Romania has the potential to be a regional leader in e-commerce, but the necessary conditions for such a success are a predictable fiscal framework, fair competition and genuine digitalisation of public services, is the conclusion of specialists participating in the sixth edition of the National Day of Electronic Commerce at Palace of Parliament.
"The Romanian e-commerce ecosystem is developing rapidly, but in order to keep up this pace, a fiscal framework that boosts innovation and does not penalise high performance is essential. The clarity of the rules and the digitalisation of processes can transform tax compliance from a burden into a competitive edge," Chairman of the Association of Romanian Online Stores (ARMO) Cristi Movila told the event.
According to data unveiled by Deputy General Inspector of the General Directorate for Tax Anti-Fraud - ANAF George Dumitrache, the amounts spent by Romanians online at merchants outside Romania have experienced a very large increase in the last two years, which can be seen in the VAT collected through the OSS (One-Stop-Shop) and IOSS (Import One-Stop-Shop) systems. "In the first half of 2025,Romanians spent approximately EUR 316 million in VAT related to these IOSS and OSS operations, an surge by 87% from 2023 and by 34% from 2024, for the same reporting period," Dumitrache said.
Discussions highlighted a common message: Romania has the potential to be a regional leader in e-commerce, but the necessary conditions for such a success must be represented by a predictable fiscal framework, fair competition and genuine digitalisation of public services. In addition, attention was drawn to the danger posed by the growing volume of non-compliant products that sellers from third countries, especially Asian ones, introduce to the single market, the fact that many of them do not comply with consumer protection legislation or commit tax evasion, as well as the measures that the authorities are considering to stop these phenomena.
On the other hand, Senator Gabriela Horga, chair of the Committee on Budget, Finance, Banking and Capital Market, said that the turnover tax (IMCA) needs to be rethought. "The idea of combating tax avoidance is correct. But it must not become a brake for those who invest, innovate and create jobs. The tax affects not only large companies, but also Romanian companies and, finally, consumers," Horga said.
In his turn, Viorel Baltaretu, senior official with the Ministry of Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, said that the way the authorities understand digitalisation must change: "We have a problem with what the state understands when we talk about digitalisation. We are digitalising bureaucracy. That is, many consider that if I copied a document that someone signed by hand and sent it by email, I digitised it. No, there is no room for discussion," the official pointed out.
He added that, in terms of the funds available for the digitalisation of SMEs, the amount of EUR 256.5 million, available under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) has been transformed from a loan into a grant, and approximately 4,600 SMEs have already signed the financing contracts.
The sixth edition of the National Day of Electronic Commerce brought together, on Wednesday, October 15, at the Palace of Parliament, Iuliu Maniu Hall, representatives of the business communities, government and NGOs, in a conversation about the competitiveness of Romanian companies, regional expansion and the conditions for fair trade.
The event was organised by the Association of Romanian Online Stores (ARMO), in partnership with the budget committees of the Romanian Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, as well as with the Industries and Services Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
Founded in 2010, ARMO represents online stores in Romania and supports their interests. It developed the Code of Good Practice for Online Stores and is a member of Ecommerce Europe, an organisation that brings together over 150,000 online companies from the European Union.
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