Last updated: 6 April 2020
Face to the pandemic of COVID-19 and the state of emergency being declared, companies whose activity has been impaired thereby may benefit from certain fiscal and budgetary incentives called for by the State through an instrument recently implemented - the Emergency Status Certificate (Romanian CSU).
The certificate, issued by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and the Business Environment (MEEBE), is granted pursuant to the Order no. 791 published in the Official Gazette no. 248/25.03.2020 and of the EGO no. 33/2020;
The Order no. 822/2020 published on the Official Gazette no. 275/April 2, 2020 brings certain clarifications as to the operators who can request this instrument to be able to benefit from certain fiscal facilities and State guarantees or in their commercial reports.
Thus, the beneficiaries are the companies which attest by a declaration under sole responsibility:
- A decrease of collection or income of at last 25% during the month of March 2020 as compared with the average for January and February 2020 (2)
- The certificate is also delivered to companies whose activity has been completely or partially ceased further to the decisions of the authorities, in the context of the pandemic. (3)
GRANTING PROCEDURE
The CSU is issued upon request, exclusively by electronic means, by accessing the platform http://prevenire.gov.ro/, only during the period of the emergency state declared in Romania. The platform has become operational since Sunday, April 5, 2020.
The file to be submitted shall be formed of:
a) the identification data of the applicant;
b) the declaration under the sole responsibility of the legal representative (the template published by MEEBE) certifying that the underlying information and documents are true and legal; The new models of the declaration under sole responsibility was modified by the Order no. 822/2020.
The file is to be uploaded (on pdf) on the platform http://prevenire.gov.ro and shall bear the digital signature of the legal representative of the economic operator or by an appointed person holding such an digital signature; if the economic operator does not own an digital signature, they shall appoint a proxy who owns such signature and who shall submit the file on their behalf.
ATTENTION! If the legal representative is not holder of a digital signature, the declaration can be signed by handwriting. The signed documents shall be uploaded on the said platform (the declaration under sole responsibility included) by the person appointed by the company and who holds a digital signature. Hence, all files submitted must bear a digital signature!
All applicants that are not registered with the Trade Registry (who operate under a different organization form) must provide the information and the declaration hereinabove as well as the other documents certifying that the activity pursued is authorized, according to their organization form.
There are two types of certificate that can be issued:
i. TYPE 1 (Blue) – issued on basis of a declaration under the sole responsibility certifying the total or partial cessation of the activity further to the decisions rendered by the competent public authorities during the emergency state. For example, qualify to benefit from this provision transporters, tour operators, restaurants, hotels, dental offices, economic operators pursuant retail sales of products other than food products, gym centres, beauty salons ….. whose activity has been ceased by the successive Military Ordinances published since the state of emergency has been declared;
ii. TYPE 2 (Yellow) – issued on basis of a declaration under sole responsibility certifying a decrease of collection or income of at last 25% during the month of March 2020 as compared to the average for January and February 2020.
- The certificate is automatically delivered, by electronic means, once the request is validated.
- A company is allowed to apply for only one type of certificate of emergency status ;
VALIDITY AND VERIFICATION OF EMERGENCY STATUS CERTIFICATES
- CSU are valid without signature and stamp. The validity thereof can be checked on the platform http://prevenire.gov.ro/, by using the series and number of the Certificate ;
- On the other hand, once issued, the competent bodies may check during inspections, also the underlying documents submitted for the issuing of the Emergency Status Certificate. In case of reasonable grounds for suspecting that CSU is obtained illegally, the competent bodies shall undertake appropriate measures.
USE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF EMERGENCY STATUS
In practice, the certificate may be used by the economic operator, among others, for:
- In the relationship with the public authorities in order to benefit from the incentives or the support measures (for SMEs: delayed payment of utilities: electricity, gas, water, telephone and internet but also of the rent for premises lodging the registered headquarters or places of business, pursuant to the EGO no. 37/2020);
- To benefit from the suspension of instalments, interests and fees (pursuant to the EGO no. 37/2020);
- For the renegotiation of commercial agreements, pursuant to the legal provisions;
- To certify the fact that the measures enforced by the authorities in the context of the pandemic have impaired the activity of the SME.
ATTENTION! EGO no. 30/2020 has been amended and therefore the Certificate of Emergency Status is no longer necessary for companies seeking to benefit from the indemnity for technological unemployment paid by the State.
Bucharest, April 6, 2020