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Romania’s Pre-Filled VAT Returns (RO e-TVA): Overview and Compliance

2 months ago
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See also Pre-Filled VAT Returns in Europe: Current Landscape and Future Plans – VATupdate

Romania’s tax authority (ANAF) has introduced pre-filled VAT returns (the RO e-TVA system) for all VAT-registered businesses. Under this system, ANAF automatically compiles a draft VAT return (Form D300) each period using data from various sources (e.g. electronic invoices, transport records, SAF-T, and required VAT declarations). Taxpayers still must file their own VAT return by the usual deadline (the 25th of the following month) but can reference the pre-filled data. They are expected to verify the pre-filled figures against their accounting records and make any corrections before submitting their official return. [pwc.ro], [ey.com] [ey.com], [piroi.com]

If the filed return and the pre-filled data show a significant discrepancy (defined by law as a difference exceeding 20% and at least RON 5,000 on any given tax line), ANAF will issue a “RO e-TVA Compliance Notification” (an electronic notice) flagging these differences. The taxpayer then has 20 days to respond by explaining or rectifying the discrepancies. Failing to respond or to adequately justify the differences can result in financial penalties (ranging from RON 1,000 up to RON 10,000, with higher fines for larger taxpayers). Moreover, unresolved discrepancies will mark the taxpayer as high risk, potentially triggering tax audits or delays in VAT refunds. In summary, Romanian companies need to align their VAT filings with the data reported to authorities, or be prepared to quickly explain any gaps. [pwc.ro], [cabot-tp.ro] [cabot-tp.ro], [pwc.ro] [lexology.com], [pwc.ro]

Significant Difference

  • ≥ 20% & ≥ 5,000 RON
  • Threshold for triggering ANAF’s compliance notice

Response Deadline

  • 20 days
  • Time to explain discrepancies after notification

Fine for No Response

  • 1k–10k RON
  • Penalties for failing to respond (scaled by company size)

Implementation Timeline and Key Dates

Romania’s pre-populated VAT return system rolled out in phases, giving taxpayers time to adapt to the new requirements:

  • Aug 1, 2024: Launch

    RO e-TVA system implemented for transactions from July 2024 onward. Tax authorities began generating pre-filled VAT returns (draft D300) for all VAT payers.

  • Sep 5, 2024: First Pre-Filled Returns

    ANAF issued the first pre-filled VAT returns (for July 2024) via its online portal, along with initial compliance notices highlighting any differences. This served as a test phase – companies received discrepancy notifications but had no immediate penalty for non-response.

  • Jan 1, 2025: Compliance Notices Formalized

    Originally, from this date the 20-day response requirement and fines for unaddressed differences would take effect. Taxpayers would then be legally obliged to explain significant variances between their reported VAT and the pre-filled data.

  • Jul 1, 2025: Grace Period Extension

    The government extended the grace period – full enforcement of penalties was postponed to July 1, 2025 (allowing extra time for businesses to adjust). Until then, notices could be issued but were largely informational, without fines.

  • Aug 28, 2025: Final Extension

    A further extension moved the deadline for mandatory compliance to Dec 31, 2025. This meant no fines for non-response would apply through the end of 2025, although companies were expected to use this time to fix data issues.

  • Jan 1, 2026: Full Enforcement

    As of 2026, the pre-filled return system is fully enforceable. All VAT-registered businesses must comply: significant discrepancies require a timely explanation, or penalties and risk-based audits may follow (the grace period has expired).

Data Sources Used for Pre-Filled VAT Returns
The RO e-TVA pre-filled return is compiled from a broad range of data sources available to the Romanian tax authorities. It pulls information on the company’s transactions from multiple reporting systems, including:
  • Domestic sales and purchases (Form D394) – the detailed monthly domestic transactions report submitted by VAT taxpayers. [ey.com]
  • Intra-Community sales/purchases (Form D390) – EU intra-community supply/acquisition listings. [ey.com]
  • Electronic invoicing (RO e-Factura) – data from invoices issued through Romania’s e-invoice system. [pwc.ro]
  • Electronic transport records (RO e-Transport) – reports of goods shipments for VAT monitoring. [pwc.ro]
  • Electronic fiscal cash registers (RO e-Cash) – sales data recorded in approved cash register systems. [ey.com]
  • Customs declarations – import/export data from the integrated customs IT system. [pwc.ro]
  • SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) – standardized accounting data submissions (mandatory for large taxpayers, extending to others). [pwc.ro]
  • Other government databases – e.g. the register of housing with reduced VAT, or any relevant information in the Finance Ministry’s systems. [ey.com]
All these inputs are consolidated to pre-populate the lines of the VAT return (D300) with the amounts that ANAF believes should be reported. For example, if a company issued RON 100,000 in domestic sales invoices at the 19% VAT rate during the month (as recorded in e-Factura or D394 reports), the pre-filled return will reflect that amount in the corresponding output VAT line. [ey.com]
Note: The pre-filled return is not an official tax assessment or liability on its own – it’s an informational draft. ANAF explicitly states that the pre-filled RO e-TVA “does not constitute a title of debt”. Its purpose is to assist taxpayers, leveraging the data tax authorities already have on file to highlight what the VAT return should contain. Taxpayers remain responsible for reviewing this information and submitting an accurate D300 return that reflects their true tax position. [ey.com]
Initial scope: In practice, ANAF’s reconciliation focus has initially been on domestic output VAT. The authorities indicated that the first wave of e-TVA checks “will focus … on the deliveries of goods and services within Romania,” specifically the VAT declared on local transactions taxed at 5%, 9%, or 19%. These are the lines most likely to show discrepancies, since ANAF can cross-check them against detailed domestic sales reports and e-invoice data. Cross-border transactions (EU trade or exports) and input VAT may also be pre-filled from available data, but early compliance notices have centered on mismatches in local sales figures. [cabot-tp.ro]

Identifying Differences and Compliance Notices

When you submit your own VAT return, ANAF compares it to the pre-filled draft. If everything matches (or any differences are minor), the process is business-as-usual. If there are discrepancies beyond the defined threshold, ANAF will send you a “RO e-TVA Compliance Notification” via its electronic portal. This notice lists the differences identified, typically by referencing the specific lines of the VAT return where your declared amount and ANAF’s data diverge. [cabot-tp.ro]
Definition of “significant differences”: Romanian legislation sets a clear criterion: a difference is flagged as significant if it is at least 20% (in relative terms) and at least RON 5,000 (in absolute value) for the given line item. Both conditions must be met. For example, if your VAT return shows RON 20,000 of output VAT at 19% but ANAF’s data sums to RON 26,000, this is a 30% (RON 6,000) shortfall – exceeding both 20% and RON 5k, hence significant. In contrast, a RON 4,000 difference (even if 30%) or a 10% shortfall (even if over RON 5k) alone would not meet the threshold. [pwc.ro]
However, ANAF isn’t limited to the threshold. The law notes that compliance notifications may still be issued for smaller discrepancies if a risk analysis warrants it. In practice, during the initial rollout, only the defined significant differences triggered notices, but companies should strive to reconcile all differences, large or small.
What the compliance notice means: Receiving an RO e-TVA notification doesn’t immediately penalize you – it’s a request for clarification. The notice gives you a chance to “check the differences and justify why different VAT values appear” between your return and ANAF’s records. Essentially, the tax authority is asking: “We think line X should be amount Y, but you reported Z. Please explain this gap.” [cabot-tp.ro]
Expected actions (20-day response window): Upon receiving a notice, a taxpayer must analyze the discrepancies and provide an electronic response within 20 days. This response (submitted through the ANAF portal) should include any corrections made or a detailed explanation backed by records, for each discrepancy. Common explanations might be, for example: an invoice was issued to a client but later canceled or corrected (so it appeared in ANAF’s source data but was rightly excluded from the final return), or a timing difference where a transaction was reported in a different period. The key is to demonstrate good-faith compliance – either agree and amend your VAT return (if you indeed under-reported) or justify the accuracy of your figures with evidence. [cabot-tp.ro]
If the discrepancy is due to an error on the taxpayer’s side, the expectation is that the VAT return should be amended to reflect the correct data (and any due tax paid). If it’s due to an error or gap in ANAF’s data, the taxpayer’s response should document this (for instance, if certain sales weren’t required to be reported in the systems that ANAF used, or the data in ANAF’s system is outdated/incomplete).
Failure to respond or insufficient explanation: Not answering the compliance notice is taken very seriously. The lack of a response (or a non-explanation) will not make the issue go away – on the contrary, as detailed below, it leads to penalties and marks the company as a compliance risk.

Penalties for Unexplained Discrepancies

Starting in 2025 (after the grace period), failing to submit a timely response to an e-TVA compliance notice carries legal and financial consequences. The Romanian Fiscal Procedure Code (as amended by Emergency Ordinances for e-TVA) introduced fines for non-compliance:
  • For large taxpayers, fines range from RON 5,000 up to RON 10,000. [pwc.ro]
  • For medium-sized companies, fines range from RON 2,500 up to RON 5,000. [pwc.ro]
  • For small businesses or individuals, fines range from RON 1,000 up to RON 2,500. [pwc.ro]
(These tiers reflect the company’s status as defined by tax authorities; larger entities face higher penalties.) If a company simply ignores the notice and does nothing within 20 days, it can expect to be hit with a fine in the above range once the grace period is over. These sanctions were slated to apply from January 1, 2025, though – as noted – enforcement was postponed to allow a transition. As of now (2026), they are in full effect. [cabot-tp.ro] [cabot-tp.ro], [fintua.com]
Beyond fines, there are broader risks: ANAF has made it clear that unaddressed discrepancies will factor into the taxpayer’s risk profile. Starting 2025, “differences identified in the e-VAT return will impact the level of risk for taxpayers”. A pattern of unexplained differences can land a company in a “high fiscal risk” category, which in turn makes it more likely to face in-depth tax inspections. In other words, not reconciling your VAT data can trigger audits, either on-site or remote, to scrutinize your records. It can also raise red flags when you claim VAT refunds – tax officials may delay or investigate refund claims if your compliance track record shows unexplained discrepancies. The law even equates failing to clarify differences to a scenario of potential tax evasion risk or improper VAT refund claims, underlining how seriously these differences are viewed. [lexology.com] [taxhouse.ro] [pwc.ro]
Important: The compliance notice itself is not considered a formal tax assessment (it “does not represent a fiscal administrative act” in the sense of being appealable). You cannot appeal the notice or “cancel” it; your only recourse is to respond with an explanation. If you disagree with ANAF’s pre-filled data, the onus is on you to demonstrate why your filed return is correct. Ignoring the notice isn’t a viable option – it simply means you’re non-compliant with the procedural obligation to respond, for which the above fines (and potential further scrutiny) apply. [cabot-tp.ro]

Early Experiences and Compliance Tips

Initial results: The first months of RO e-TVA implementation revealed a number of discrepancies between companies’ VAT returns and the data aggregated by ANAF. September 2024 (when the July 2024 pre-filled returns were issued) was a learning period – “inconsistencies between the electronic filings submitted by taxpayers and the tax authorities’ data were observed.” Many businesses discovered gaps, likely due to things like invoices not captured in the new e-systems, timing differences, or mistakes in their own reports. By October 2024, some of these issues were resolved through direct communication with the tax authorities (tax officials and companies working together to reconcile figures), but the process was far from smooth. This transition phase underscored an increased administrative burden on taxpayers to investigate and explain variances, even before formal penalties kicked in. [lexology.com]
During the grace period, ANAF encouraged businesses to use this time to calibrate their systems and data. Notices were sent as a test, giving companies a preview of what differences the authority sees, “without the pressure, at least until the end of this year, of immediate legal consequences.” In other words, 2024 (and extended into 2025) was a trial run to prompt companies to fix their reporting processes. [cabot-tp.ro], [cabot-tp.ro]
Common sources of discrepancies: Based on the data sources and initial focus, companies most often saw differences in their domestic sales figures. For example, if a company’s internal records missed a few invoices or reported them in the wrong period, ANAF’s pre-fill (based on e-invoice and cash register data) would show higher sales than the company declared – triggering a notice. There were also instances of “uncorrelated information in the tax authority’s databases” – e.g. if certain fields couldn’t be matched, ANAF might hold off on issuing a notice. But generally, any mismatch in the VAT on local 5%, 9%, or 19% transactions was flagged. This put pressure on businesses to ensure that all their taxable sales are properly reported across all systems (invoices, cash registers, statements) consistently. [fintua.com] [cabot-tp.ro]
Case example: A Romanian retailer’s July 2024 VAT return showed RON 500,000 in taxable sales at 19% (thus RON 95,000 VAT). However, ANAF’s pre-filled draft, using the retailer’s e-invoice and cash register submissions, totaled RON 520,000 in 19% sales (RON 98,800 VAT). This 3,800 RON VAT difference (~4%) was below the 20% threshold, so no automatic notice was issued. The next month, the retailer corrected some late-entered invoices, and their August return aligned with ANAF’s data. No penalty was incurred. But in another case, a wholesaler’s October return under-reported domestic sales by 25% (a RON 12,000 VAT shortfall). ANAF issued a compliance notification, giving the wholesaler until late November to respond. The company investigated and found that certain invoices were mistakenly omitted. They amended the VAT return to include them and informed ANAF. No fine was levied since they acted within 20 days and paid the difference. These scenarios illustrate how the system is catching discrepancies and how businesses are expected to react.
How to comply effectively: To avoid issues, Romanian VAT-registered companies are advised to take the following steps each period:
  • Check ANAF’s pre-filled return early: By the 5th of the month (after your VAT filing deadline), retrieve your RO e-TVA draft from the ANAF portal. Review the amounts pre-populated by the tax authority. [piroi.com]
  • Reconcile with your records: Compare the pre-filled figures with your own accounting and VAT records. Identify any differences line by line – for instance, does ANAF show more sales in a certain category than you have recorded, or vice versa? [piroi.com]
  • Investigate discrepancies: If you spot divergences, determine the cause. It could be a simple reporting delay, a data entry error, or an issue with how a transaction was reported (e.g. an invoice treated differently). [piroi.com]
  • Correct errors before filing: Ideally, if you find you indeed missed or misreported something, fix your VAT return (or underlying accounting) before submitting the D300. You are obligated to submit an accurate return “correctly, completely and in good faith” by the 25th, so use the pre-fill as a validation tool. [ey.com]
  • Document intentional differences: If you knowingly file a value that differs from the pre-fill (because you believe the pre-filled data is wrong or incomplete), be ready with supporting documentation. You won’t send this unless asked, but you should have a clear explanation ready.
  • Respond promptly to any notice: If ANAF issues a compliance notification, treat it as a priority task. You have 20 days to analyze and draft a response. Provide a clear, factual explanation and submit it through the prescribed electronic form. [cabot-tp.ro]
  • Leverage available reports: ANAF allows taxpayers to request detailed reports of the data that went into the pre-filled return. It can be wise to download these source data reports (e.g., a list of all invoices ANAF counted) to pinpoint the differences. [ey.com]
  • Improve data quality ongoing: Over the long term, ensure your sales and purchase reporting systems (e-invoicing, ERP, cash registers) are synchronized with your VAT filings. Any technical or timing issues (like invoices not transmitted on time to ANAF) should be resolved to minimize mismatches.
By following these steps, companies can largely avoid surprises and make the most of the new system’s transparency benefits. The goal of RO e-TVA is ultimately to streamline compliance by catching errors early and encouraging alignment between taxpayer records and government data. Businesses that invest the effort to reconcile data each month will find the compliance process relatively straightforward, with the pre-filled return acting as a helpful checklist. On the other hand, ignoring the pre-filled data or the notices can lead to disputes and penalties that are best avoided. [piroi.com], [piroi.com]
Conclusion: Romania’s pre-filled VAT return initiative is a significant step toward digital tax compliance. It brings more oversight but also offers tools for error reduction. Understanding what is being pre-filled, monitoring the data, and proactively explaining any differences are now essential parts of the VAT compliance process in Romania. Companies that adapt to this new system – by tightening their reporting and responding diligently to notices – will not only avoid penalties but also likely benefit from faster VAT refunds and fewer audits, as they demonstrate a low-risk compliance profile. All available information indicates that Romanian tax authorities are using data analytics to close the VAT gap, so transparency and cooperation on the part of taxpayers will be key moving forward. [cabot-tp.ro] [lexology.com]
Sources:

 

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