Tax Alert

February 11th,2015

Law changes - deductible per-diem / fiscal receipts /

Meal vouchers / Employment Code / national gross average salary

ECOVIS Romania – Tax Alert – February 2015

Esteemed Client,

We would like to inform you about the most important legal changes occurred up to this point of the year 2015.

The modification of the deductible per-diem in 2015 ‐ Order 60/January 21th 2015 for updating the amount of thedaily allowance for assignment and delegation.

According to Order 60/2015, starting with the day of January 27th, 2015, the quantum of the daily allowancefor assignment and delegation for the staff of authorities and public institutions is increased from 13 lei/day to 17lei/day.

The allowance during assignment and delegation in another city, national or abroad, for work-related purposes,having a value surpassing by 2,5 times the legal ceiling established for employees of public institutions:

it is subject to salary tax,

it is included in the monthly calculation basis for the mandatory social insurances,

regardless of the paying entity (profit tax payer, payer of tax for the incomes of microenterprises, authorizedindividual, individual enterprise, NGO).

Starting with January 27th an employee may benefit of a non-taxable per-diem for national delegation in a totalamount of 42,5 lei/day (17 lei x 2,5). For any amount of money surpassing this amount there will be owed the salaryincome tax and the mandatory social insurance contribution (employee and employer).

Ordnance no. 10/2015 for the organization of the Fiscal Receipts Lottery

Commercial operators who cash in - completely or partially, in cash or by the utilization of the credit/debit cards orsubstitutes of cash - the value of retail goods, and also those rendering services directly to the general public have theobligation of using fiscal electronic cash registers.

Ordnance no. 10 for the organization of the Fiscal Receipts Lottery introduces some additions to the EmergencyOrdnance of the Cabinet no. 28/1999 regarding the obligation of the commercial operators to use fiscal electroniccash registers.

If the commercial operators refuse the issuance and the handing over of the fiscal receipt to the client, the client isentitled to benefit from the acquired good or by the rendered service without paying its value.

The correlation of the Employment Code with the EU law ‐ Law no. 12/2015 for changing and supplementingLaw no. 53/2003 ‐ Employment Code

The main changes brought by Law no. 12/2015 are:

1. Unjustified absences and leaves without pay

According to the stipulations of the Law no. 12/2015, unjustified absences from work and leaves without pay will besubtracted from the employment length record. The leaves without pay for professional training will beexempted.2. Stipulations regarding the annual leave

When it comes to determining the duration of the annual leave, the periods of temporary work incapacity, thosedue to maternity leave, maternal risk leaves, and the leaves for caring the sick child are considered as periods with renderedwork activity. Thus the mentioned periods will NOT affect the number of vacation days the employees are entitled to eachyear.

ECOVIS Romania – Tax Alert – February 2015

Also the new bill introduces the stipulation that the employee will be entitled to annual leave even in the

situation when he or she benefits of a sick leave that takes an entire calendar year to be completed. In such a situation

the employer has to grant the annual leave in a timeframe of 18 months, starting with the year following the one when the

employee was in sick leave. If the temporary work incapacity, maternity leave, maternal risk leave or the leave for caring for

the sick child will occur during the annual leave, this will be interrupted, and the employee will benefit from the vacation

days not yet performed after the finalization of the sick leave. If this will not be possible, the days not yet taken of the annual

leave will be re-scheduled.

Regarding the employees who, due to just reasons, will not be able to benefit partially or completely of the

annual leave they were entitled to during one year, the employer will have to grant the vacation days not yet taken in a

timeframe of 18 months, starting with the year following the one when the right to the annual leave was generated.

We mention that the change of the Employment Code regarding the annual leave is valid starting with the

year 2015. However, this stipulation is applied too for the annual leave due to previous years, according to the

stipulations of the European Directive 2003/88.

The increase of national gross average salary income ‐ Law 187/2014 regarding the budget of the social insurance

for the year 2015

Starting with January 1st, 2015, the national gross average salary income used for determining the budget of national

social insurance for the year 2015 is increased from 2.298 lei to 2.415 lei. This factor influences the ceiling the individual

national social insurance contribution is applied to (a ratio of 10.5%). The new ceiling valid since January 1st 2015 is as it

follows: 5 * 2.415 lei = 12.075 lei.

It was regulated the procedure of granting the meal vouchers as electronic format also for the employees

working in shifts – Decision no. 23 / 2015 for approving the Norms for applying the Law no. 142/1998 regarding the

granting of the meal vouchers.

The employer may grant meal vouchers by using an electronic format or as printed paper. The employer who opts

for granting the meal vouchers in electronic format may supply the e-wallet with the nominal value of the meal vouchers.

IT IS NOT PERMITTED to withdraw cash. The only permission is the acquisition of foodstuff.

The employees benefit each month of a number of meal vouchers equal at the most with the number of days they

are present at the workplace of the employer, and this number cannot surpass the number of work days. Also, if an employee

works in shifts, and the work time is longer than 8 hours /day, the number of meal vouchers (regardless of the kind of support

they are granted – paper or soft copy) he or she is entitled each month is calculated by summing up the number of work

hours and dividing this amount to 8. The fractions resulted from the calculus are considered a full day work, with the condition

that the total sum of the resulted days does not surpass the number of work days .

This Tax Alert is a selection of some new elements of legislation, and the purpose is strictly your information. This document is not considered professional consulting and, in consequence, we do not take on any responsibility in this respect. For any additional questions regarding the above mentioned problems, please do not hesitate to contact us.

© 2015 – ECOVIS Romania

ECOVIS Romania – Tax Alert – February 2015

ECOVIS Romania: Portfolio of services

Accounting Financial accounting; Reporting preparationand consolidated reports(VAT, income tax, socialsecurity, individual taxreports); Harmonization ofnational financialaccounting withaccounting rules of themother-company;

Preparing andcertification of annualfinancial statements; Staff outsourcing foraccounting services; Tax consulting; Fiscal reports andrevisions;

Audit Financial auditaccording to ISA; Restatement of financialstatements preparedaccording to nationalregulations, to InternationalFinancial ReportingStandards (IAS/IFRS) orReporting Standardsspecific to the Client(GAAP); Financial audit requiredby the group’s policy; Internal audit;Audit missions like:agreed upon procedures(ISA 4.400), revisions(ISA 2.400), duediligence;

Payroll & HRAdministration Payroll calculation; Preparation andverification of salariesand due taxes;

Delivery of reports: payslips, synoptic tables ofbenefits, retentions,contributions; Interface with bankingapplications andperforming of salarypayment transactions;

Standard reporting tothe management; Collection andprocessing of employeerelated data;

ConsultingFiscal consulting Business & company appraisal; Financial analysisand feasibility studies; Consulting for M&A,restructuring processes;

Assistance inimplementing IT solutionsregarding: financial andmanagement accounting,employees’ records,management reports etc.;

Assistance inpreparation of transferprices file;

Notificationsregarding significantRomanian law changes.

Contact us:Address: 12D Samuil Vulcan St., 5th district,

Bucharest,Romania

Phone (landline): +40 (21) 410 20 60;

Fax: +40 (21) 410 21 61Cell phone number: +40 724.343.500E-mail address: office@ecovis.ro;Web: www.ecovis.ro , www.ecovis.com

ECOVIS Romania – Tax Alert – February 2015