Romania

VAT Rates, Daily and Mileage Allowances and E-archiving in Romania

by Andreea Susanu

2 min read

Aug. 7, 2025

4:39

VAT rates in Romania

Romania imposes Value Added Tax (VAT) at different rates as follows for various goods and services:

1. Standard rate - 19% (21% starting 01.08.2025)

The standard VAT rate in Romania is applicable to all taxable goods and services, except when a specific measure allows for a reduced rate.

2. Reduced rate - 9% (11% starting 01.08.2025)

Foodstuffs; pharmaceutical products; medical equipment for disabled persons; hotel accommodation; water supplies; some beer; soft drinks; cut flowers and plants for food production; some agricultural supplies; some goods and services for consumption on-board transportation.

3. Reduced rate - 5% (11% starting 01.08.2025)

Books (excluding e-books); newspapers and periodicals; admission to cultural events; admission to sporting events; hotel accommodation; restaurants and catering services (excluding some alcoholic beverages); take-away food; bars, cafes and nightclubs (excluding some alcoholic beverages).

4. Zero rate - 0%

Intra-community and international passenger transport.

Source: https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/275745

Daily allowances in Romania

Domestic per diem

In the country, 2,5 times the legal level established for the indemnity by Government decision, within the limit of three basic salaries corresponding to the job of the employee receiving the indemnity (2,5*23 RON as of April 1st 2023)

Foreign per diem

Abroad, 2,5 times the legal level established for the daily allowance by Government decision, within the limit of three basic salaries corresponding to the job of the employee receiving the allowance.

For time periods not totalling 24 hours, the daily allowance is granted as follows:

50% up to 12 hours and
100% for the period exceeding 12 hours.

Travel time calculation:

Time of take-off/landing of the aircraft
Moment of crossing the domestic border points by train or car, both on departure abroad and on return to the country.

No meal deductions.

Sources: https://static.anaf.ro/static/10/Anaf/legislatie/OMF_1235_2023.pdf

https://static.anaf.ro/static/10/Anaf/legislatie/HG_582_2015.pdf

Mileage allowances in Romania

If an employee uses a company car, all fuel and associated maintenance costs are 100% tax-deductible for the company, provided detailed travel logs are kept, showing the routes and business purpose. If the car is also used for personal purposes, deductibility of expenses and VAT is limited to 50%.

If an employee uses their personal car for business purposes, the company can reimburse fuel costs and potentially other related expenses (e.g., parking, tolls).

The reimbursement is based on actual fuel consumption (justified by fuel receipts with the company's VAT code) and the distance traveled (documented in a decont de transport and potentially a travel log).
The deductibility of fuel expenses is typically 50% for the company if the car is personal, even if used for business.
If the reimbursement is a fixed amount without proper justification (receipts, decont), it will be considered taxable income for the employee and subject to all social contributions and income tax.

Costs for public transport (train, bus, plane tickets) are typically reimbursed in full based on supporting documents (tickets, invoices). These are generally 100% deductible for the company.

Source: https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/128647

E-archiving and retention period in Romania

Scanned images are converted into standard digital formats, such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or TIFF.

Digital documents are stored on internal servers or, increasingly frequently, in cloud computing solutions. These offer redundancy, scalability, and remote accessibility.

Electronic archiving solutions must comply with legal requirements regarding the integrity, authenticity, and long-term availability of documents, such as the National Archives Law and tax legislation.

The archiving of the financial accounting documents based on which the VAT statements were prepared, as well as the VAT statements, shall be ensured for a period of 10 years (or equal with the useful life in case of immovable capital goods).

Source: https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/82217