Government to scrap most 5% reduced rate, moving most supplies to the standard 19% rate from 1 January 2024
The Romanian parliament has published a Bill reclassifying restaurant, catering and cultural (theatre; cinema) services from the reduced rate of 9% to the standard VAT rate of 19%. This comes less than one year after it moved the rate from 5% to 9%.
This latest hike would put the VAT rate well ahead of the EU average of around 9% to 10% for the following. It will raise the following supplies from 9% to 19% standard rate:
- sugary non-alcoholic drinks
- sugary foods
- passenger transport for tourist purposes
- sports facilities entrance fees
It will increase the following supplies from 5% to 9% reduced rates:
- social buildings
- smaller dwellings
- amusement park, cinemas, and cultural event admissions
Jan 2023: Switch to 9% reduced VAT rate on hotels and catering services
From 1 January 2023, a range of taxable supplies are recategorised between VAT rates. This includes overnight hotel accommodation and similar which move from 5% to 9% rates. The same for catering services, which includes restaurants, cafes and hospitality services.
The changes were gazetted in Official Gazette no. 716/15 July 2022.
Read more in a our Romanian VAT guide.
