VAT and invoicing in Romania (2026): rates, e-Factura, SAF-T

Romania changed its VAT more than once in recent years: new rates in August 2025, a higher exemption threshold, and an e-invoicing system that now covers both business and consumer sales. Add the SAF-T file and the obligation to file everything through ANAF's online space, and a small business needs a clear picture of what applies. This guide explains the rates, registration, returns, invoices, RO e-Factura and SAF-T as of October 2026.

Romanian VAT at a glance

The tax is taxa pe valoarea adăugată (TVA), governed by Title VII of the Fiscal Code (Law No. 227/2015) and administered by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală, ANAF) under the Ministry of Finance.

There is no 0% rate in Romania. Check the exact product, especially for food: sugar content and customs codes decide whether 11% or 21% applies.

Domestic reverse charge: between two businesses registered for VAT in Romania, certain supplies are invoiced without VAT and the customer accounts for it, for example electricity and natural gas, waste, green certificates, gold, wood and grain, real estate where the option to tax was used, and, until 31 December 2026, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles and integrated-circuit devices when the invoice is at least RON 22,500 without VAT.

Who must register for VAT

• Threshold: a business established in Romania must register once its annual turnover exceeds RON 395,000. Below that it can use the special exemption regime for small businesses, or register voluntarily.
• Businesses established abroad have no threshold. They must register before certain activities in Romania, such as intra-EU acquisitions or supplies of goods, transfers of their own goods to Romania, some distance sales or exports.
• Cash accounting (TVA la încasare): businesses established in Romania may opt to pay VAT only when their customers pay, if turnover is below RON 5,000,000 (from 1 March to 31 December 2026), rising to RON 5,500,000 from 1 January 2027. Under this scheme your input VAT deduction on purchases is generally deferred until you pay for them.

Since 1 March 2022 every taxpayer must be enrolled in ANAF's virtual private space (SPV) and send returns and documents electronically; filings sent on paper are not taken into account.

VAT returns and payment

If the 25th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. Semi-annual or annual VAT periods are possible only with ANAF's prior approval.

SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) follows the OECD 2.0 model and contains detailed data on customers, suppliers, ledger entries, the tax treatment of transactions, stock movements and payments. It was rolled out by taxpayer size and covers small businesses too in 2026, so check with your accountant which parts you file and when.

Invoices: what Romanian law requires

The rules for invoices are in art. 319 of the Fiscal Code. Every invoice must carry, among other details:

1. 1a unique sequential number (art. 319(20)(a)) and the issue date
2. 2the name, address and VAT registration code (or tax identification code) of the supplier and of the customer
3. 3the date of supply, if it differs from the issue date
4. 4the description and quantity of the goods or services
5. 5the unit price without VAT, any discounts and the taxable amount per rate
6. 6the VAT rate and the VAT amount
7. 7where they apply, a reference to the exemption, the words “taxare inversă” for a reverse-charge supply or “autofactură” for self-billing

Foreign currency: you may invoice in euros or another currency. In RO e-Factura, an invoice whose currency is not RON must also show the total VAT in lei, the currency in which VAT is accounted for.

Corrections: under the Fiscal Code an invoice that has been sent to the buyer cannot be cancelled. You correct it with a new document that refers to the original invoice (its number and date): a storno invoice with negative values, a credit note, or a corrected invoice, often a storno followed by a new invoice with the right values. Each correction goes through RO e-Factura like any other invoice.

Shop sales with a fiscal receipt: a retail customer who received a fiscal receipt (bon fiscal) can ask for an invoice; it is issued as an invoice for information purposes on the date of the receipt.

Record keeping: ANAF can assess taxes within a five-year limitation period, which starts on 1 July of the year after the one the tax relates to. Keep invoices, the XML files and your records at least that long; accounting rules can require more.

RO e-Factura: Romania's e-invoicing system

RO e-Factura is ANAF's national e-invoicing platform. Invoices are structured XML files following the RO_CIUS specification (Order No. 1366/2021), based on the European standard EN 16931, in UBL 2.1 or CII syntax.

• Deadline: send each invoice to RO e-Factura within 5 calendar days of issuing it.
• Fines for not using the system depend on the size of the business (Law No. 296/2023 and Emergency Ordinance No. 115/2023).
• Duplicates: even a tiny change, such as an extra space, makes a resent XML file a new invoice in the system, and it cannot be withdrawn. Correct mistakes with a storno invoice or credit note instead of uploading again.
• Access: you need to be enrolled in the SPV. Invoices can be uploaded with the Ministry of Finance's free web application or sent from software through ANAF's API, directly or through a provider of your choice, and buyers download them from the system.

Under the EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package, e-invoicing and digital reporting for cross-border B2B sales inside the EU follow from 1 July 2030.

Clientlly is not connected to RO e-Factura. Invoices to Romanian businesses and consumers must be sent to the system through ANAF's SPV tools or a provider that is.

Worked example in lei

A small IT company in Cluj-Napoca, a monthly VAT payer, invoices a client in September:

In the same month it buys a monitor for RON 5,000.00 plus RON 1,050.00 VAT (21%) and two hotel nights for a client visit for RON 1,000.00 plus RON 110.00 VAT (11%), so its input VAT is RON 1,160.00.

• Output VAT: RON 4,200.00
• Input VAT: RON 1,160.00
• VAT payable for September: RON 4,200.00 − RON 1,160.00 = RON 3,040.00, due with the D300 return by the 25th of October (the next working day when the 25th falls on a weekend)

To find the VAT inside a gross price at 21%, multiply by 21 and divide by 121: RON 24,200 × 21 ÷ 121 = RON 4,200.

Common mistakes

1. 1Using the old 19%, 9% or 5% rates on invoices after 1 August 2025.
2. 2Applying 11% to every food product: sugary foods, drinks under CN 2202 and food supplements are taxed at 21%.
3. 3Missing the 5-day RO e-Factura deadline, including for invoices to consumers.
4. 4Uploading the same invoice twice after a small edit, which creates a duplicate that cannot be withdrawn.
5. 5Trying to cancel a sent invoice instead of issuing a storno invoice or credit note.
6. 6Crossing RON 395,000 without registering for VAT.
7. 7Forgetting the domestic reverse charge on electronics, energy, waste or wood between Romanian VAT payers.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly keeps invoicing, expenses and VAT records together:

• sequential invoice numbering per series and the VAT rates of your organisation's country on every invoice
• credit notes linked to the original invoice
• invoice PDFs in your client's language, multiple currencies and a card payment link on the invoice
• you see when an invoice was opened, and automatic reminders go out 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date
• recurring invoices, and scanning receipts with the VAT read automatically
• sales and purchase VAT books per rate, including exports, reverse charge and intra-EU purchases, with VAT reports for you and your accountant and Excel and PDF exports
• importing clients, suppliers, products and opening balances from Excel or CSV, and a mobile app

Clientlly does not send invoices to RO e-Factura and does not prepare SAF-T files; for those you need ANAF's tools or a provider connected to them. See the accounting module, the reporting tools and our guide to getting paid faster.