Queues are expected outside fiscal offices, considering that the form that companies have to submit was published in the Official Gazette on October 16, about a week before the submission deadline and that it is not possible to submit the forms online.
October 25 is also the deadline for tax returns corresponding to September/third quarter of 2012, say tax consultants.
Companies registered for VAT purposes have to fill in and submit the form “Notification on the application/ suspension of application of VAT upon collection” (form 097) to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).
“Whether this form is needed is questionable, and so is the extremely tight deadline for submitting the forms, provided for in Government Ordinance No. 15/2012, October 2012. (…) This creates the premises for new queues at fiscal administration offices. Although I think this was a miscalculation of the legislator, such a situation can be viewed by a cynical observer as indirect help to the fiscal administrations to make sure they will levy enough fines,” believes tax consultant Emilian Duca, general manager of Tax & Business Solutions SRL.
He says this form is not a fiscal return, but is included in the “provision of information” category and the fine in case such information is not submitted on time can be huge: between RON12,000 and RON14,000 for companies and between RON2,500 and RON3,500 for individuals.
Under the circumstances, sending the form by mail can be risky. Those who don’t submit this notification will be registered by default by the fiscal authorities in the register of those who apply VAT upon invoice payment, so the question is why it is mandatory to submit this notification.
Payment of VAT when the invoice is paid, not when it is issued, had often been requested by businesspeople, and over the course of time there were several legislative proposals to this effect, but nothing came of them. The measure could help companies that face a major liquidity shortage. The companies could redirect their resources towards investments and the money would come back into the economy, spurring medium and long-term GDP growth, fiscal consultants explained.
But there are also disadvantages to the application of this method: the time it takes to adapt companies’ IT systems and the costs involved, as well as actually managing the system of levying VAT upon payment of the invoice, according to consultants.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)