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Main legislative changes of April 2023

12/05/2023
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1. Restricting the applicability of the payment deferral procedures

In the Official Gazette no. 290 of 6 April 2023, it was published the Emergency Ordinance no. 20/2023 for amending and supplementing Law no. 207/2015 in respect to the Tax Procedure Code. Among the amendments made by this emergency ordinance, we mention the following:

 

Payment deferral procedure

  • Taxpayers that do not constitute guarantees of a minimum value of 50% of the outstanding debts to be deferred can benefit from the payment deferral procedure for a maximum period of 6 months. To benefit from this procedure for a period of up to 5 years, the guarantees provided must be in the minimum amount mentioned above.
  • This procedure is no longer granted for excise duties, but it is granted for European funds or national public funds related to European funds, that must be returned by the taxpayer.
  • Only one request for modifying the payment deferral decision or maintaining the payment deferral can be submitted in a calendar year or part of a calendar year, by case (previously two requests could have been submitted).

Simplified payment deferral procedure

  • The simplified payment deferral procedure is no longer granted for the following: excise duties; taxes and mandatory social contributions withheld at source; taxes related to gambling activities, but it is granted for European funds or national public funds related to European funds, that must be returned by the taxpayer.
  • Only one request can be submitted for modifying the payment deferral decision or maintaining the payment deferral during the period of validity of the payment deferral (previously two requests could have been submitted).
  • The interest rate for delay of payment increased from 0.01% per day to 0.02% per day;
  • The classic and simplified payment deferral procedures can no longer be granted at the same time.

 

2. Extension of the mechanism of offsetting tax claims

In the Official Gazette no. 320 of 18 April 2023, it was published the Law no. 93/2023 supplementing Law no. 207/2015 in respect to the Tax Procedure Code.

According to this law, a new provision was introduced in the Tax Procedure Code, according to which taxpayers who have tax claims against the local budgets, established by final court decisions, can request for them to be offset with their outstanding obligations to the state budget. This offsetting may be carried out both with current obligations to the state budget and future obligations, without offsetting between budgets, regardless of whether the obligations and claims are administered by the same authority. The procedure for offsetting and exchange of information between local authorities and tax authorities is due to be published by 21 May.

 

3. Tax Code amendments - VAT exemptions

In the Official Gazette no. 310 of 12 April 2023, it was published the Law no. 88/2023 amending and supplementing Law no. 227/2015 in respect to the Tax Code.

According to this law, the delivery of prostheses and their accessories and the delivery of orthopedic products are exempt from VAT, in certain conditions, starting from 11 June 2023 (previously taxed with 9% VAT). 

Also, from this date, there are VAT exempt the following: the delivery of medical equipment, apparel and other materials of sanitary use, normally intended for use in the healthcare field, made towards public hospitals or NGOs, in certain conditions. 

Moreover, there will be VAT exempt also the following: the services of construction, rehabilitation, modernization of public hospitals or the ones owned and exploited by NGOs, in certain conditions.

The corresponding methodological norms of application are expected to be published until the entry into force of these changes. 

 

4. Compliance procedure and notification for legal and natural persons

In the Official Gazette no. 291 of 6 April 2023, it was published the Order of the President of the NAFA no. 420 of 31 March 2023, approving the model and content of the form "Notification of compliance issued by the tax inspectors", the notification procedure and the frequency of issuance, order applicable to legal entities. 

In the Official Gazette no. 292 of 7 April 2023, it was published the Order of the President of NAFA no. 417 of 30 March 2023 amending and supplementing the Order of the President of the NAFA no. 675/2018 on the approval of indirect methods of determining income and the procedure for their application, through which it is introduced the template of compliance notification applicable to individuals.

According to the Tax Procedure Code, tax authorities send a compliance notification to taxpayers who are likely to be selected for tax inspection or control of the individual’s tax situation. This notification must include information about the identified tax risks, and it must allow the taxpayer to reassess the tax situation and file or correct tax returns, if applicable, within 30 days of receiving the notification. 

Through these orders, the template of the compliance notification and the notification procedure for both individuals and legal entities have been approved.

 

5. Other news on individual taxation

At EU level, a framework agreement has been drawn up for the application of Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) no. 883/2004, in relation to cross-border telework, which will enter into force on 1 July 2023. Thus, employees may remain insured under the social security system of the country in which the employer is registered if they telework in their country of residence for less than 50% of the total period of activity, under certain conditions, and if the agreement is signed by both countries. 

In the Official Gazette no. 297 of 7 April 2023, it was published the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 21 of 5 April 2023 on the status of the professional cultural worker. This normative act establishes the legal and tax regime applicable to professional cultural workers, measures to support and develop their professional career and the forms of their collective organization. According to this normative act, a professional cultural worker is an author or performer, and/or an individual carrying out a supporting or auxiliary cultural activity, who has been registered as such for tax purposes for three years.

In the Official Gazette no. 316 of 13 April 2023, Order no. 1.320/227/2023 was published to amend and supplement the Rules for the application of the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005 on health insurance leave and allowances, approved by Order of the Minister of Health and the President of the National Health Insurance House no. 15/2018/1.311/2017. 

Among the amendments made by this normative act, we mention the introduction of the minimum and maximum thresholds (one, respectively three minimum gross salaries) for the insured income mentioned in the insurance contract for health insurance leave and allowances, for which the contribution is due. This income is defined as the monthly income or, by case, the monthly average of the income mentioned in the tax return submitted for payment of the health contribution.

 

Disclaimer

The information contained in this newsletter is intended to give you an overview of new legislation; the newsletter does not contain a comprehensive analysis of each topic. For more information on the topics covered please contact us. No liability is accepted for decisions or omissions following the use of the contents of this newsletter. All Crowe newsletters are available at the address www.crowe.ro.

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