According to the Tax Code enforced at the beginning of this year, all companies operating transactions with affiliated persons are obliged to prepare the transfer price file. The most recent obligations are provided in the new Fiscal Procedure Code - Law 207/2015.

Starting 2016, any taxpayer who makes transactions with affiliated persons is obliged to prepare the transfer price file, when it reaches or exceeds the threshold provided by law. The Order of the president of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) no. 442/2016 sets the procedure to prepare the transfer price file, the amount of the transactions, the preparation terms, content and request conditions.

For the category of large taxpayers who perform transactions with affiliated persons, with a total annual value – calculated by summing up the values of the transactions operated, without VAT – higher than or equal to any of the materiality thresholds established below, the preparation of the transfer price file is compulsory.

The value level of the materiality threshold for the previously mentioned taxpayers, depending on the type of transaction performed, is the following:

• The cumulated annual value of collection and payment of interest for financial services exceeds the amount of 200.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;
• The cumulated annual value of purchase and supply of services exceeds the amount of 250.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;
• The cumulated annual value of purchase and delivery of tangible or intangible goods exceeds the amount of 350.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;

The preparation term of the transfer price file is the legal term established for submitting the annual statements regarding the income tax, for every fiscal year.

For the companies within the category of large taxpayers who are obliged to annually prepare the transfer price file, the submission term is of 10 days from the date of its request.

Large taxpayers who do not exceed the previously set value thresholds, as well as small and medium taxpayers, are obliged to prepare the transfer price file at the request of the fiscal inspection authority. The submission term of the file is of 30-60 calendar days, with a single extension possibility for maximum 30 calendar days.

However, the transfer price file for transactions with affiliated entities shall be prepared by small and medium taxpayers only if:

• The cumulated annual value of collection and payment of interest for financial services exceeds the amount of 50.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;
• The cumulated annual value of purchase and supply of services exceeds the amount of 50.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;
• The cumulated annual value of purchase and delivery of tangible or intangible goods exceeds the amount of 100.000 Euro, calculated at the rate of the National Bank of Romania, valid for the last day of the fiscal year;

For the other taxpayers who operate transactions with affiliated persons, but the value of the transactions is lower than the values from the second chart of materiality thresholds, the ordinance specifies the requirement of documenting the observance of the market value principle, without having the obligation to prepare the transfer price file.

Currently, the fine provided by law for those who do not present the transfer price file ranges between 12.000 and 14.000 lei for legal persons in the category of small and medium taxpayers, respectively a fine from 2.000 lei to 3.500 lei for the other legal persons, as well as for natural persons.

In order to prevent the negative effects of the failure to observe the provisions on transfer prices, taxpayers could prepare in advance the transfer price documentation, for all the transactions performed with affiliated persons.

The team of Rödl & Partner Romania possesses specialized databases (Amadeus), as well as the necessary resources and expertise to prepare an accurate documentation for supporting the reasonability of the adopted transfer price policy, for justifying the relation between the risks taken and investments made, on the one hand, and the received remuneration and obtained profits, on the other hand, for all the categories of companies and intra-group transactions. Thus, our customers can be confident that the files prepared will meet, at any moment, the exigencies of any fiscal inspection.

Rödl & Partner is active at 102 wholly-owned locations in 46 countries. The integrated firm for audit, legal, management and tax consulting owes its dynamic success to over three thousand entrepreneurial-minded partners and colleagues. In close collaboration with our clients, we develop information for well-founded economic, tax, legal and IT decisions that we implement together – both nationally and internationally.

Author: Daniela Petrar, Certified Public Accountant, Financial Consultant

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