The split VAT payment applies optionally from 1 October 2017

Ordinance no. 23/2017 regarding split VAT payment was published in the Official Gazette no. 706/31.08.2017.

The Ordinance applies optionally between 1 October 2017 and 31 December 2017 by submitting a notification to ANAF.

Starting 1 January 2018, the Ordinance is mandatory for invoices issued / advances received after this date.

Taxable persons registered for VAT purposes have the obligation to open and use at least one VAT account for the collection and payment of VAT. VAT accounts are automatically opened to State Treasury units on the basis of a list sent by ANAF. VAT accounts may also be opened to credit institutions.

Taxable persons have the obligation to communicate the VAT account to providers / suppliers and the beneficiaries, otherwise they are liable to a fine ranging between 2,000 lei and 4,000 lei.

In the case of suppliers / providers who did not communicate the VAT account to beneficiaries, the beneficiaries have to pay the amount representing the VAT related to the purchases into the VAT account of the supplier / provider opened with the State Treasury.

Taxable persons registered for VAT purposes have the obligation to pay the equivalent VAT of the purchases of goods and services from the VAT account, except for cash payments or by using cash substitutes.

For cash payments, debit / credit cards payments or for cash substitutes, it has been established the obligation to pay the VAT in the VAT account within a maximum of 7 business days. Similarly, within a maximum of 7 business days, it has to be paid in the VAT account the VAT which has not been paid to the VAT account by other VAT payers, VAT on payment instruments issued prior to 1 January 2018 and collected after that date, as well as the difference between VAT on receipts and cash payments in a day.

In the case of partial payments, each payment is considered to include VAT. Beneficiaries who partially pay an invoice in which operations are subject to multiple VAT rates and / or multiple tax regimes have to allocate the amounts paid in priority to operations subject to the normal charging regime, in the descending order of VAT quotas.

Reimbursement of the negative VAT amounts included in the reimbursement returns is made in a different account other than the VAT account, except when the holder requests reimbursement in the VAT account.

The Registry of the persons applying the split VAT payment organized by ANAF is set up and the persons who opt for the application of the VAT split payment between 1 October and 31 December 2017 are registered.

Facilities are provided for persons who opt for the application of the VAT split payment between 1 October and 31 December 2017, respectively:

• a 5% reduction of the corporate tax / microenterprise tax related to the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2017.
• the cancellation of late payment penalties related to the main VAT obligations, outstanding on 30 September 2017, under certain conditions; The facility is granted only if certain conditions are met.

A grace period of 7 business days to correct mistakes related to VAT payment is set.

If the errors were not corrected within 7 working days, a penalty of 0.06% per day of the VAT amount is applied until the date of correcting the VAT payment, but no more than 30 days.

After the 30-day time limit, 50% of the amount of VAT is charged for acts such as non-payment to the supplier’s VAT account or erroneous debiting VAT account.

A 10% fine of the amount representing VAT is applied, for the non-payment of the VAT amounts in the current account of the holder in his / her VAT account or the payment of the VAT due to the supplier from a different account than the own VAT account.