Environment

The specific pollution tax is paid for certain categories of vehicles registered for the fi rst time in Romania. The tax is calculated based on the emission standard, the cilindric capacity and the age of the vehicle. Exemptions apply for hybrid or electrical vehicles.

For certain activities (eg. selling ferrous and non-ferrous waste, dangerous substances,activities which generate polluting emissions, releasing packaging materians / tyres on the market) companies have to pay contributions and taxes to the Environmental Fund. 

In certain cases (e.g. packaging waste) the contribution to the Environmental Fund depends on the degree to which companies achieve the recovery / recycling targets stipulated by the relevant legislation on waste management. Thus, for packaging waste, the contribution to the Environmental Fund is currently RON 2 per kilo of packaging introduced onto the market and is owed for the difference between the recovery target stipulated by law and the percentage actually achieved by companies.

Companies conducting activities that result in the discharge of air-pollutant emissions from fixed sources (e.g. nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metal emissions, such as lead, cadmium, mercury) have to pay contributions to the Environmental Fund of between RON 0.02 / kg (about EUR 0.0046) and RON 20 / kg (about EUR 4.65).

Starting 1 January 2011 a RON 2/litre tax has been introduced for industrial oils and lubricants placed on the market; the tax applies to the diference between the annual administration obligations and the administrated quantities of used oil.

Importers and producers of hazardous substances have to remit to the Environmental Fund a contribution of 2% of the value of the substances hazardous to the environment placed on the market. Companies selling ferrous and non-ferrous waste and administrators or owners of forests also have to make contributions to the Environmental Fund, currently set at 3% and 2%, respectively, of the resulted revenues.

Companies that store recoverable waste (i.e. waste resulting from extraction and processing of crude oil, waste resulting from primary processing of wood, waste resulting from alcohol manufacturing, carboniferous slurry, furnace slag, ashes from thermal power plants, pyrites ashes, phosphogypsum, metal slag) on new plots of land have to pay tax to the Environmental Fund. This tax ranges from 0.2 RON (about EUR 0.046) per sq metre to 4 RON (about EUR 0.93) per sq metre and per year, depending on the type of waste stored on the new land.

Economic operators which place on the market shopping bags with and integrated or applied handle musta pay a tax (“ecotax”) of RON 0.1 / piece.

The contribution for tyres placed on the market was increased from RON 1/kg to RON 2/kg.

Companies have to report and pay these taxes monthly, semi-annually or yearly - depending on the tax concerned - to the Environmental Fund Administration, by submitting a declaration.

Producers / importers / exporters (“producers”) of electrical and electronic equipment ("EEE") have to register with the National Agency for Environmental Protection.

As of 1 January 2011 a guarantee shall be placed with the Environmental Fund by producers of electrical and electronical equipment, and also by collective organisations, for the EEE placed on the market.

Producers and / or collective organisations have to insure an annual EEE waste collection quantity from private households equivalent to the annual procentual rate of EEE waste collection. Not complying with these regulations is sanctioned with fines and the suspension of the activity until compliance requirements are met.

Producers / importers wishing to place batteries and chargeable cells on the market are required to register with the National Agency for Environmental Protection.

Placement on the market of portable batteries containing more than 0.002% cadmium by weight is prohibited. Distributors are also prohibited from selling batteries originating from unregistered producers.

Chemical substances and preparations traded on the market must be registered with the European Agency for Chemical Products.

Registration is the only way for producers and importers of chemical substances to be allowed to continue production and import of chemical substances and preparations.