RO e-Invoice: mandatory electronic invoicing system - who, when and how must issue electronic invoices

Who has the obligation to issue and send e-Invoices?

The obligation to issue electronic invoices and to transmit them through the national RO e-Invoice system rests with:

Economic operators that sell products with high fiscal risk in the B2B relationship

The list of products with high fiscal risk is detailed in OPANAF no. 12/2022 and includes the following product categories:

• Vegetables, fruits, edible roots and tubers, other edible plants (CN codes from 0701-0714; CN codes from 0801-0814)
• Alcoholic beverages (CN codes from 2203-2208)
• New constructions, according to the definition in the Fiscal Code
• Mineral products: natural mineral water, sand and gravel (CN codes from 2201-2202, NC 2505, NC 2517)
• Clothing and footwear (CN codes from 6401 to 6405, CN codes from 6101 to 6117, NC codes from 6201 to 6212 and NC codes from 6214 to 6217)

Economic operators who are in a B2G (Business to Government) relationship

Regardless of whether it is for the provision of services or the delivery of goods, they have the obligation to issue electronic invoices and transmit them in the national RO e-Invoice system.

A B2G type business relationship is considered the relationship through which an economic operator has the capacity of contractor or subcontractor according to Law no. 98/2016, Law no. 99/2016, Law no. 100/2016 and GEO no. 114/2011.

Affiliated units

Economic operators that provide tourism services in a B2C (Business to Consumer) relationship, for invoices issued to holders of holiday vouchers issued on any type of support.

It is also interesting and useful to mention the fact that, if initially it was understood that the obligation to report through the RO e-Invoice system only applies to local deliveries of goods with high fiscal risk, in the Guide published by ANAF in December 2022 it is specified that reporting in the RO e-Invoice system is also mandatory for invoices issued to customers outside Romania.

What information must be included in the e-Invoice and subsequently reported to ANAF?

The electronic invoice represents the invoice issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format of XML type, which allows its electronic and automatic processing. The structure of the electronic invoice must comply with the technical and usage specifications provided by the European standards and the specific operational rules applicable at the national level.

The main elements of the electronic invoice provided for in the legislation are the following:

• Process and invoice identifiers
• Invoice date
• Information regarding the identification of the economic operator who delivered the goods/products, rendered the services or executed the works
• Information regarding the recipient of the electronic invoice
• Information on the beneficiary of the payment
• Information regarding the fiscal representative of the issuer
• Identification of the type of goods/products delivered, services provided or works performed
• The reference to the public/sectoral procurement contract, concession of works and services
• Details regarding the execution of works, the delivery of goods/products or the provision of services
• Payment instructions and information regarding credits or debits
• Information regarding the positions on the invoice
• Breakdown of VAT and the total invoice

The technical information published by ANAF in relation to RO e-Invoice can be found at: mfinante.gov.ro/web/efactura/informatii-tehnice

When must e-Invoices be issued and sent?

Starting from April 1, 2022, the affiliated units are obliged to transmit in the RO e-Invoice system the invoices issued to the holders of holiday vouchers issued on any type of support.

Starting from July 1, 2022:

• The entities that sell in a B2B relationship products considered with high fiscal risk are obliged to send the invoices issued in the RO e-Invoice system, regardless of whether or not the recipients are registered in the RO e-Invoice Registry.
• The entities that are in a B2G relationship are obliged to issue electronic invoices and transmit them through the RO e-Invoice system, for all types of goods delivered and services provided.

However, the legislation applicable at this moment does not provide a deadline by which the invoices must be reported in the e-Invoice system, but only provides the date from which the issued invoices should also be reported in the RO e-invoice system.

How is the reporting / transmission to ANAF done?

The electronic invoice is sent by the issuer in the RO e-Invoice system through the SPV (Virtual Private Space), in the section dedicated to e-Invoice. Thus, it is vital that the economic operators are registered in advance in the SPV in order to be able to send the e-Invoices.

There are two ways to send the electronic invoice:

1. Interconnection of the invoicing application available at the issuer level with the RO e-invoice system, using a series of microservices exposed in the form of an API (Application Programming Interface). The technical documentation is available at: mfinante.gov.ro/web/efactura/informatii-tehnice. This method allows the automatic loading of several XML files at the same time in the SPV of the issuer, but it involves prior software development.
2. The use of applications made available free of charge by the Ministry of Finance and the transmission of XMLs generated through the SPV of the issuer. The web application can be accessed at: anaf.ro/CompletareFactura. One of the challenges is that each XML must be generated individually, invoice by invoice, and then uploaded to the SPV.

If the electronic invoice sent complies with the structure provided by the legislation, the electronic seal of the Ministry of Finance is applied and it is automatically communicated to the recipient, in his virtual private space (SPV).

The original copy of the electronic invoice is considered the XML type file accompanied by the electronic seal of the Ministry of Finance.

Does the issuer have to be registered in the RO e-Invoice Register?

Registration in the RO e-Invoice Registry is only carried out by entities that do not have the obligation to use this system but wish to use the RO e-Invoice system as an option.

Entities that are required to issue and transmit e-Invoices can do so without being registered in the RO e-invoice Register.

Be careful, however, that optional registration in the RO e-Invoice Register leads to the obligation to report all invoices through the RO e-Invoice system, and not just those for which reporting is mandatory.

The RO e-Invoice register can be accessed at: RO e-Invoice Register ANAF

IMPORTANT

It is very important to correctly understand the reporting requirements in the RO e-Invoice system in order to avoid errors or even the omission of reporting. It is important to ensure that the personnel involved in the reporting process have the necessary knowledge and skills to operate in accordance with the requirements of the RO e-Invoice system. It is also necessary that the data be prepared in a standardized format. For choosing an optimal technical solution, the economic operator must take into account the specifics of the activity and the volume of data to be transmitted.