Last updated: 31 January 2019
At the beginning of each year, companies draft their accounts for the previous financial year. Is there any profit to distribute, reinvest or losses to cover? In order to gave an overall pictures, the companies’ accountants must draft the financial accounts, which must then be approved by the shareholders and filed with the Tax Authority, within certain deadlines, stipulated by the laws in force.
Thus, the Ministry of Public Finance has issued the Order no. 10/2019 regarding the filing of financial situations, published in Official Journal, nr. 35 on 14 January 2019. The rules concerning the deadline for filing the statements, their content, as well as the penalties for filing the financial situations after the deadline are almost the same as in previous years.
CONTENT BY ENTITY TYPE
The criterion which determines whether the companies depose simplified or more elaborated financial statements stay the same as before. The thresholds are set in Lei.
As a reminder, the micro-companies are entities that are not exceeding the limits of at least two of the following criteria’s:
• Total assets = RON 1,500,000
• Net sales revenue = RON 3,000,000i
• Average number of workers during the fiscal year = 10
However, the small-sized entities are entities that do not enter into the micro-companies category, and do not exceed the thresholds of at least two of the following criteria’s:
• Total assets = RON 17,500,000
• Net sales revenue = RON 35,000.,00
• Average number of workers during the fiscal year = 50
In cases of companies that exceed the threshold of at least of two of the criteria’s presented above (case of small-sized-entities), they are included into medium or large group of companies.
Whereas in case of micro companies and small-sized entitles, they are allowed to file simplified financial reports: (1) balance sheet, (2) profit and loss account, and, for the small-sized entitles, (3) the modification of the status of owned funds, the situation of cash flows and (5) explanatory notes regarding the annual financial statements.
The more elaborate financial statements are those filed by medium and large-sized entities and include: (1) the balance sheet, (2) the profit and loss account, (3) the statement of changes in equity, (4) the cash flow status and (5) explanatory notes regarding the annual financial statements.
NGOs must draft and file their financial accounts at the Tax Authorities. In case those NGOs do not have any economic activities, they are entitled to file a simplified financial statement. If this is not the case and the NGO has economic activities, they have to file an elaborated financial statement.
When the financial statement is filed with the Tax Authorities, it must contain (i) administrator’s report; (ii) an audit report or a censor’s commission report ; (iii) a declaration by the company’s administrator, broadly stating that the financial reports are drafted respecting legal provisions. By this declaration, the administrator takes responsibility for the manner in which the financial reports are drafted.
DEADLINE FOR FILING
The deadline for filing the financial statements with the Tax Authority remains 150 days from the closing date of the fiscal year, namely until 30 May 2019 (if the financial year ending is the same as the ending of the calendar year).
Companies must draft their financial situations using the support software developed by the Ministry of Finance. The Law allows that financial statements be deposed paper-based or online, or only online based on www.e-guvernare.ro portal, with an extended electronic signature attached.
Entities that didn’t have activities since their creation until 31 December 2018, must file a sworn statement, not later then 60 days following the end of the fiscal year, namely 1st of March 2019.
SANCTIONS
The sanctions for non-observance of the legal deadlines for drafting, signing and filing the financial statements are stipulated by the Law 82/1991 on accounting and this sanction is a fine.
The amount of the fine remains the same as last year. Thus, in the event that the deadline stipulated by the legal provisions for drafting and signing of the financial statements is exceeded (that is, they drafted and signed after 30 May 2019), the fine is between RON 2,000 (the equivalent of approximately 426 Euros) and RON 3,000 (the equivalent of approximately 638 Euros).
If companies fail to file the financial statements for the financial year ended on 31.12.2018 until 30 May 2019 at the latest, the fine is between RON 300 (approximately 64 Euros) and RON 4,500 (approximately 957 Euros), depending on the delay.
We also remind you that in accordance with Law number no. 31/1990 on companies, entities that are very late in filing their annual financial statements may be dissolved. This provision applies when the delay period exceeds 60 working days from the filing date of the financial statements.