment of fiscal facilities, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 648 of August 5, 2019, with subsequent amendments and completions, is issued by Government Ordinance until July 31, 2022.

This is the deadline for submitting the restructuring request, the previous deadline being January 31, 2022.

We mention that the new term only targets companies that have already shown their intention to benefit from the financial restructuring mechanism.

Legal basis:

GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 4/2022 for the amendment and completion of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, as well as for the Government Ordinance to issue a term;

GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 6/2019 on the establishment of fiscal facilities.