New split VAT payment mechanism in Romania

Romania will introduce the split VAT payment mechanism as from 1 October 2017.


New split VAT payment mechanism in Romania

This mechanism will be optional until 1 January 2018, when it will become mandatory for all businesses in Romania.

What is the split VAT payment mechanism

The split VAT payment is a deviation from the general rules on VAT. Under the usual rules of VAT, the supplier issues an invoice for the net and VAT amount to the customer. The customer will pay the gross amount (net and VAT) to the supplier, who will collect it and pay it to the tax authorities. Under the split VAT payment mechanism, the supplier also issues an invoice for the net and VAT amounts, however, the customer will only pay the net amount to the supplier. The VAT portion is paid directly to the tax authorities, hence eliminating the ´collection´ role of suppliers.

The European Commission is expected to review this new regime in Romania and assessed whether it is in line with the European Directive.

Mechanics of split VAT payment in Romania

There are several requirements connected to Romanian split VAT payments. The current proposal requires taxpayers to open a dedicated bank account for split payments. This account would be named “TVA” and all VAT payments from customers would be paid directly into this account. Also from this account, taxpayers will pay the VAT due to their suppliers, hence balancing input and output VAT. This bank account will not be used where payments are made in cash, by cheque or using a credit card. When submitting their VAT return, taxpayers will make the payment of the remaining amount in the “TVA” bank account directly to the tax authorities.

This system requires the cooperation from banks and financial institutions. The proposal expects these institutions to implement manual and automatic checks on the reconciliation done by each taxpayer.

In Poland, where a Polish split VAT payment was announced recently, the implementation deadline was postponed due to changes and infrastructure required by banks to implement this mechanism. If the same issues arise in Romania, we may expect delays on the planned implementation date.

 


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