RO e-Transport is the system tasked with monitoring transports within Romania that contain goods with higher tax risks. It was belatedly introduced in January 2023. Subsequently, new legislation came into force in January this year, which extended its scope. The changes, contained in OUG Regulation 115/2023, increased the scope of consignment monitoring to include all types of goods transported internationally within Romania. However, it is only from 1 July that Romanian control authorities will issue fines for non-compliance with the new regulations.
It should be recalled that the aim of implementing this system is to reduce tax evasion, narrow the VAT gap, and prevent illegal trade.
Carriers are obligated to electronically notify the national platform of the RO e-Transport document in XML format. The RO e-Transport electronic document must contain the following information:
- Consignor and consignee of the goods;
- The nature and value of the goods transported;
- The places of loading and unloading and information on the mode of transport.
The system generates a UIT code when the goods are declared for transport. This code uniquely identifies the goods. The UIT code can be requested up to three calendar days before the specified transport date and is valid for five days from the declared transport date. The UIT code must be clearly legible on the goods transport document.
Entities applying for RO e-Transport
The RO e-Transport system came into force on 1 January 2023 for goods with a high fiscal risk. From 1 January 2024, it also applies to all international transports of all types of goods, provided they meet the following conditions:
- The goods are transported in vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 2.5 tonnes;
- The goods carried weigh more than 500 kg;
- The value of the transported goods exceeds 10,000 Romanian lei (approximately 2000 euros).
We remind you that the legal entities responsible for declaring goods in the RO e-Transport system are:
- The consignee mentioned in the customs declaration for import or the consignor mentioned in the customs declaration for export, for goods covered by import or export operations;
- The Romanian consignee in the case of the purchase of goods transported in an EU country;
- The Romanian supplier, in the case of delivery of goods in transit to an EU country;
- The warehousekeeper, in the case of transit goods that are the subject of intra-EU transactions, both for goods unloaded on Romanian territory for storage or for creating a new lot from one or more lots of goods, and for goods loaded after storage or after creating a new lot of one or more lots of goods on Romanian territory.
What to look out for
“Above all, hauliers need to equip their vehicles with systems that enable the ongoing collection and transmission of vehicle location data throughout the route. The devices should record these values, which are entered into the RO e-Transport system. In addition, it is important to control the details of the UIT code and the means of transport used,” advises law firm Transcash.
Drivers, on the other hand, will be obliged to switch on the positioning device before they enter Romania.
“They can only switch it off after leaving the territory of the country of unloading or after the goods have been delivered to the declared place of delivery. At the same time, drivers are obliged to present the UIT code and the transport documents to the relevant authorities – agents and officers of the Romanian police, customs, and tax authorities upon request,” adds the law firm.
Penalties for drivers and legal entities
A fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 lei will be imposed on the driver if he/she violates or fails to comply with any of the above-mentioned obligations.
For legal entities, the following offences are punishable by a fine of between 20,000 and 100,000 Romanian lei (between 17,000 and 85,000 zlotys), as well as confiscation of the value of undeclared goods:
- Failure to comply with the provisions concerning the obligation of users to declare in the RO e-Transport system data relating to the transport of goods within its scope so that they can be identified by means of the UIT code;
- The use of the UIT code by the road haulier after the expiry of its validity period;
- The unloading in Romania of goods which are the subject of intra-Community transactions in transit, except for goods subject to storage or the creation of a new consignment from one or more consignments;
- The declaration in the RO e-Transport system of quantities other than the goods being transported.