The much-expected ‘re-writing’ of the Fiscal Code is little likely be approved by the Parliament by the end of this year, hence, any amendments to the existing one will be eventually made through an emergency ordinance in 2015, explained Dan Badin, Tax&Legal Partner-in-Charge with Deloitte Romania, during the company’s annual Legal & Tax conference.

A new deferral in updating the Fiscal Code is a result of the slow decision-making process within the Parliament, as most of the related tax issues have been discussed during the consultations held with the business environment, stated Badin. He further emphasized the necessity for Romania to have the old Fiscal Code rewritten, as an emergency ordinance issued by the Government can only partially fix the current shortcomings indicated by the business environment frequently.

“The business community has high expectations from the potential legislative changes and from the modernization of ANAF (the National Agency for Tax Administration) First of all, they would like to see a stable and predictable tax system, but they also expect more clarity in the practical application of the tax law, a lower compliance burden and a fair treatment from the tax authorities“, said Dan Badin.

Based on the current regulation, Romanian companies have to pay over 300 different taxes, the declaration and payment frequency, presently in force, being also time-consuming, placing Romania far behind the EU average in this respect. He went on explaining, though, that the tax rates are not necessarily the most troubling to the business community, but the lack of predictability in the legislative process.

In addition to the fiscal update, the reform within ANAF is also aimed at modernizing the fiscal system. The project supported by the World Bank through a 70 million euro financing, should be carried out by 2018. It is expected to positively impact the tax field, Badin making a comparison with our neighboring country, Bulgaria, which subsequent to a similar reform several years ago managed to improve the tax collection, one of the major issues Romania faces.