TITLE IV - Tax on incomes of micro-enterprises

ART. 103 - Definition of micro-enterprise

Within the meaning of this title, a micro-enterprise is a Romanian legal person which cumulatively satisfies the following conditions on 31 December of the previous fiscal year:

a) obtains incomes, other than those from consulting and management, in a percentage of over 50% of its total incomes;

b) it has a number of employees are from 1 to 9, inclusive;

c) the obtained incomes did not exceed the equivalent in ROL of EUR 100 000;

d) the registered capital of the legal person is owned by certain persons other than the state, local authorities and public institutions.

ART. 104 - Option to pay tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises

(1) The tax regulated by the present title shall be elective.

(2) Micro-enterprises, which are payers of the profit tax, may elect to pay the tax regulated by the present title beginning with the following fiscal year, if the conditions provided in Article 103 are satisfied and if they have never been payers of tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises.

(3) A Romanian legal person which is newly established may elect to pay the tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises, beginning with the first fiscal year, if the conditions provided in Article 103 a) and d) are satisfied on the date of registration with the trade register and the condition provided in Article 103 b) is satisfied within 60 days after the date of registration.

(4) The micro-enterprises, which are payers of the tax on incomes of micro-enterprises, shall no longer apply such system of taxation beginning with the fiscal year which follows the year when the conditions provided in Article 103 are no longer satisfied.

(5) The Romanian legal persons may not elect the system of taxation regulated by the present title if:

a) they carry on activities in the field of banking;

b) they carry on activities in the fields of insurance and re-insurance, of the capital market, with the exception of the legal persons which carry on activities of intermediaries in such fields;

c) they carry on activities in the fields of gambling, sports betting, casinos;

d) their registered capital is owned by a shareholder or partner which is a legal person with over 250 employees.

(6) The micro-enterprises - payers of tax on incomes of the micro-enterprises - may opt for the payment of the profit tax beginning with the next fiscal year. The option shall be expressed until 31 January of the fiscal year following the one for which the tax on incomes of the micro-enterprises is payable.

ART. 105 - Scope of application of tax

The tax established by the present title, which shall be hereinafter called tax on incomes of micro-enterprises, shall be applied to the incomes obtained by micro-enterprises from any source, with the exceptions provided in Article 108.

ART. 106 - Fiscal year

(1) The fiscal year of a micro-enterprise shall be the calendar year.

(2) In case of a legal person which is being established or ceases to exist, the fiscal year shall be the period during the calendar year when the legal person existed.

ART. 107 - Taxation quota

(1) The taxation quota on incomes of micro-enterprises shall be: 2% in 2007; 2,5% in 2008; 3% in 2009.

(2) In case the tax payable by micro-enterprises is less than the annual minimum tax, provided in Article 18 (3), such micro-enterprises shall be bound to pay the tax at the level of this amount.

(3) For the purpose of applying paragraph (2), the following rules shall be had in view for the year 2009:

a) for the 2nd quarter the tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises payable at the end of the quarter shall be compared to the annual minimum tax, provided in Article 18 (3), recalculated accordingly for the period between 1 May - 30 June 2009, by dividing the annual minimum tax to 12 months and multiplying it by the number of months of that period;

b) for the 3rd and 4th quarters the tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises payable at the end of each quarter shall be compared to the annual minimum tax, provided in Article 18 (3), recalculated accordingly for such quarter, by dividing the annual minimum tax to 12 months and multiplying it by the number of months related to such quarter.

ART. 107^1 - Taxation of micro-enterprises that obtain incomes higher than EUR 100 000)*

By exception from the provisions of Article 109 (2) and (3), if, during a fiscal year, a micro-enterprise obtains incomes higher than EUR 100 000 or the weight of the incomes obtained from consulting or management in the total incomes is of over 50% inclusive, it shall pay a profit tax taking into account the incomes obtained and expenses made as of the beginning of the fiscal year, without the possibility to benefit by the provisions of this title during the next period of time. The calculation and payment of the profit tax shall be effected starting with the quarter during which any limit provided in this article is exceeded, without payable delay interests. In the determination of the payable profit tax the payments representing the tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises made throughout the fiscal year shall be deducted.

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*) Article I point 4 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 110/2006 amended Article 107^1, without any specification as regards the title. The updated text preserved the title of Article 107^1 as it was before the amendment brought by the Government Emergency Ordinance No 110/2006.

ART. 108 - Taxable base

(1) The taxable base of the tax on the incomes of micro-enterprise shall be the incomes from any source, from which the following shall be subtracted:

a) incomes from variation of stocks;

b) incomes from the production of tangible and intangible fixed assets;

c) incomes from operations representing the share of the government subsidies and of other resources for the financing of investments;

d) incomes from provisions;

e) incomes resulting from the cancellation of debt claims and increases payable to the state budget, which were not deductible expenses in the calculation of the taxable profit, according to the legal provisions;

f) incomes obtained from compensations, from insurance companies, for the damages to the own tangible fixed assets.

(2) In case of a micro-enterprise which acquires electronic cash registers, the acquisition value of such registers shall be deducted from the taxable base, in accordance with the document in proof, for the quarter during which the electronic cash registers were commissioned, according to the law.

ART. 109 - Procedure for declaring the option

(1) The legal persons, which are payers of profit tax, shall communicate the option to the territorial tax bodies at the beginning of the fiscal year, by submitting a statement of mentions for the legal persons, family associations and associations without legal personality, until 31 January, inclusive.

(2) The legal persons which are established during a fiscal year shall write down the option on the registration application with the trade register. The option shall be final for such fiscal year.

(3) If, during a fiscal year, one of the conditions is no longer satisfied, the micro-enterprise shall have the obligation to maintain such taxation arrangement for such fiscal year, without the possibility of benefiting from the provisions of the present title for a following period, even if subsequently the conditions provided in Article 103 are satisfied.

(4) The micro-enterprises which carry on activities in the free zones and/or in the disadvantaged zones may also elect to pay the tax regulated by the present title.

ART. 110

Payment of tax and submission of tax statements

(1) The calculation and payment of tax on the incomes of micro-enterprises shall be made on a quarterly basis, until the 25th of the month following the quarter for which the tax is calculated.

(2) The micro-enterprises shall be obliged to submit an income tax statement by the time limit for the payment of the tax.

**ART. 111*)** - Taxation of natural persons associated with a micro-enterprise

In case of an association without legal personality between a micro-enterprise, which is payer of tax, according to the present title, and a natural person, resident or non-resident, the micro-enterprise shall have the obligation to calculate, withhold and transfer to the state budget the tax owed by the natural person, tax calculated by the application of a quota of 1.5% to the incomes received by the person from the association.

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*) See Article 52 and Article 107.

ART. 112 - Fiscal provisions as regards depreciation

The legal persons, which are payers of the income tax, shall be obliged to register in the accounting the expenses of depreciation, according to Article 24 of Title II, which apply to payers of the profit tax.