Registration procedure for the use of special VAT regulations (1)

In the Official Gazette No. 853 of September 7, 2021, the ANAF Regulation No. 1387/2021 was published for the approval of the registration process in order to apply one of the special regulations for taxpayers who provide services to non-taxpayers or carry out distance sales of goods, as well as for the declaration of VAT according to the provisions of Articles 314, 315 and 315² of the Tax Code if Romania is a Member State of Registration, as well as for the amendment of some procedural rules.

The initiators of the normative law point out that through the EMERGENCY REGULATION No. 59/2021 changes and additions to Law No. 5 of 10.07. 227/2015 to the tax code, with later changes and additions.

This document sets out the provisions of Articles 2 and 3 of Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455 of December 5, 2017 amending Directive 2006/112 / EC and Directive 2009/132 / EC with regard to certain obligations VAT in national law on the provision of services and distance selling of goods and Directive (EU) 2019/1995 of the Council of November 21, 2019 amending Directive 2006/112 / EC with regard to the provisions on distance selling of goods and certain In-house deliveries of goods, amended by Council Decision (EU) 2020/1109 of July 20, 2020 amending Directives (EU) 2017/2455 and (EU)) 2019/1995 with regard to implementation and application dates in response to COVID-19 -Pandemic.

With the EMERGENCY REGULATION 59/2021, the provisions of Article 314 of the Tax Code on the “Special Provision for Services by Taxpayers Not Resident in the European Union” and Article 315 of the Tax Code on the “Special Provision for Intra-Community Community Sales of Distance Goods for which Deliveries of internal goods made through the electronic interfaces that enable these deliveries and for the services provided by taxpayers based in the European Union but not in the Member State of consumption.

The changes mentioned take the following aspects into account:

  • Extension of the special regime for electronic, telecommunications, radio and television services provided by non-EU taxpayers to non-EU taxpayers (mini-one-stop-shop non-EU regulation) and for other services ;
  • Extension of the special regulation for electronic, telecommunications, radio and television services provided by taxpayers resident in the Community but not in the Member State of consumption (EU mini-one-stop-shop regulation) for intra-Community distance sales of Goods for internal goods that are manufactured via electronic interfaces that enable these deliveries and other services;
  • Change of the declaration period (for the submission of the special sales tax declaration) and payment of sales tax within the EU and non-EU regimes, the new period is until the end of the next month after the end of each calendar quarter;
  • Modification of the way in which the special VAT return is changed in the context of all special regulations, in the sense that the changes are included in a subsequent return within three years from the date on which the first declaration had to be submitted; • Introduction of the special regulation for the distance sale of goods imported from third regions or countries in lots with an intrinsic value of a maximum of 150 euros (import regulation).

            The procedure for registering taxpayers to benefit from the special scheme for electronic, telecommunications, radio or television services, as well as reporting VAT, in accordance with the previous provisions of Articles 314 and 315 of Law No. 227/2015 on the Tax Code , with subsequent changes and additions, in the situation where Romania is a registration member state, has been approved by OPANAF No. 3737/2016 with subsequent changes and additions.

In this context, it was necessary to adapt the registration process in order to use one of the three special regimes for taxable persons who provide services to non-taxable persons or who sell goods at a distance, as well as for the declaration of VAT in accordance with the provisions of Articles 314, 315 and 315² the Tax Code if Romania is a Member State of Registration.

At the same time – mentioned ANAF – since by the provisions of Article 2 Paragraph (5) of OPANAF No. 3775/2015 for the approval of special powers of the central tax authority, with subsequent amendments and additions, for the tax authorities of the public finances Bucharest, special competence for the Management of special regulations for electronic, telecommunications, radio or television services for taxpayers who choose Romania as the Member State of registration (EU regulation for mini one-stop shops and non-EU regulation for mini one-stop shops), it was necessary to amend this legislation as well, in order to increase the competence for the administration of the special regimes extended by the new legislation.

In addition, the EMERGENCY REGULATION No. 59/2021 concluded the situations in which taxpayers who are not resident in Romania and are not registered in Romania for VAT purposes are required to register for VAT purposes in accordance with Article 316 (6) of the Tax Code, with the Situation in which the intra-Community distance selling persons who have the place of the start of the dispatch or transport of goods in Romania and for whom they decide to apply the special regulation provided for in Article 315 (EU special regulation).

To apply for registration for VAT purposes, in the situations referred to in Article 316 (6), taxpayers use the form (015) Tax return / declaration of mention / de-registration for non-resident taxpayers who do not have a permanent headquarters  in Romania ”, the model of which is from OPANAF No. 3725/2017 for the approval of the tax registration forms of taxpayers and the types of tax obligations that make up the tax vector, with the following amendments and additions.

With this in mind, it was necessary to modify the instructions for completing this form (approved by Appendix No. 2 available) to include the new situation under Article 316, paragraph 6, letter c) in the Tax Code.

The registration procedure 2021 for the use of one of the special schemes for taxable persons providing services to non-taxable persons or for distance sales of goods, as well as for the declaration of VAT in accordance with the provisions of Article 314, Article 315 and Article 315 ^ 2 of the Tax Code, if Romania is a Member State of registration is:

Taxpayers who are not resident in the European Union can, under the conditions of Article 314 of Law No. 227/2015 in accordance with the Tax Code, with subsequent amendments and additions (Tax Code), a special regulation for all services provided to non-taxpayers who are in are established in the European Union, have their permanent residence or habitual abode, hereinafter referred to as non-EU regulation.

Taxpayers who are based in Romania or, if they are not based in the European Union, have a permanent establishment in Romania, can under the conditions provided for in Article 315 of the Tax Code, a special regulation, hereinafter referred to as the EU regulation, in the following Cases, use:

  1. a) carries out the intra-community distance selling of goods
  2. b) provides services to a non-taxable person if the taxable person is not established in the Member State of consumption.

Taxpayers who do not have a registered office in the European Union or a permanent establishment in Romania, but who carry out intra-Community distance sales of goods that have the place of dispatch or transport of goods in Romania, can use the EU regulation under Article 315 of the Tax Code take advantage of the provided conditions.

If there are several Member States, including Romania, from which the dispatch or transport of goods starts and Romania is chosen as the registration state, taxpayers must respect this choice in the relevant calendar year and in the next 2 calendar years.

The EU regulation can also be used by taxpayers who do not carry out their economic activity in the European Union, but if they have several permanent establishments in the European Union, if they have a permanent establishment in Romania and choose Romania as the member state of registration.

Taxpayers must comply with this decision in the relevant calendar year and in the next 2 calendar years.

The EU regulation can also allow taxpayers based in Romania or if they are not economically active in the European Union to have a permanent headquarters  in Romania and enable the delivery of goods in accordance with Article 270 paragraph 16 of the Tax Code – via electronic interfaces.

We would like to point out that the EU regulation cannot be used by taxpayers who are registered in Romania for VAT purposes, who have established the headquarters  of economic activity or a permanent headquarters  in Romania, for the services that are the place of provision have in Romania

The fulfillment of the tax obligations resulting from the provision of these services is carried out according to the general VAT regulations without the application of the special regulation.

Taxpayers with their registered office in Romania or, if they are not established in the European Union, have a permanent establishment in Romania, can, directly or by commissioning an intermediary, under the conditions provided for in Article 3152 of the Tax Code, a special regulation for the distance sale of goods that are imported from third areas or third countries, hereinafter referred to as import regulation.

Taxpayers who are not resident in the European Union can use the import procedure by commissioning an intermediary or directly if they are resident in a third country with which the Union has concluded an administrative assistance agreement, the scope of which is that of Directive 2010/24 / EU Council and Regulation (EU) No. 904/2010 is similar, and long-distance goods from the respective third country, under the conditions provided for Article 3152 of the Tax Code. The taxpayer designated as intermediary is registered in Romania in accordance with Article 3152, Paragraph 12 of the Tax Code, for the application of the import regulation, if they have their headquarters  of economic activity in Romania or, if they have their headquarters  of economic activity outside the European Union have a permanent headquarters  in Romania.

The import regime can also be used by taxpayers who are not resident in the European Union but who have several permanent establishments in the European Union if they have a permanent establishment in Romania and choose Romania as the Member State of registration. Taxpayers must make this choice in the relevant calendar year and in the next 2 calendar years.

In the event that the intermediaries do not have a registered office in the European Union, but have several permanent offices in the European Union, if they have a permanent office in Romania and choose Romania as the member state of registration, they must make this choice in the relevant calendar year and in respect the next 2 calendar years.

The above procedure applies to the fulfillment of the registration and VAT declaration obligations by taxpayers who decide to apply the above-mentioned special regulations and who choose Romania as the member state of registration for all transactions subject to this regulation.

Responsibility for the management of the special regulations provided for in points 1, 2 and 3 applied by taxpayers who choose Romania as the Member State of registration belongs to the Tax Administration for Non-Resident Taxpayers within the General Directorate for Public Finance Bucharest, hereinafter referred to as responsible tax authority.

The relevant tax authority manages the registration and reporting activities with the help of the computer system provided by the National Center for Financial Information of the Ministry of Finance.

Provisions for registration to use one of the special regulations under Articles 314, 315 and 3152 of the Tax Code:

Registration for the use of the regime

The taxpayer who opts for one of the special regimes of numbers 1, 2 and 3, in the case where Romania is a Member State of registration, must submit an electronic declaration of commencement of activity to the competent tax authority in accordance with Article 314 paragraph 3, Article 315 paragraph 3 and Article 3152 paragraph 6 of the Tax Code.

The declaration of commencement of the activity is also issued by the intermediary, who acts on behalf of the taxpayer (s) who decide to apply the import regulations from point 3.

Even a taxpayer not resident in the European Union who opts for the application of the non-EU regulation or the EU regulation and chooses Romania as the registration member state must also submit a declaration confirming that the person does not have the registered office of the economic activity has established in the territory of the European Union and has no permanent seat on its territory.

Taxpayer who is registered in Romania for VAT purposes and who has his economic place or permanent residence in Romania and who chooses to apply the EU regulation or import regulation, or an intermediary acting on behalf of the taxpayer who chooses to apply of the import regulation with the registration state Romania, which has its permanent seat in other Member States, will be entered in the declaration of the start of activity and the identification data of all business premises in other Member States.

For the application of the non-EU regulation, the declaration of commencement of the activity must contain the information specified in Article 314 paragraph 3 of the Tax Code.

For the application of the import regulations, the declarations of commencement of the activity must contain the information specified in Article 3152 paragraph 7, 8 or 9 of the Tax Code.

The declaration will be completed by any taxpayer wishing to benefit from one of the special schemes and submitted via the electronic portal of the National Center for Financial Information of the Ministry of Finance if Romania is a Member State of registration.

The certificate used to sign the declaration of taking up activities must be registered on the portal of the National Agency for Financial Management, in accordance with the current rules on electronic telecommunication between the National Agency for Financial Management and taxpayers.

The taxpayer or the intermediary (for the import regime) is registered for the application of one of the special regimes if he meets the following cumulative conditions:

  1. a) is not already registered to benefit from this special scheme in another Member State;
  2. b) is not in the period in which he was prohibited from using the special regulations (quarantine period in accordance with Section 2 letter D).

The taxpayer who chooses to apply the EU regulation and the intermediary who chooses to apply the import regulation on behalf of a taxpayer are registered to use this regulation if they meet the conditions set out in paragraph 1 if they are registered in Romania for VAT purposes and if they have their economic seat in Romania or, if they do not have their economic seat in the European Union, still have a permanent seat in Romania.

 

Legal basis:

Tax Code (approved by Law No. 227/2015, published in Official Gazette No. 688 of 10.09.2015), with subsequent amendments and additions;

ANAF Regulation 1387/2021 approving the registration procedure for the application of one of the special rules for taxpayers who provide services to non-taxable persons or sell goods at a distance, as well as for the declaration of VAT in accordance with Articles 314, 315 and 315 ^ 2 of the Tax Code in the event that Romania is a Member State of Registration, as well as for the amendment of some procedural rules;

Emergency Ordinance (Emergency Ordinance) No. 59/2021 amending and supplementing Act No. 227/2015 on the Tax Code.