How (not) to lose the VAT number in Romania
Updated: 4d
ANAF cancels a company’s VAT registration in the cases listed in art. 316(11) of the Fiscal Code. Most of them follow from things a company can keep under control: filing its VAT returns, reporting its transactions, keeping its tax and trade register data up to date and keeping a clean tax record.
When does ANAF cancel a VAT registration?
The company is declared inactive under the Fiscal Procedure Code: from the date it is declared inactive (lit. a).
The company, its majority shareholders or sole shareholder, or its directors have offences or certain other facts entered in the tax record (lit. c).
No VAT return was filed for 6 consecutive months (monthly filers) or 2 consecutive quarters (quarterly filers) (lit. d).
The VAT returns filed for 6 consecutive months or 2 consecutive quarters show no purchases and no supplies of goods or services (lit. e).
The company was neither obliged nor entitled to register for VAT (lit. f).
The company, set up under Companies Law 31/1990, presents a high fiscal risk; the criteria for assessing the risk are set by the methodological norms (lit. h). See also high fiscal risk criteria.
What should a company keep under control?
Expiry dates: the lease or other right of use for the registered office, the directors’ mandates and other data registered with the trade register. Renew or update them in time.
VAT returns: file every return on time, even in periods with little activity, and report the purchases and supplies actually made.
Consistency: the data in the VAT return, the informative returns and the e-Factura and SAF-T reporting should match each other and the partners’ reports.
Tax record: check the tax record of new shareholders and directors before they join the company.
What happens after cancellation?
A company whose VAT registration has been cancelled can apply to be registered again only in the conditions of art. 316(12) of the Fiscal Code, which depend on the ground for cancellation. Check those conditions before applying.
Source: Fiscal Code (Law 227/2015), consolidated by ANAF, art. 316(11) and (12).
Last updated: 3 November 2026 (article revised and verified against the current text of the Fiscal Code). This article is for information only and does not replace an analysis of your specific situation. Updated with AI assistance; references were verified against the primary sources.
