OMV, which was supposed to be the most affected company in Romania by the solidarity tax the government imposed on energy companies, is almost emotionless.

The European Commission has responded to the Romanian government, which asked for clarification after the Austrian company announced that it will not pay solidarity tax this year because it does not fall under the provisions of the regulation, having less than 75% of its turnover from the defined sectors: oil production, natural gas production, oil production and production of oil refining products.

The European Commission’s answer consists of three points

PSD spokesman Radu Oprea said on Digi FM on Tuesday that the response received from the European Commission shows that the threshold of 75% of turnover from taxable sectors (crude oil production, natural gas production, oil production and production of products obtained from oil refining) cannot be reduced.

“The answer came from the European Commission, there are three points in the answer. The first refers to 75%, to this percentage of turnover, where the commission responds that by regulation this is the minimum that can be applied. So Romania applied the provision correctly, you cannot reduce it. The Commission’s second reply states that the five CAEN codes from the European regulation are correctly applied in the emergency regulation, and there is another question that says whether the products obtained as a result of processing, diesel fuel, gasoline, if they are included in these codes Here, the European Commission responds that they need more details to better understand the business model,” said Radu Opre, quoted by Digi 24.

At the beginning of the year, OMV Petrom announced that it would not pay the solidarity tax introduced by the Government at the end of last year, with less than 75% of turnover from the specified sectors: crude oil production, natural gas production, oil extraction and production of refined products.

Kechiu demands payment from OMV

Finance Minister Adrian Caciu later told OMV that Romania had asked the European Commission for clarification on the application of the provision on solidarity contributions by companies that made exceptional profits during the energy crisis.

He added that if necessary, the emergency order adopted at the end of the year for the application of the European regulation will be changed to make all those who profited from the crisis pay.

“The government has also introduced joint and several contributions, adopting almost everything written in the decree, including elements that cause a number of elements of interpretation, namely that the reference to at least 75% of the turnover in certain sectors. The goal is this: those who have received exceptional profits and income from energy will pay in solidarity to offset the rising cost of living for both citizens and businesses. In order to avoid confusion, if you will, in the interpretation of both the regulation and the resolution, we have asked the European Commission to make an interpretation rule. From my point of view, everything is clear. Everyone will pay this tax,” Cachiu said on January 18.

At the end of last year, the government passed GEO (186/2022), according to which the additional profit of producers of crude oil, gas and oil refineries will be taxed at a rate of 60%. The tax base is an amount that is more than 20% higher than the average profit for the last four years.

Prior to the European Commission’s response, ANAF had started inspections at OMV regarding the solidarity tax, although it did not know whether the company had to pay it.

“ANAF has not made any report on the inspections carried out in OMV because we are waiting for clarification from the Commission as a result of the letter sent by the Ministry of Finance to clarify how the regulation will be applied. Only then will we complete this review and be able to say whether OMV complies with the terms of Decree 186,” according to ANAF’s Jan. 27 position.

Romgaz pays solidarity tax

Romgaz, on the other hand, will pay the tax: 906.1 million lei.

Romgaz is 70% owned by the Romanian state through the Ministry of Energy, and the rest by other shareholders (such as investment funds, pension funds or individuals). For example, NN Group owns 5.36%.