Romanian VAT regimes

Romanian taxa pe valoarea adăugată (VAT) rests on three main rates (19 / 11 / 5% in 2026), a heavily-used micro-enterprise regime, and an extended reverse charge mechanism for high-fraud sectors. The e-Factura transition imposes a strict mapping of rates and categories onto EN 16931 codelists.

Standard rate 19%

The standard Romanian VAT rate is 19% since 1 January 2017 (reduction from 20% to 19% by Legea 277/2015 amending the Codul Fiscal). It applies to the majority of supplies of goods and services:

• Non-food consumer goods: electronics, textiles (except children's clothing), furniture, cosmetics.
• Services: consulting, IT, legal, financial (except exempt), non-public transport, commercial leasing.
• Fuels: petrol, diesel, LPG — including for professional use.
• Premium hospitality: 5-star hotels since OUG 115/2023, lower star ratings remain at the reduced rate.

e-Factura codelist: S (Standard rated) with attribute cbc:Percent>19.

Reduced rate 11% (transitional) / 9% (reference)

The fiscal reform OUG 156/2024 temporarily raised the reduced rate from 9% to 11% from 1 July 2025 to 1 January 2026, as part of the budget adjustment plan negotiated with the European Commission. It is expected to drop back to 9% on 1 January 2026 but an extension is debated in Parliament.

Applies to:

• Food products: basic staples excluding premium processed products.
• Medicines: pharmaceutical products for humans and veterinary use, including recognised food supplements.
• Books, newspapers, magazines: printed and digital (alignment with EU directive 2018/1713).
• Restaurant: dine-in restaurant and catering services — takeaway delivery remains at 19%.
• Hospitality: 1-4 star hotels, guesthouses, camping (5-star moved to 19% since 2024).
• Drinking water: water distribution for domestic use.

e-Factura codelist: S with cbc:Percent>11 (transitional) or >9.

Super-reduced rate 5%

The 5% super-reduced rate is reserved for operations with high social value:

• Social housing: sale of new homes < 600,000 RON under conditions of surface area and primary-residence destination.
• Social services: services in elderly care, disability and youth centres.
• School textbooks: MEN-approved textbooks (Ministerul Educației Naționale), educational materials.
• Museum / monument / exhibition access: public ticket prices, cultural ticketing.
• Thermal energy: district heating network.

e-Factura codelist: S with cbc:Percent>5.

Micro-enterprise regime (≤ 300K RON / ~€88K)

The microîntreprindere regime is a heavily-used Romanian tax specificity: companies with turnover < 300,000 RON (~€88,000) taxed on turnover rather than profit (1% if at least one employee, 3% otherwise).

• 2026 threshold: 300,000 RON (annual revenue excluding VAT). Lowered from 500K to 300K by OUG 115/2023.
• VAT status: may opt for voluntary VAT registration (plătitor de TVA) or remain non-registered (neplătitor). The choice conditions e-Factura obligation.
• If not VAT registered: issues invoices outside e-Factura for local B2B operations (transactions are out of VAT scope). But must still use it for B2G if the client is public.
• If voluntary VAT registered: e-Factura mandatory from 1 January 2025 like all VAT taxpayers.

Also see PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată), II (Întreprindere Individuală), IF (Întreprindere Familială) self-employed statuses with specific rules.

Taxare inversă — reverse charge art. 331

Taxare inversă (buyer self-assessment of VAT) is mandatory for domestic B2B operations listed in art. 331 of the Codul Fiscal — an extended anti-fraud mechanism:

For these operations, the issuer invoices without VAT with the mandatory mention "taxare inversă conform art. 331 Cod Fiscal". The buyer self-assesses VAT (declaration and deduction simultaneously on the same D300 return).

e-Factura codelists — EN 16931 mapping

In RO_CIUS format, VAT regimes translate to the following codes for cac:TaxCategory/cbc:ID:

Each code must be justified by a cbc:TaxExemptionReasonCode from the EN 16931 VAT exemption codeslist (e.g. VATEX-EU-AE for taxare inversă).

Common pitfalls

• Confusing 9% and 11%. The reduced rate is 11% transitionally (until 1 January 2026 then parliamentary debate). Many ERPs still configured at 9% cause e-Factura rejections.
• Forgetting the mandatory taxare inversă mention. An art. 331 invoice without the textual mention "taxare inversă conform art. 331 Cod Fiscal" is rejected by ANAF. Code AE alone is not enough.
• Micro-enterprise and VAT. A non-VAT micro-enterprise must not indicate VAT on its invoices — but must still issue via e-Factura for public clients (B2G mandatory since 2022).
• Misusing the O Out-of-scope code. Reserved for internal re-invoicing and certain indemnities. Abusive use to avoid VAT triggers ANAF audit.
• 5% housing and surface conditions. The super-reduced housing rate requires usable surface < 120 m² and primary-residence destination for the first-time buyer. Frequent errors in construction.

Cross-links

• Romania hub — full e-Factura ANAF
• e-Factura — pure RO_CIUS clearance
• RO_CIUS — UBL 2.1 customization
• D406 — Romanian SAF-T
• e-Factura calendar 2022-2025
• Codul Fiscal — Title VII VAT (official ANAF text)
• ANAF — VAT taxpayer assistance
• European Commission — VAT directive 2006/112/EC