Import VAT and Duty in Romania
VAT Rates
The standard VAT rate in Romania is 21% (TVA). A single reduced rate of 11%.
Import VAT and customs duty in Romania are administered by ANAF (Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration).
The rate applying on import is the rate that applies to a supply of the same or similar goods on the Romania domestic market, which is why correct commodity classification matters at the classification stage and not only at invoicing.
The Taxable Amount
Import VAT is calculated on the Customs value on a CIF basis, plus customs duty and other charges payable at importation. Freight and insurance to the point of entry into the EU are included in the customs value, so a shipment budgeted on goods value alone will understate the VAT payable.
Customs Duty
EU Common Customs Tariff applied through TARIC. Duty is set by the commodity code and origin at the date the declaration is accepted — there is no single national rate that applies across a consignment.
Low-Value Consignments
The EUR 22 import VAT exemption was abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021. There is no value below which a commercial import escapes VAT. The EUR 150 threshold relieves customs duty only. From 1 July 2026 a temporary flat duty of EUR 3 per item category applies to consignments at or below EUR 150, running until 1 July 2028.
Postponed Accounting
VAT-registered Romanian importers may account for import VAT through the VAT return rather than paying at the frontier. It is a cash-flow mechanism, not an exemption, and it does not apply to customs duty.
Planning Duty and VAT for Romania
Constanța gives Romania a direct Black Sea gateway, so China-origin containers can discharge in Romania rather than at a foreign access port. That shortens the inland leg substantially compared with landlocked Central European destinations. For western Romania and onward Central European distribution, the Arad rail terminal provides an inland option. Routing via Constanța still involves a passage through the Turkish Straits system, which is a scheduling variable importers should be aware of when planning.
That routing, and the country-specific points below, are what turn a generic EU calculation into a Romania one. They belong in the landed-cost model from the outset rather than being discovered at clearance:
- A UIT code is required for commercial shipments above 500 kg gross or EUR 2,150 in customs value, and it must be presented before the goods reach the border
- Romanian standard VAT is 21% with a single reduced rate of 11%, following the August 2025 increase from 19%
- ISPM 15 treatment and marking for all wood packaging
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard rate is 21% (TVA). A single reduced rate of 11%.
The taxable amount is the Customs value on a CIF basis, plus customs duty and other charges payable at importation. Freight and insurance to the point of entry into the EU form part of the customs value, so under-declaring freight understates the VAT.
No. The EUR 22 import VAT exemption was abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021. The EUR 150 threshold that remains relieves customs duty only — it has never been a VAT threshold.
From 1 July 2026 a temporary flat duty of EUR 3 applies per declared item category on consignments valued at EUR 150 or less. It is charged on the declarant, not the consumer, and runs until 1 July 2028.
No. Postponed VAT accounting changes when and how import VAT is accounted for, not whether it is due. The VAT remains payable; it is declared through the VAT return rather than paid at the frontier.