ARTENIE, SECRIERU & PARTNERS
Tel: +40 21 555 1448
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.asp-advisors.com
Most senior representative: Andreea Artenie, Managing Partner
No. of local partners: 2
No. of lawyers: 16
Offices in Romania: Bucharest
Representative clients include: EDP Renewables, Mondial SA – member firm of Villeroy & Boch, EON Group, XPO Transport Solutions Romania, ADM Romania Trading, Idea Leasing, RAGT Group, Energy Deta, Echo Investment Group, Tiger Security Services.
Partners and heads of practice
Andreea Artenie, Managing PartnerPractice Area: Tax Disputes and Advisory
Andreea Artenie has more than 21 years of experience in administrative and tax practice, coordinating numerous administrative litigations against national authorities and particularly tax litigation against the tax authorities. Andreea is part of the AmCham working group that actively participates in the discussions initiated by the Ministry of Public Finances regarding the New Tax Procedure Code. Andreea was designated by Foreign Investment Council to participate in the delegation representing the business community in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Relations with Business Environment and the National Agency for Fiscal Administration. Andreea is mentioned as a notable practitioner in international directories – being ranked as one of the Tax Controversy Leaders in Romania -"Highly regarded Women in Tax" and "Highly regarded in Tax Controversy" in ITR World Tax for 2024. The high rate of success recommends Andreea as one of the renowned specialists in fiscal procedural law.
Cristi Secrieru, PartnerPractice Areas: Tax disputes and advisory
Cristi has more than 19 years of experience in administrative and tax litigation, as well as commercial and public procurement disputes or arbitration. Cristi successfully assisted a series of important actors in various areas of expertise such as taxation, public administration, public procurement and FIDIC agreements, commercial and financial services market disputes. In the context of diversification and further interaction with public authorities, with complex implication in private entities’ life, Cristi has successfully assisted a series of major actors in the oil & gas industry, offering complex services in taxation, public administration and competition issues.
List of the most representative projects
Advised Mondial on a tax dispute with Romanian authorities, resulting in a definitive court decision obliging the tax authorities to initiate a Mutual Agreement Procedure with eight European jurisdictions. The High Court of Cassation and Justice has examined the possibility for courts to intervene in tax authorities' decisions on MAP procedures, taking into account the limits imposed by the principle of separation of powers and the principle of fiscal autonomy.
Successfully represented RAGT GROUP, one of the most important multinational groups activating in the Agriculture & FMGC industry, obtaining a landmark decision on the taxation of income obtained in Romania in the form of royalties paid for exclusive distribution rights.
Assisting and representing the Romanian subsidiary of the EDP Renewables group, one of the most prominent renewable energy producers in Europe, in several disputes pertaining to special income taxes levied by the Romanian legislator. Moreover, they are assisting the client in challenging the fiscal deeds issued by the Romanian Tax authorities in the 2015 – 2019 period, levying “building tax” on the supporting towers of wind turbines and solar panels, as well as matters referring to the enforcement of fiscal deeds. Representing SIF 1 IMGB in a court case seeking to annul fiscal decisions by the Romanian tax authorities that imposed additional VAT, CIT, and social contributions. The authorities artificially raised the prices of heavy machinery sold below production cost, leading to these additional taxes. The team secured favorable rulings from the Bucharest Court of Appeal, canceling the VAT liabilities, though the decisions are not final. The case involves complex tax issues related to corporation tax, VAT, and transfer
pricing.
Represents XPO in three annulment and four suspension claims before Romanian courts, challenging fiscal decisions related to transfer pricing adjustments, CIT and VAT liabilities, and VAT issues for intra-Community services and exports. The firm successfully dismissed significant tax liabilities and secured a re-check solution for others. Additionally, the team assisted XPO in challenging unlawful enforcement actions by the tax authorities and filed a claim to resolve XPO's fiscal situation, impacting the company's ability to obtain VAT reimbursements due to its high-risk fiscal classification following a prior tax audit.
Specialist lawyers: Andreea Artenie, Cristi Secrieru, Adelina Raportaru, Vlad Grosu.
