Situation:
A company trades textiles, wholesale and retail (through online platforms) both in Romania and in the EU.
What is the procedure for organising and registering in the RO e-Invoice Register?
Solution:
First of all, it is important to mention that, in the B2B (business to business) relationship, the issuing of the invoice by the seller in the RO e-Invoice system is optional from April 2022, but mandatory from July 2022 in the case of supplies of goods with a high tax risk of tax evasion to taxable buyers (B2B relationship).
For such goods, invoices must be issued in the RO e-Invoice system, starting from July 2022, even if the buyers/beneficiaries are not registered in the system.
According to ANAF Order no.12/2022 on the determination of products with high fiscal risk, traded in B2B relationship (published in the Official Gazette no.27/10.01.2022), textile garments are included in the category of products with high fiscal risk – point 5 of the Annex, listed from NC code 6201 to code 6217.
Please note that this RO e-Invoice system is not used for the sale of the same goods to non-taxable persons in Romania, for example, in the retail trade for which it is mandatory to issue the tax receipt.
However, in the case of B2B legal relationship, when the buyer is a taxable person in Romania, for the issuing and transmission of invoices in the national electronic invoice system RO e-Invoice, it is mandatory to register in the RO e-Invoice Register.
Please note that the procedure for organizing and registering in the RO e-Invoice Register is regulated by the Order of the MINISTRY OF FINANCE 1713/2021 (published in MOF 1040/2021).
The mentioned document also regulates the form code (084) “Application for registration in the RO e-Invoice Register/response to the application for registration in the RO e-Invoice Register” which can be found in pdf format and on the website of A.N.A.F./Useful Forms section:
According to article 10 (“Electronic invoicing in B2B relations”) of OUG 120/2021, the registration in the RO e-Invoice Register shall be carried out from the 1st of the month following the exercise of the option.
From this moment, the issuer of the invoice in the RO e-Invoice system acquires the quality of recipient of the invoices issued by other users registered in this register.
In the B2B commercial relationship, the issuer of the e-invoice can opt for its transmission to the recipient using the national system on the electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, in compliance with the provisions of Article 4 paragraph (1) – structure of the electronic invoice.
If the issuer of the electronic invoice opts for its transmission in the national e-Invoice system, he is obliged to be registered in the Register of operators who have opted for the use of the national e-Invoice system, hereinafter referred to as the e-Invoice Register.
The economic operator who has opted to use the national e-Invoice system shall be entered in the e-Invoice Register as from the 1st of the month following the exercise of the option. From the moment of registration in the e-Invoice Register, the issuer also becomes the recipient.
In order to use the national e-Invoice system, the issuer and the recipient must be registered in the e-Invoice Register.
Please note that if the issuer and the recipient of the e-invoice are registered in the e-Invoice Register, the use of the e-invoice is considered accepted on the date of communication in the national e-invoice system RO e-Invoice.
Thus, after registration in this register, the taxable person seller connects to the RO e-Invoice system with the qualified digital certificate used to access the virtual private space (SPV). The invoice is drawn up in XML format, which is also considered the original copy of the invoice, if accompanied by the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance.
The transmission of the invoice drawn up in “xml” format is carried out either by interconnecting the application available at the level of the issuer by using an interface or by using the applications made available free of charge by the Ministry of Finance.
Following the transmission of the electronic invoice, the RO e-invoice system performs structure, syntax and semantics verification and validation operations, subsequently generating an automatic reply message. If the structure is respected and validated, the electronic signature of the Ministry of Finance is applied.
By applying this electronic signature:
- confirm receipt of the invoice in the national e-invoicing system;
- the invoice is communicated to the recipient;
- the original copy of the electronic invoice is made available to both the issuer and the recipient in the RO e-Invoice system in the form of a zip archive file.
If the invoice does not comply with the required structure/format, the issuer receives a message with the identified errors to be corrected. After correcting the errors, the invoice is retransmitted to the beneficiary through the same system.
Please note that the procedure regarding the use of the system by the issuer of the invoice, the receipt and download of the electronic invoice by the recipient is regulated by Order of the MINISTRY OF FINANCE 1365/2021.
According to article 4, in order to receive and download the electronic invoice, the recipient uses the electronic identification means to access the SPV, for:
- interconnecting the application available at the recipient’s level with the RO e-Invoice system, using a series of microservices exposed in the form of an API (Application Programming Interface);
- using the applications provided free of charge by the Ministry of Finance.
Please note that the date of communication of the electronic invoice to the recipient is considered to be the date on which the electronic invoice is available for download from the RO e-Invoice system.
The files corresponding to the electronic invoice in XML format and the error messages are available for download 60 days from the moment of publication in the system, and thereafter they will be electronically archived in accordance with the legal provisions in force and released upon request.”
Being a national system for issuing, transmitting and downloading, it should be noted that this system is not used in relations with taxable persons whose economic activity is based in other Member States, for example in the case of intra-Community supplies of goods.
In this case, the invoice is issued according to the requirements of Article 319 paragraph 20 of the Fiscal Code.
The RO e-Invoice system should be used only in B2B commercial relations when the buyer is a taxable person with the seat of economic activity in Romania, even in the situation where the sale is made through trading platforms.
In the case of an e-invoice issued in a B2B relationship for which the recipient has objections, the recipient notifies the issuer of the e-invoice, including in the national electronic invoice system RO e-Invoice, by sending a message, following the structure published in the technical documentation. In this context, it should be noted that the e-invoice communicated to the recipient cannot be returned in the e-Invoice system.
Legal basis:
– www.anaf.ro;
– ANAF Order 12/2022 on the determination of products with high tax risk, sold in B2B relations;
ANAF Order 1713/2021 for the approval of the Procedure for the organization and registration in the RO e-Invoice Register, as well as the model, content and instructions for the completion of the form (084) ”Application for registration in the RO e-Invoice Register / reply to the application for registration in the RO e-Invoice Register”;
Order of the MINISTRY OF FINANCE 1365/2021 for the approval of the Procedure for the use and operation of the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice, as well as for the receipt and download of the electronic invoice by the recipients of the electronic invoice issued in B2G relationship in the national system on electronic invoice RO e-Invoice.