Amendments to the Tax Procedure Code: Government Ordinance no. 11/2025

The takeaway

Government Ordinance (GO) no. 11/2025 introduces the following amendments to the Tax Procedure Code:

I. The provisions of the Tax Procedure Code on the requirements for issuing advance price agreements are amended, allowing taxpayers to extend the validity of an advance price agreement to previous fiscal periods as well.

II. The provisions of art. 282 of the Tax Procedure Code - "Mutual agreement procedure" are amended, with new legal provisions being added to improve the framework for the implementation of tax treaties and of the Double Taxation Agreements to which Romania is a party.

In detail

We present the main amendments below:

Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)

The option of having the validity of an advance pricing agreement extended is also introduced for transactions that took place under similar circumstances during the previous fiscal period, for up to five years ending prior to the year in which the application for the issuance of the APA was filed (APA roll-back). 

The extension of the validity of an advance price agreement for a period prior to that covered by the relevant APA will be approved by the tax authority in charge with issuing the advance price agreement, under the terms established under an order of the President of the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF).

The procedure for issuance of an advance price agreement will be established under an order of the ANAF President, as will be the content of the application for issuance of an advance price agreement and of the request for amendment, extension, revision or extension for a period prior to that covered by an advance price agreement.

For requests for issuance of an advance price agreement which are pending, including applications for  extension of the validity of an APA to a period preceding the year in which the requests were filed, where the taxpayers concerned are subject to an ongoing tax inspection focusing on the taxes and periods covered by the request for the issuance of an advance price agreement,  the head of the competent tax authority may decide to have the tax inspection suspended until the request for issuance of the advance price agreement is settled.  

Mutual Agreement Procedure

The amendments adopted in GO no. 11/2025 harmonise the existing national law with the text and standard provided by Art. 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, and introduce procedural rules similar to those provided under Council Directive (EU) 2017/1852 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union, in order to ensure a uniform approach:

• Two concepts are defined - "question in dispute",  meaning the matter giving rise to disputes arising from the interpretation and application of conventions and agreements on the elimination of double taxation to which Romania is a party, and "affected person", meaning any person, including an individual, that is a resident of Romania for tax purposes or of a state with which Romania has a convention or agreement in place on the elimination of double taxation, whose taxation is directly affected by a question in dispute.

Taxpayers’ access to the mutual agreement procedure is provided for even in cases where they identify actions by one or both contracting states that will lead to taxation inconsistent with the provisions of a tax treaty, without the need to wait for the taxation leading to potential double taxation to occur or be notified to them (thus being already enforceable).

Access to the mutual agreement procedure is guaranteed regardless of any other legal remedies provided for by national law.

• The competent authority for conducting the mutual agreement procedure is ANAF, which works with the competent authority of the other state when it cannot settle the case unilaterally.

• Within three years from the date of communication of the fiscal administrative act or any other notification, the affected person may apply to the competent authority for the initiation of the mutual agreement procedure. GO no. 11/2025 also introduces an extension of the period covered by tax treaties providing for periods shorter than three years.

• The outcome of a mutual agreement procedure carried out with another competent authority based on the conventions or agreements on the elimination of double taxation to which Romania is a party will be implemented in the form of a settlement decision issued by ANAF.

• Fiscal administrative acts based on which a mutual agreement procedure is initiated may be amended or cancelled once a settlement decision has been issued.

• Access to the mutual agreement procedure is ensured in cases where the conventions or agreements for the elimination of double taxation concluded by Romania with other states do not include a provision similar to Article 9 (2) of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Appropriate Adjustments.

• Where a final court ruling is issued, ANAF will notify the other competent authority of the final court decision if the authorities of the two states have not reached an agreement, with the mutual agreement procedure to be terminated from the date of the notification.

• Clarifications are made regarding the mutual agreement procedures in progress on the date of entry into force of these amendments.

• The mutual agreement proceedings in the field of transfer pricing, commonly known for disputes involving the highest degree of complexity, are clarified. A clearer framework will be created for the authority and teams in charge with solving these cases, by engaging in the negotiation process based on a mandate regarding the negotiation options as approved by the President of ANAF with the other competent authorities.

• The obligation of the competent authority in Romania to proceed with the arbitration procedure is introduced provided that the relevant legal requirements are met.

Source: [Government Ordinance no. 11/2025 amending and supplementing Law no. 207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code, published in Official Gazette no. 695 of 24 July 2025]