Expertise
Disputes with tax authorities, challenging ANAF decisions and tax optimization
Last updated: May 2026
We represent companies in disputes with public authorities, from challenging control acts and tax decisions to recovering unjustifiably paid amounts. We approach each case with a personalized strategy, based on a rigorous analysis of the legal and fiscal aspects.
Experience in complex disputes with tax authorities
Tax optimization of transactions and investments through efficient legal structures.
Assistance during tax inspections and audits to protect company rights.
Challenging tax assessment decisions and representation before courts.
Recovery of amounts unjustifiably paid to the state budget.
Consultation on choosing the optimal structure to minimize tax obligations in accordance with applicable legislation.
Assistance during inspections, drafting responses and negotiating with tax authorities.
Application of double taxation treaties and consultation in international operations.
Representation in complex litigation with tax authorities on various categories of taxes.
Challenging administrative tax acts and supporting cases before courts of law.
Tax litigation is the procedure through which a taxpayer challenges the acts issued by the tax authorities: tax assessment decisions, tax inspection reports, precautionary measures or enforcement acts. The procedure has two stages: the administrative appeal, filed with the tax authority within 45 days from the communication of the act, and the action before the administrative court, if the answer is unfavourable or absent.
The deadlines are short and final, and unchallenged acts become definitive and enforceable. A defence built correctly during the tax inspection, not after the decision arrives, fundamentally changes the chances of a favourable outcome.
Disputes with the Romanian tax authorities are governed by three main acts. Precise knowledge of the procedural rules is decisive, because most cases are won or lost on procedural grounds: deadlines, competence, the reasoning of the act.
Substantive law: the taxes, duties and contributions owed, the taxable base, the rates and the special regimes.
Procedure: the tax inspection, administrative-fiscal acts, the administrative appeal, enforcement and precautionary measures.
The court remedy: the action against administrative acts, the suspension of enforcement and damages.
Deduction, refund, special regimes
Non-deductible expenses, transfer pricing
Pension and health contributions, special funds
Building tax, land, vehicles
Classification, origin, customs valuation
Excisable products, suspension regimes
Further reading
Guide to VAT on Romanian real estate: which land and building sales are exempt, when VAT applies, and the rates in force from 1 August 2025.
The micro-enterprise threshold drops to EUR 100,000 (RON 509,850) with a single 1% rate. Conditions, mid-year exit rules and practical pitfalls.
If the supplier wrongly charges VAT on a reverse charge transaction, the buyer loses the deduction. What the CJEU says and how to protect yourself.
From December 2025, companies with net assets below half the share capital face fines up to RON 300,000 and mandatory loan-to-equity conversion.
From 2026, management, consultancy and IP costs from non-resident affiliates are deductible within 1% of total expenses. Who is caught, who escapes.
Related areas
Frequently asked questions
The procedure has two mandatory stages. First, an administrative appeal must be filed with the issuing tax authority within 45 days of the decision being communicated. If the response is unfavorable or no response is received within 45 days, the next step is administrative-litigation action before the Tribunal, within 6 months. The administrative appeal suspends enforced collection only if guarantees are provided.
Several tools are available: administrative appeal within 45 days, suspension of enforcement through guarantees (bank letter, mortgage, deposit), separate annulment action before the court and, in serious cases, criminal complaint for abuse of office if the inspection was conducted in violation of the law. Strategy depends on the amount, available evidence and the risk of forced collection.
In first instance, average duration is 12–24 months. Cases requiring tax expertise or complex valuations can take 2–3 years. Adding appeal at the Court of Appeal and possibly recourse before the High Court of Cassation and Justice, total duration can reach 4–6 years. Resolution at the administrative stage, when feasible, significantly shortens this timeline.
Legal tax optimization means structuring your business to minimize tax liabilities using instruments provided by law: preferential regimes, deductions, holding structures, double tax treaties. Tax evasion involves hiding income, falsifying declarations or using shell companies, and constitutes a criminal offense. The line is drawn through the actual economic substance of operations and compliance with the principle of abuse of tax law (anti-abuse rules).
Last updated: May 2026