Romanians who have paid fines for not completing a digital entry form (PLF) during the pandemic will be able to request a refund from the local tax authority where they live from today. The procedure and the request for the return of money is established by the order of the Minister of Development, published on Tuesday in the Official Gazette.

The procedure for refunding by local fiscal authorities the fines paid by Romanians for not filling out the digital entry form to Romania (PLF) when entering the country was approved on Tuesday, August 16, by the order of the Minister of Development Ceke Attil. and published in the Official Gazette.

• SEE THE PROCEDURE IN THE OFFICIAL VISIT HERE

We remember that the law, which provides for the cancellation of applied fines for not complying with the obligation to fill in the digital form for entry to Romania (PLF) and to refund money to Romanians who have already paid these fines, was published and published last month in the Official Gazette.

Initially, fines for not filling in the PLF ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 lei, but in February the government lowered the minimum fine threshold to 500 lei after many Romanians accused them of unfair sanctions.

How to get a refund if you have received a penalty for a PLF form

To return paid fines, Romanians must apply to the local fiscal authority at their place of residence, within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this order of the Minister of Development, refund request.

The return application is submitted to the authorized local fiscal authority in writing or by means of electronic remote communication together with a copy of the identity document.

The claim for compensation is accompanied by copies of the violation report and payment documents and must contain the following elements:

• a) name and surname of the applicant;
• b) personal numerical code;
• c) place of residence of the applicant;
• d) the amount and nature of the claim required for restitution;
• e) the IBAN code associated with the account for which the refund is requested, if the refund is not selected in cash;
• f) the bank in which the account in which the refund is requested is opened.

What happens after you apply? How long will you have to wait?

According to the procedure, after receiving the refund request, the competent local fiscal authority checks it, the attached documents and data from the payers’ accounts.

If the competent local fiscal authority considers that it needs additional documents related to the resolution of the request, it requests their provision.

• “The term is 45 days provides for the settlement of requests for restitution, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 77 of Law No. 207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code, as subsequently amended, is extended for the period between the date when the request for additional information was sent and the date of registration of receipt of this information in the competent local fiscal authority.” This is stated in the order published in the Official Gazette.

Other procedural details:

• if, after receiving the documentation provided by the applicant and verifying the data from the payers’ records, the competent local fiscal authority discovers the existence of outstanding budgetary obligations, the requested sums shall be returned only after the compensation of these outstanding budgetary obligations.
• if the amount to be reimbursed is less than the applicant’s outstanding obligations, compensation shall be made until the amount to be reimbursed is equal.
• if the amount to be reimbursed exceeds the amount of the applicant’s outstanding obligations, the compensation shall be made until the outstanding obligations are fulfilled, and the resulting difference shall be returned to the applicant.
• in a situation where the applicant does not register outstanding tax liabilities or after compensation has been made, the competent local fiscal body issues a decision on the return of amounts from the local budget (…).

How did they decide to cancel fines for not filling out the PLF form

The obligation to fill in the PLF passenger location form when entering Romania was introduced in December 2021 and abolished in March 2022.

The statement of reasons for the law abolishing fines for the absence of PLF states that since the entry into force of GEO 129/2021, thousands of Romanians have been fined after returning from abroad for not filling in the PLF form or for lack of information or because they did not know how get access to a special platform.

• “Many of those who were fined can no longer prove that they have completed the PLF, and the DSP no longer has this data. Thus, an individual or collective lawsuit against state institutions will bring this situation to a dead end, from which Romanians must lose,” the motivation reads.

Initially, fines for not filling out the PLF ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 lei. In February 2022, the government introduced exemptions to the PLF form and reduced fines after many Romanians claimed they had been unfairly punished.

Almost 150 thousand fines amounting to more than 360 million lei for lack of PLF

In February 2022, the Ministry of Health sent a request to HotNews.ro the situation with fines applied by public health authorities (DSP) to those who have not fulfilled the obligation to fill out the digital entry form to Romania within a maximum of 24 hours after entering the country.

• “In the period 12/25/2021 – 01/31/2022, 149,560 fines were applied. The cost of fines applied in the period from 12.25.2021 to 01.31.2022 amounted to 360,991,000 lei.
• The fines were applied as a result of non-compliance with the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1) of GEO 129/2021 regarding the implementation of the digital entry form in Romania, adopted by the Government of Romania, namely: “Failure by the person entering the territory of Romania to complete the digital form entering Romania within 24 hours after entering the country is a violation and is punishable by a fine of 2,000 to 3,000 lei.” announced on February 17, 2022, officials of the Ministry of Health.

On March 9, Romania exited the state of alert imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.