According to the strategy of the National Fiscal Administration Agency (ANAF), collection efficiency will improve by supporting fiscal compliance, with particular emphasis, and by combating fiscal evasion in terms of declaring and paying taxes and fees.

The year 2024 saw multiple changes in tax legislation aimed mainly at combating cross-border tax evasion and creating a fairer and more predictable tax environment for companies. The impact of these international changes on Romanian taxpayers was significant, as they were forced to adapt to the new tax requirements and adjust their tax practices and strategies to remain in compliance with the law. These multiple legislative changes lead to the multiplication of tax controls and inspections, as well as the introduction of new tools for taxpayers’ voluntary compliance.

According to GEO 188/2022, before starting any tax inspection check, taxpayers will receive a compliance notice from the tax authorities. This notice gives taxpayers 30 days to fix any problems identified by the authorities. However, there are also circumstances in which the issuance of this document is not necessary.

Compliance notices are usually sent for the purpose of initiating a tax audit. Before issuing a compliance notice, tax inspectors conduct risk analyzes to assess the level of tax compliance of taxpayers and identify potential tax risks.

As part of these reviews, tax inspectors can verify the correctness and completeness of accounting records, financial reports and supporting documents, they can analyze transfer prices and transactions between related entities to ensure that they are carried out according to the market value principle. Also, as part of the risk analyses, the accuracy and correctness of the tax returns submitted by taxpayers are checked, including the correctness of the application of tax regulations and the deductibility of expenses, compliance with tax legislation is assessed in terms of applicable taxes and fees, including profit tax, VAT , income tax and other specific tax obligations, suspicious transactions are identified, such as tax evasion, illegal transfer of assets or other practices not in compliance with tax legislation.

Notifications are issued when new tax risks are identified, which were not previously notified and were not the subject of tax audits. These compliance notices can be sent monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually, depending on the fiscal period corresponding to the tax, charge or contribution for which the fiscal risk has been identified.

Submitting or correcting statements following the receipt of compliance notices will not prevent the tax authorities from carrying out actions to verify the fiscal situation, but this verification actions will be carried out after the expiry of the mentioned term, i.e. after the 30 days.

Companies that receive compliance notices must respond within 30 days either by submitting rectifications or a reasoned response. Practically, if the risks identified by the tax inspectors are of the nature of transfer pricing, companies can respond by submitting the transfer pricing file or by submitting comparability studies.

If, normally, the deadline for the preparation of the transfer pricing file is between 30 and 60 calendar days, with the possibility of extension only once, at the written request of the company in question for a period of no more than 30 calendar days, by submitting such compliance notices, the deadline for preparing the transfer pricing file, or the related studies, is reduced to just 30 days, with no possibility of extension.

Compliance notices can be sent to taxpayers by post or through ANAF’s Virtual Private Space (SPV), where they can access tax documents and communicate electronically with tax authorities.

Therefore, the compliance notices issued by ANAF are an important tool in the tax process, which aims to ensure compliance with tax legislation and the correctness of taxpayers’ tax returns. Complying with and properly managing these notices is critical to maintaining tax compliance and avoiding potential future controversy or litigation.