The Romanian tax authority has broadened the conditions triggering additional scrutiny of VAT returns showing negative amounts, moving beyond Article 169(4)(a)–(c) of Law No. 207/2015 (Fiscal Procedure Code) to capture additional high-risk reimbursement scenarios. The shift reflects growing concern over fraudulent claims consuming budget resources.
Romania’s National Agency for Fiscal Administration is amending Order No. 352/2022—which sets out the procedure for settling VAT returns with negative balances and reimbursement options—to incorporate new risk-detection rules introduced by Article XIII of Emergency Ordinance No. 38/2026.
The changes, formalised through Order No. 506/2026, establish a standardised framework for identifying problematic reimbursement claims before they’re paid out. In practice, this means tax authorities can now reject or suspend reimbursement claims that fall outside the original legal criteria but still signal fraud or financial distress.
Expanded risk triggers
The existing framework flags three categories of risk. First, when other government institutions report documents indicating undue reimbursement. Second, when tax audits uncover evidence of tax-related criminal activity. Third, when subsequent audits find discrepancies exceeding 10% of the reimbursed amount or RON 50,000—whichever is lower.
The amendment adds a fourth category: other circumstances to be defined in a new annex to the procedure. This gives the tax authority discretion to screen returns beyond these statutory thresholds, allowing authorities to respond to emerging fraud patterns without waiting for new legislation. The annex will specify which additional situations qualify as risk indicators.
Procedural streamlining
The revision clarifies how departments handle reimbursement requests internally, addressing practical bottlenecks in the current system. The tax authority will now transmit daily lists of returns requiring prior audit from the relevant department to the audit team using electronic systems—replacing ad-hoc communication. This removes delays and ensures audits happen before reimbursement approval.
Where a reimbursement is already issued, and the authority later discovers risk factors (or learns that insolvency or voluntary liquidation proceedings have begun), a standardised Decision on Annulment will be issued to recover funds. This prevents the authority from being locked into disbursements made in good faith before risk was identified.
Returns that remain unsettled when a business is deregistered will be transferred to a separate tracking record pending resolution of entitlement claims. This clarifies who is owed money and when, rather than leaving reimbursements in limbo.
