The SAF-T tax return becomes mandatory, as of January 2023, for medium-sized taxpayers as well, after it was only mandatory for large taxpayers in 2022. From February, therefore, reporting through the 406 return will begin for medium-sized businesses as well. As the SAF-T file is submitted multiple times, please take note of the periodicities and deadlines.
The first statement of capital assets in the SAF-T file is not made for a fraction of a fiscal year, but for the first fiscal year for which the 406 statements are filed in full, monthly or quarterly.The rule is useful for companies with a fiscal year other than the calendar year.
The SAF-T tax return is submitted, via Form 406, according to the rules established by Tax Decree 1.783/2021.
Taxpayers with month as their VAT period submit Form 406 monthly. Taxpayers with quarterly, semi-annual or annual VAT period, as well as those who do not pay VAT, submit the 406 return quarterly. “The deadline for submitting D406 information returns related to the ordinary tax control practice is the last calendar day of the month of submission, representative of the calendar month immediately following the period for which the information return was prepared,” reads the aforementioned order.
Special situations are for the assets portion of the SAF-T file, for which an annual submission is made (at annual financial statements), and for the inventory portion, for which submission is made only at the request of the authority.
In the timetable below, it has been taken into account that the tax assessment filing obligation starts on January 1, 2023 for average taxpayers classified as such on December 31, 2021 or January 1, 2022. At the same time, this is the second year in which the obligation applies to large taxpayers, so the schedule also applies to them:
monthly submission (the declaration is submitted in the current month for the previous month): February 28, 2023; March 31, 2023; April 30, 2023 (will automatically defer to May 2); May 31, 2023; June 30, 2023; July 31, 2023; August 31, 2023; September 30, 2023 (automatically defer to October 2); October 31, 2023; November 30, 2023 (automatically defer to December 4); December 31, 2023 (will automatically defer to January 3); January 31, 2024;
Quarterly submission (the declaration is submitted in the month following the reporting quarter): April 30, 2023 (will be automatically postponed to May 2); July 31, 2023; October 31, 2023; January 31, 2024;
annual submission only for the assets part (the declaration must be submitted at the annual budget) – for average taxpayers it applies only from 2024, for larger taxpayers it applies from 2023;
The declaration of only the stock part is made in at least 30 calendar days from the express request of the Internal Revenue Service (ANAF).
Failure to submit the SAF-T file by the deadline can be penalized between 1,000 and 5,000 lei. However, the Internal Revenue Service has established some grace periods for initial reporting, which apply, in 2023, only to average taxpayers:
for taxpayers required to file SAF-T monthly-six months for the first report, five months for the second report, four months for the third report, three months for the fourth report, and two months for the fifth report (thus, the until July 31, 2023, reports can be filed for the January-June period);
for taxpayers obliged to file SAF-T quarterly – three months for the first reporting (so reporting for the January-June period can still be submitted until July 31, 2023).
“The grace period is calculated from the last day of the reporting period for which it is granted, when the transmission obligation becomes effective for the respective taxpayer. Therefore, taxpayers/taxpayers are not sanctioned contravention (…) if they submit the valid D406 information return within the maximum time limit (…), the order reads.
SAF-T will become mandatory for small taxpayers only from January 1, 2025.
Therefore, please check the 2022 year-end balances with extra care so that you can then proceed correctly to file your 406 tax returns in 2023.
The main sources of information used
Tax Decree 1,783/2021
