The issue of gift vouchers given to employees of contractual partners has been extremely controversial since the time of legislative and fiscal regulation in terms of the tax treatment applied to them, namely income from wages or income from other sources. The epic with gift vouchers ended with the publication of Law No. 43/2023 on the abolition of certain fiscal obligations.

In accordance with the specified law, the differences in the main fiscal obligations, as well as the related auxiliary fiscal obligations, arising as a result of the transfer from the category of income from other sources to the category of income from wages and income equal to wages gift vouchers , received by natural persons from persons other than employers, for financial periods after the entry into force of Law No. 193/2006 on the provision of gift vouchers and vouchers for kindergartens and, accordingly, Law No. 165/2018 on the provision of securities as amended and supplemented and until December 31, 2020 inclusive.

It is important that both differences in fiscal obligations established by the fiscal authority through a tax decision issued and notified to the taxpayer, unpaid before the date of entry into force of Law No. 43/2023, are annulled ex officio by the competent authority. of the fiscal authority or at the request of the taxpayer, as well as differences in tax liabilities established by the fiscal authority through a tax decision issued and notified to the taxpayer, paid by the taxpayer before the adoption of this fiscal measure. Similarly, with regard to the refund of amounts paid by the taxpayer after the reclassification of the income received from the provision of gift vouchers, Law 43 provides that the refund is made upon the taxpayer’s application, which must be formulated within the 5-year limitation period, which begins to count from entry into force of this Law.

One of the problems that arose as a result of the adoption of Law No. 10001, 43/2023 is related to the right of taxpayers who have paid the difference in the main tax liabilities, as well as the related tax liabilities before the date of entry into force by this Law, demand interest on these amounts from the administrative body. Of course, the current legal norms recognize the right of taxpayers to demand and receive interest on the amounts subject to return or reimbursement from the state budget, but this right is conditioned by the cancellation of the fiscal administrative act, which terminates the tax obligations to pay taxes. were installed.

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The article is signed by Dan Daskalou, Partner, Litigation and Employment Coordinator at D&B David si Baias and Mihaela Ragea, Associate, Senior Associate at D&B David si Baias

Article supported by PwC Romania