Romanian E-Transport Obligation: 2024 Scope Extension

To strengthen its anti-fraud measures, Romania's tax authorities have enforced the Romanian e-transport obligation, which originally became mandatory as of July 1, 2022.

This initiative introduces a meticulous registration system designed to surveil the road transport of specific goods considered to hold significant fiscal risks. The system demands that suppliers of these goods furnish detailed reports of their transportation activities at least three days before the commencement of the transport operation.

Recently, the obligation has been extended to all types of goods when they are subject to international transport. Find more details about the recent updates in this obligation.

What is the Scope of the Romanian E-transport System?

This is the current scope of the E-transport System in Romania:

• Initially, the e-transport obligation was only aimed at monitoring the transport of high-fiscal-risk products (vegetables, fruits, alcoholic beverages, etc.). In this case, the current obligation targets vehicles with an authorized mass of at least 3.5 tons when transporting goods with a total gross mass exceeding 500 kg, or valued at more than RON 10,000.
• Recently, Romania expanded the scope of the e-transport obligation to encompass all goods subject to international transport, including intra-Community acquisitions, supplies, and imports/exports. While national transports continue to be declared solely for high fiscal-risk products, this broader legislation came into effect at the end of December 2023, entering into force by January 2024. In this case, there is no condition or threshold applicable regarding the net mass or value of the goods, as they are all included.

What Information must be Reported under the E-transport System and What is the Deadline?

The information that operators must submit to be compliant with this obligation concerns the identification of the consignor and beneficiary, the product's name, quantities, and value, as well as the dispatch and arrival locations and transport vehicle specifics.

Upon submission in the Virtual Private Space (SPV), an ITU code is generated, which serves as a unique identifier accompanying the goods during transport and must be presented to authorities upon request. The ITU code is only valid for 5 days – except in the case of intra-Community acquisitions.

The deadline to submit this information is at least three days in advance of the transport. So, the ITU code must be available at the moment the goods cross the Romanian borders.

Who Must Comply with Romanian E-transport?

Based on the recent extension of the scope of the Romanian E-transport system, the following operators must comply with this submission requirement:

• The sender/recipient declared in the Customs declaration.
• The recipient, in case of intra-Community acquisitions.
• The supplier, in case of intra-Community supplies.

Grace Period and Penalties

The authorities have granted a grace period until the end of June 2024, during which fines will not be imposed for the extended scope of goods subject to international transport. Therefore, starting 1 July 2024, the penalty system will be enforced for international transport, encompassing fines for failure to report or inaccuracies in reporting. Additionally, undeclared goods may be subject to confiscation.

In conclusion, Romania's e-transport obligation represents an important shift towards fiscal transparency and combatting fraudulent practices in the transport of goods, requiring economic operators to quickly adapt to the recent updates on this obligation.