Last week we received many questions about the maximum deadline by which a micro-enterprise can submit its financial statements for the year 2023 and at the same time maintain its status as a micro-enterprise from a fiscal point of view.

My answer is no later than March 31, 2024.

I am well aware that the Accounting Act specifies 150 days after the end of the fiscal year, namely May 29, 2024, given that this is a leap year.

I am well aware that there is a press release from the Ministry of Finance that the submission of financial statements by March 31, 2024 is addressed to those micro-enterprises that have not submitted annual financial statements for 2022 or before this year, in the same statement it is noted that no deviations from the deadline stipulated by the Accounting Law for submitting financial statements.

We thank the people who prepared the relevant communique, and we appreciate suggestions about the content of the relevant communique. I understand this clarification very well, but it should be done from a regulatory point of view. I saw in the parliament amendments to the law approving GEO no. 115/2023 such a regulatory clarification, but it will probably not be published in time in the Official Monitor.

Given the possible delay of this regulation, I believe that if a company wants to be a micro-enterprise in 2024, it must submit its financial statements for the year 2023 by March 31, 2024, in this regard I would like to read the current regulatory text – specifically paragraph 29 and item 42 GEO no. 115/2023 regarding some fiscal measures.

Let’s analyze the normative text in the form in which it is valid today.

Paragraph 29 of GEO No. 115/2023 states:

“29. In Article 47, paragraph (1), after the letter h), a new letter, letter i) is added with the following content: i) submitted the annual financial statements within the prescribed period, if he is obliged according to the law.”

The provisions of the Tax Code governing the definition of a micro-enterprise have been changed so that in order to have the fiscal status of a micro-enterprise, you must submit annual financial statements to the authorities within the prescribed period. If you reread the normative text, the term “legal” is not mentioned, but the submission to the term.

We will continue the analysis according to item 42 of GEO no. 115/2023:

“42. Article 54^1 is amended and will have the following meaning:

Article 54^1 Transitional rules

For the application of the system of taxation of incomes of micro-enterprises in the 2024 fiscal year, the condition provided for in Art. 47 par. (1) lit. i) is considered fulfilled if the annual financial statements are submitted by March 31, 2024 inclusive.”

From reading the regulatory text, we understand that the art form. 54^1 of the Fiscal Code, which will come into force after January 1, 2024, is the above and contains the following elements:

• a) the regulatory text contains the phrase “transitional rules”, i.e. it is a deviation from something and applies only in a certain case;

• b) if we want to implement the micro-enterprise tax system in 2024 for those companies that want this system, the submission of financial statements must be done by March 31, 2024. The deadline is common to all annual financial statements up to 2024 and we understand that it also covers the 2023 financial statements;

• c) let’s see what is not written in the regulatory text: it is not written that there is a derogation from the deadline for submitting annual financial statements until May 29, 2024, but no one guarantees you that you will remain a micro-enterprise if you submit a balance sheet after 31 March 2024, that is, there is a high probability that you will be recognized as a corporate income tax payer.

Let’s remember college

Beautiful accounting axioms tell you to exercise caution so you know how to approach this situation. It would be a shame if the few remaining micro-enterprises became income tax payers because some regulatory changes were not adopted in time, in which case the risk is borne by both the owner of the respective micro-enterprise and the person responsible for accounting. .

N. Ed: Adrian Benza is a tax consultant and financial auditor