Many taxpayers have fulfilled the legal obligation to submit their SAF-T returns, but without checking each time that the data included is correct. From this year, it is moving to the next stage, namely, in addition to the new wave of ANAF notices for submitting SAF-T and even fines, the institution will start checking the reported data.

In a new episode of PwC Romania Tax Talks, Anca Macovei, Director of PwC in Romania, and Izabela Stoicescu, Senior Manager, discussed how companies can prepare to fill out SAF-T returns correctly and what to expect this year from the authorities.

Watch PwC Tax Talks Issue 5:

Key statements:

• Many taxpayers have completed implementing the SAF-T reporting file, a process that has proven to be complex and time-consuming. In 2024, SAF-T enters a new phase where ANAF will begin analyzing the data included in the reporting.
• ANAF has already sent notices of non-filing in both fall 2022 and spring 2023 for those who either did not file their SAF-T returns at all or submitted them almost empty. ANAF will continue these steps and we expect a new wave of notices or even fines for failure to submit. It is also likely that ANAF will start checking the correctness of the data. We will remind you that in March of last year, a series of compliance tests was published so that each reporting entity, the taxpayer, knows what aspects he must follow when preparing the SAF-T declaration.
• From our point of view, it is important, on the one hand, to make sure that we report, but it is very important that the data that we report in those reports is correct and complete, and of course if we have differences, when we identify and , of course, we document properly and in advance.
• We are talking about a large amount of data, a fixed structure and many restrictions. The file provides the transmission of a significant amount of fiscal and accounting data in three types of reports: a monthly or quarterly report, an annual report for fixed asset data, and an on-demand report covering inventory data.
• The validator provided by ANAF does not check the integrity/correctness of the data, but is limited to the .xml structure and syntactic constraints. Each taxpayer has to adapt the checks that he has to carry out, but at the first stage, as a mandatory aspect, let’s say we really have to, a series of quality checks should be carried out.
• There are software or tools that can automatically validate the declaration after it has been exported and verified. And including, they could be included in the monthly work schedule of the financial and accounting department.
• If we look at the experience of other countries that have implemented SAF-T, and what we want for Romania, of course we expect, for example, to get rid of part of the VAT declarations. Poland, which introduced SAF-T more than five years ago, abandoned VAT declarations four years ago, of course, replacing them with the SAF-T declaration. It is clear that we also expect that the data contained in the reports will be used in tax audits, and of course all these data will be used for risk analysis, to identify certain differences.
• We expect that in the near future, all digitization initiatives will lead to transparency in tax audit processes and of course how taxpayers will fulfill their tax reporting obligations.

Article supported by PwC Romania