In the Official Gazette (Part I) no.264 of 30 March 2023, ANAF Order no.347/2023 was published, whereby newly established companies can apply for a VAT code, if applicable, only through the form applying for registration with the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC).
Thus, for simplification reasons, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) has eliminated the 098 declaration.
More specifically, by ANAF Order 2509/2022, on 20 January 2023, the model and instructions for the tax registration application, which is in fact an annex to the application for registration in the Trade Register, were established.
Because new companies apply for tax registration at the same time as they apply for registration with the ONRC, ANAF representatives have introduced in the tax registration application also the possibility of VAT registration, where applicable. Thus, from the mentioned date, the 098 form became useless. We remind you that this form was submitted to ANAF on the day of the application for registration with ONRC, only by those who estimate exceeding the VAT exemption threshold or who choose to apply VAT.
“In order to simplify the declaration process, by reducing the number of forms required to be submitted by taxpayers for VAT registration, the fields of form 098 on VAT registration have been inserted in the form “Application for tax registration” (…). Under these conditions, taxable persons applying for VAT registration from the moment of registration in the Commercial Register will fill in the corresponding fields in the application for tax registration itself, which is attached to the application for registration in the Commercial Register. Therefore, it is necessary to repeal the model, content and instructions for completing the 098 form (…)”, it was clarified in the approval report that accompanied ANAF Order 347/2023 in its draft form.
This new order was formalized, so ANAF formally repealed the 098 declaration.
According to Article 316 of the Fiscal Code, the VAT code is obtained before economic operations are carried out in the following cases:
- if the company declares that it intends to achieve a turnover that reaches or exceeds the exemption threshold of 300,000 lei;
- if the company declares that it intends to achieve a turnover below the exemption threshold of 300,000 lei, but opts for the application of the normal VAT regime.
Also, the new regulation regulates the situation in which a taxable person for whom the VAT registration procedure is applied, ex officio, fulfils one of the situations of cancellation of VAT registration.
Thus, in order to apply uniform tax treatment to taxable persons, regardless of whether they apply for VAT registration or are subject to the ex officio VAT registration procedure, the procedure provided for in OPANAF no. 239/2021 will be applied accordingly,
In this regard, it has been established that, even in the case of applying the procedure of registration, ex officio, for VAT purposes, the tax authority shall simultaneously carry out both the registration for VAT purposes and the cancellation of the registration for VAT purposes of the taxpayer, if the taxpayer is in one of the situations of cancellation of registration provided for in Article 316 paragraph (11) letter a) or c) of the Tax Code (inactivity or tax record).
ANAF mentions that the application of a uniform treatment is also required by the effects produced by the cancellation of VAT registration. Therefore, according to Article 11 of the Tax Code, taxable persons whose VAT registration has been cancelled, ex officio, do not benefit, during the period in question, from the right to deduct value added tax on purchases made, but are subject to the obligation to pay the VAT collected on taxable transactions carried out during the period in question.
Please note that these provisions are applicable regardless of whether the taxable person has been registered for VAT purposes upon request or ex officio, upon the tax authority’s finding.