All about electronic signature. When to use it and its legal value
08 February, 2022In the midst of the transition to a new digital age, the current pandemic is accelerating change and paving the way for more efficient social relations in terms of time management, in an environment that ensures both the speed of information transmission and data security and confidentiality. We are ...
Payments with personal data for digital content or services, under the umbrella of consumer protection legislation as of 9 January 2022
06 January, 2022The Romanian Government enacted the Emergency Ordinance no. 141/2021 on certain aspects of agreements for the provision of digital content and services ("Ordinance no. 141/2021") transposing the EU Directive 2019/770, which aims to harmonize the contractual landscape of the digital single market ...
European Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1847 published in Official Journal of the European Union an EU Regulation on the designation of a statutory replacement for certain settings of CHF LIBOR
08 November, 2021In the Official Journal of the European Union there has been published a new Regulation on the designation of a statutory replacement for certain settings of CHF LIBOR ("Regulation"). By this Regulation, the European Commission established the replacement rate for CHF LIBOR for 1, 3, 6 and 12 ...
Proposal of a new Norm on insurance guarantees
05 November, 2021On the official website of the Financial Supervisory Authority (the "FSA"), there has been published for public debate a new draft norm regulating the insurance guarantees constituted as performance bonds under various types of agreements concluded by the insured (the "Norm"). The new norm shall be ...
A proposed Regulation for amendments and changes to the National Bank of Romania’s Regulation no. 5/2013 regarding prudential requirements for credit institutions and for repeal of other normative documents was published on the National Bank of Romania’s website for public debate
04 November, 2021The National Bank of Romania (the "NBR") published a new draft Regulation ("Proposal") for public debate. This new draft Regulation proposed amendments to the NBR’s Regulation no. 5/2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and for the repeal of other normative documents (Regulation)....
Amendments to the Financial Supervisory Authority’s Norm no. 20/2017 regarding MTPL insurance and publication on the Financial Supervisory Authority’s website of the proposal of a new norm regarding the insurance activity performed in Romania by third country insurers
26 August, 2021On the official website of the Financial Supervisory Authority (the "FSA"), there has been published for public debate a new norm modifying the FSA’s Norm no. 20/2017 regarding motor third party liability insurance ("MTPL") in Romania ("Norm 20/2017"). According to the information uploaded on the ...
The Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) approved Regulation No 11 for the amendment and supplement of the FSA Regulation no. 10/2015 regarding the management of alternative investment funds
11 August, 2021Regulation no. 11 for the amendment and supplement of the FSA Regulation no. 10/2015 regarding the management of alternative investment funds was published on the website of the Financial Supervisory Authority. The amendments specifically refer to the provisions regulating an Alternative Investment ...
Proposal for a new Regulation amending the Regulation of the National Bank of Romania no. 4/2019 on payment institutions and providers specialized in accounts information services
30 July, 2021The National Bank of Romania ("NBR") published for public debate, the proposal for a new Regulation amending the Regulation of the National Bank of Romania no. 4/2019 on payment institutions and providers specialized in accounts information services. Based on the principles and indications contained ...
The Supreme Court clarifies the legal nature of the decisions of the local council approving a zonal urban plan. Consequences regarding the entry into force of decisions approving the zonal urban plans and any court appeals on the same
23 July, 2021On 28 June 2021, the Romanian Supreme Court ("Supreme Court") has admitted an appeal in the interests of the law (in Romanian "recurs in interesul legii"), clarifying a legal issue which has raised various interpretation difficulties for the Romanian courts of law, namely: If the decision of the ...
Amendments to the Financial Supervisory Authority Regulation no. 4/2021 regarding the control activity and publication on the Financial Supervisory Authority website of the intention to apply the ESMA Guidelines for reporting under articles 4 and 12 of SFTR
23 July, 2021On 9 July 2021 in the Official Gazette of Romania under number 680 has been published the Financial Supervisory Authority (the "FSA") Regulation no. 10/2021 ("Regulation 10/2021") amending and supplementing the FSA Regulation no. 4/2021 regarding the control activity conducted by the FSA ...
Job description and employee handbook exceptions
14 June, 2021Emergency Ordinance no. 37 dated 5 May 2021 ("EO 37/2021") amending and supplementing Law no. 53/2003 - The Labour Code was published in the Official Gazette no. 474 on 6 May 2021. EO 37/2021 introduced some exceptions into the Labour Code in favour of micro-enterprises, regarding the obligation to ...
Amendments to the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 93/2012 regarding the incorporation, organization and functioning of the FSA
04 June, 2021On 21 May 2021 in the Official Gazette of Romania under number 530 has been published the Law 147/2021 ("Law 147/2021") amending and supplementing the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 93/2012 regarding the incorporation, organization and functioning of the Financial Supervisory Authority (the ...
Changes regarding masks at the workplace
24 May, 2021On 14 May 2021, Order no. 699/2021 for the amendment of the Order of the Minister of Health and of the Minister of Internal Affairs no. 874/81/2020 on the establishment of the obligation to wear a protective mask, epidemiological screening, and mandatory disinfection of hands to prevent ...
A new legal framework for food supplements
12 May, 2021On 1 April 2021, Law no. 56/2021 regarding food supplements ("Law no. 56/2021") was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I No. 332. Law no. 56/2021 repeals Order no. 1.169/2007 regarding the approval of the food supplements rules ("Order no. 1.169/2007") and represents the new regulatory ...
Important labour law amendments
07 May, 2021The evolution of technology has started to have an impact on improving the fast pace of labour relations and in simplifying all the documents that must be executed in the field of labour law. As a result of this evolution, a digitalisation in labour relations is necessary, especially in the context ...
Reintroducing obligations on the submission of the ultimate beneficial owner statement
06 May, 2021On 27 April 2021, Law No. 101/2021 ("Law 101/2021") for the approval (with amendments) of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 111/2020 on the amendment and supplementation of Law No. 129/2019 ("Law 129/2021") for the prevention and countering of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as ...
Increasing parental leave and childcare incentive payments
19 April, 2021The Emergency Ordinance no. 26/2021 which amends and supplements the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 on leave and monthly allowances for raising children ("EO 26/2021") was published in the Official Gazette no 363 on April 8, 2021. The newly adopted provisions are mainly aimed at ...
New amendments with respect to the Kurzarbeit program
19 April, 2021On April 5th, 2021, there was published with the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 345, the Law no. 58/2021 for the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 211/2020 (the "Kurzarbeit Law"). Among the most relevant amendments regulated under the Kurzarbeit Law, we would mention the ...
The Romanian Competition Council publishes the Guidelines on competition law compliance by associations of undertakings
05 March, 2021At the start of February 2021, the Competition Council published the final form of the Guidelines on competition law compliance by associations of undertakings (the "Guidelines"), addressed to the latter. The scope of the Guidelines is to prevent the anti-competitive behaviour of associations of ...
The minimum wage in 2021
06 February, 2021Decision no. 4/2021 ("Decision 4/2021") establishing the guaranteed minimum gross basic salary per country was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, No. 40, part I on 13 January 2021. Decision 4/2021 states that the guaranteed minimum gross basic salary per country, provided for in Art. 164 ...
Amendments to the Government Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding the associations and foundations
14 January, 2021On 2 December 2020, the Law no. 276/2020 for amending and supplementing the Government Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding associations and foundations ("Law 276/2020") was published in the Official Gazette no. 1166 and entered into force within three days as of the publishing date, namely on 5 December ...
Amendments to the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 99/2000 on trade of products and market services
14 January, 2021On 8 December 2020, the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 210/2020 for amending the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 99/2000 on the trade of products and market services (the "O.U.G. 210/2020") was published in the Official Gazette no. 1193 as of 8 December 2020 and entered into force on the same ...
Important changes on the procedure/ formalities of keeping and operating the Trade Register
14 January, 2021On 21 December 2020, the Order of the Ministry of Justice no. 6974/C/2020 (the „Order”) for amending and supplementing the Methodological Norms regarding the procedure of keeping the Trade Register, keeping the records and issuing information (the „Methodological Norms”) approved by the ...
Postponement until 1 January 2022 of the proposal for VAT reduction to 5% for dwellings with a value of up to EUR 140,000
13 January, 2021The legislative proposal which has been adopted through Law no. 248/2020 published in the Official Gazette no. 1079 on 13 November 2020 and was scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2021, has been subject to amendment in the last day of year 2020. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 226/2020 was ...
A new case for suspending the individual employment agreement
11 January, 2021On 24 December 2020, there was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 1293, the Law no. 298/2020 for supplementing the Labour Code (“Law 298/2020”). As per Law 298/2020, a new case for suspending the individual employment agreement at the initiative of the employer was ...
New benefits for employees who perform telework
07 January, 2021Law no. 296/2020 for the amendment and supplement of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code (”Law 296/2020”) was published in the Official Gazette no. 1269, part I, dated 21 December 2020. With respect to employment legislation, Law 296/2020 regulates the ability of the employer to grant financial ...
New regulations on the protection of Romanian citizens working abroad
16 December, 2020On 2 November 2020, a series of new rules on the protection of Romanian citizens working abroad came into force further to their publication in the Official Gazette no. 1019, Part I. Law no. 227/2020 amends and supplements Law no. 156/2000 on the protection of Romanian citizens working abroad ...
New action plan regarding Intellectual Property matters
14 December, 2020We live in a period of significant progress in intellectual property, an area that generates many benefits for the EU economy. As a result, there is a need to further build on the existing strengths by upgrading the EU’s framework, where needed, and creating appropriate policies to support ...
Important changes to Companies Law to simplify share transfers and payment of share capital
03 November, 2020On 6 October 2020, a draft bill (“Draft Bill”) amending Companies Law No. 31/1990 (“Law No. 31/1990”) was passed in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies and then, on 30 October 2020, this Draft Bill was promulgated by the President of Romania thereby becoming Law No. 223/2020 (“Law No. ...
Amendments to Competition Law
27 October, 2020On 16 October 2020, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 170/2020 (“GEO 170/2020”) regarding damages for infringement of competition law and also amending Competition Law no. 21/1996 was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part 1, no. 952. GEO 170/2020 transposes Directive 2014/104/EU ...
Proposal for VAT reduction to 5% for dwellings with a value of up to EUR 140,000 scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2021
21 October, 2020In order to encourage the economic prosperity of the construction sector, as well as to offer support for young families intending to purchase a dwelling, a legislative proposal has been made to increase the dwelling value for which the reduced amount of 5% VAT is applicable. The proposal was ...
New amendments to Labour Code in order to relieve labour courts. Responsibilities for personnel and compensation.
13 October, 2020A new law, no. 213/2020 amended and supplemented Law no. 54/2003 – the Labour Code in order to relieve labour courts from the high number of files pending on their dockets as well as to bring some clarifications as regards to the persons responsible for registration required by law and for ...
New rules in trading agricultural land in Romania applicable as of 13 October 2020
31 August, 2020On 14 August 2020 Law no. 175/2020 (“Law 175/2020”) amending and supplementing Law no. 17/2014 (“Law 17/2014”) which regulates the sale and purchase of agricultural land located extra-muros and amending Law no. 268/2001 on the privatisation of companies managing the State’s publicly, and ...
Amendments to the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing legal framework
17 August, 2020On 15 July 2020, Government Emergency Ordinance No. 111/2020 (the “AML Amending Ordinance”) on the amendment and supplementation of Law No. 129/2019 for prevention and countering of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for the amendment and supplementation of certain normative ...
New legislative changes. Stress and physical exhaustion fall under moral harassment
12 August, 2020Law no. 167/2020 (“the Law”) amending and supplementing Ordinance no. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination and also supplementing Article 6 of Law 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men was published on 7 August 2020 in the ...
Day Labourers’ Register Rules
11 August, 2020Order no. 1140/2020 ("Order 1140/2020") approving the methodology for drawing up and transmitting the electronic register of day labourers, as well as the registrations within it was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 651 on 23 July 2020. Either the legal person, the authorised natural ...
New Anti-Discrimination Rules
06 August, 2020Parliament has approved draft law no. 151/2020 which amends the Labor Code. The new law is intended to align the existing provisions on discrimination under the Labor Code with the provisions under Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, ...
Important amendments to the trademark and geographical indications legislation
13 July, 2020Law no. 112/2020 (“Law no. 112/2020”) which amends and supplements Law no. 84/1998 on trademarks and geographical indications entered into force on 13 July 2020. We have set out below the essential amendments brought in by the new provisions. Law no. 112/2020 is designed to align the national ...
Long awaited Companies Law amendments now enacted pursuant to Law No. 102/2020
07 July, 2020On 2 July 2020, Law No. 102/2020 (“Law No. 102/2020”) on the amendment and supplementation of Companies Law No. 31/1990 (“Companies Law”) was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, No. 583. The draft bill underlying Law No. 102/2020 (the “Draft Bill”) was promulgated by the ...
Days off for employees under the Labour Code. Christians and Non-Christians
10 April, 2020Law no. 37/2020, supplementing art. 139 of Law no. 53/2003 – Labour Code ("Law 37/2020") has been recently published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 280, on April 3, 2020. The provisions of the Labour Code include, besides weekly rest periods and annual leave, non-working public ...
Parents to benefit from days off to look after their children
20 March, 2020With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the official closing of schools on 14 March 2020, the following was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 209, Law no. 19/2020 for granting days off to parents to supervise their children in the context of temporary closure of the ...
Recent Changes to Construction Related Laws
04 February, 2020Law no. 7/2020 for amending and supplementing Law no. 10/1995 regarding the quality of building constructions and for amending and supplementing Law no. 50/1991 regarding authorization of the execution of construction works (the “Law”) was published in the Romanian Official Gazette no. 8 dated ...
New preliminary ruling concerning trade marks
31 January, 2020On January 29th, 2020, The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has issued a preliminary ruling on certain aspects concerning the interpretation of EU trade mark law and of the Member States’ laws on trade marks. The judgement is answering to some of the long-lasting questions concerning trade ...
The Draft Bill regarding Companies Law has been referred back to Parliament
21 January, 2020As reported by us in an earlier article, Important changes regarding Companies Law and the simplifying of incorporation procedures, on 18 December 2019, a Draft Bill (the “Draft Bill”) amending and supplementing Companies Law no. 31/1990 (“Companies Law”) was passed within the Romanian ...
Specific regulations issued by the FSA on the prevention and combat of money laundering and terrorist financing
17 January, 2020On December 10th, 2019, it was published with the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, No. 991, the Regulations No. 13/2019 regarding the measures to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing through the financial sectors supervised by the Financial Supervisory Authority (the “ASF ...
New amendment regarding the minimum gross wage
10 January, 2020On December 16, 2019, there was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 1010, the Government Decision no. 935/2019 (“GD no. 935/2019”) for establishing the minimum gross wage guaranteed at national level. As per the GD no. 935/2019, starting from 1st January 2020, the minimum ...
Important changes regarding Companies Law and the simplifying of incorporation procedures
22 December, 2019On 18 December 2019, a Draft Bill (the “Draft Bill”) amending and supplementing Companies Law no. 31/1990 (“Companies Law”) was passed within the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, which is currently being submitted to the President of Romania for promulgation purposes. In a world where business ...
Changes regarding cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions
17 December, 2019On 12 December 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/2121 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 (“Directive 2019/2121”) amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 as regards cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions (“Directive 2017/1132”), was published with the Official ...
Digitalisation of Company Law. Quicker Procedures for EU companies
13 December, 2019On July 11th, 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/1151 (“Directive 2019/1151”) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019, amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 regarding the use of digital tools and processes in company law was published with the Official Journal of the European Union. ...
Implementation of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) in Romania
28 November, 2019On November 13th, 2019, there was published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, No. 913, the Law No. 209/2019 on payment services and the amendment of certain legal acts (“Payment Services Law”). The Payment Services Law transposes within the Romanian legal framework the regulations ...
Planet 49 Case or the new rules concerning cookies consent
29 October, 2019On October 1st, 2019 the European Court of Justice has issued its final judgement in Case C-673/17 between Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände — Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband and Planet49 GmbH on certain aspects concerning the website cookies processing and consent ...
New fines regarding overtime work
29 October, 2019On September 18th, 2019, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the Bill no. 399/2018 (the “Bill”) to amend the Labor Code in order to discourage unpaid overtime and overtime exceeding the legal limits. Pursuant to the Bill, where overtime work provisions are infringed, the employers will be sanctioned ...
Constitutional Court Decision on the unconstitutionality of certain provisions of Law no. 359/2004 on the simplification of registration formalities with the Trade Registry of natural persons, family associations and legal entities, their fiscal registration, as well as on authorizing the functioning of legal entities
11 September, 2019By the decision no. 382 dated 28 May 2019 published in the Official Gazette no. 566/July 10, 2019 (the “Decision”), the Romanian Constitutional Court has upheld an objection of unconstitutionality raised with respect to Article 31 paragraph (7) of Law no. 359/2004 (“Law no. 359/2004”), in ...
New transparency requirements for legal entities and amendments to Companies Law no. 31/1990
11 September, 2019Law no. 129/2019 on prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as on the amendment and supplementation of certain legislative acts (the “Law”) was published in the Romanian Official Gazette no. 589/ July 18, 2019 and entered into force on July 21, 2019. The Law ...
Penalty clauses in individual employment agreements are not admissible
26 June, 2019On 20 May 2019, the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania issued a preliminary ruling on a legal issue approached unevenly in the decisions issued to date by the labour courts. According to an official release published on the website of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (the Supreme ...
The latest amendment on the standard of construction brings significant changes to the handover of the works upon completion
26 June, 2019An amendment to Law 10/1995 on the standards in construction came into force following its publication in the Official Gazette on 9 May 2019. Law 97/2019 introduced a prohibition on the transfer of the right to use over a dwelling prior to the assessment of completion taking place (in Romanian ...
Updated State Aid Scheme: Start-up Nation - Romania
26 June, 2019On 7 December 2018, the Romanian Government approved an Emergency Ordinance for the support of setting up of new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) proposed by the Ministry for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship. The recitals of the Ordinance state that SMEs represent 99.8% of ...
Minimum salaries in Romania for the year 2019
26 June, 2019Pursuant to the Government Decision approved at the Government meeting of 7 December, starting with the 1st of January 2019, the minimum wage guaranteed at national level without any increments or other additions, is proposed to be of 2,080 Lei/ month for a normal full working schedule of 167,333 ...
Environmental Permits Maintain Validity Now Only if Endorsed Yearly
26 June, 2019A recent piece of legislation that came into force on 15 November 2018 is likely to have a severe impact on the holders of environmental permits and environmental integrated authorisations. From now on, environmental permits and environmental integrated authorisations will only maintain their ...
Is the new Insurance Distribution Law affecting your business?
26 June, 2019On 8 October 2018, the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, No. 853, published Law No. 236/2018 the insurance distribution law (“Insurance Distribution Law”). The Law implements all provisions contained in Directive No. 2016/97/EU dated 20 January 2016 on insurance distribution (“IDD”). The ...
Quarterly distribution of dividends starts in July 2018
26 June, 2019Romanian Law now allows for dividends to be paid quarterly throughout the financial year. Starting on 15 July 2018, business owners enjoy legislative amendments relating to the regulation of a new dividend payment system following entry into force of Law no. 163/2018 for the amendment and ...
New internship program benefits for employers
26 June, 2019July brought beneficial changes for employers, with several new laws being passed. State benefits for employers hiring the unemployed, graduates, students and others. A new Government Emergency Ordinance amends several pieces of existing legislation on occupation within the workforce, ...
Real Estate Owners Associations under the new Law
26 June, 2019Law no. 196/2018 regarding the establishment, organisation and operating of owners associations and the administration of condominiums, was advertised in the Official Gazette of Romania under no. 660 on 30 July 2018. The new law came into force on 28 September 2018, repealing the previous applicable ...
2018 Cadastral and Real Estate Publicity Law adds new provisions
26 June, 2019Law no. 185 / 2018 for the approval of Emergency Governmental Ordinance no. 31/2018 regarding the modification and completion of the Cadastral and Real Estate Publicity Law no. 7/1996, was advertised in the Official Gazette of Romania under no. 638, on 23 July 2018. Law no. 185/2018 came into force ...
New Data Privacy Provisions
26 June, 2019New data privacy provisions from the Romanian supervisory authority The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing (“ANSPDCP”) has approved the proposed procedure for receiving and resolving complaints. The procedure establishes conditions which must be met in order for a ...
New law on the production of energy from renewable resources
26 June, 2019On 18 July 2018, the Romanian Parliament adopted Law No. 184/2018 approving Government Emergency Ordinance No. 24/2017 regarding the amendment and completion of Law no. 220/2008 for establishing a system to promote energy production from renewable energy sources and for the amendment of other legal ...
Monitoring employees personal data at work
26 June, 2019New legislation came into force on 31 July 2018 that sets out specific conditions for certain categories of personal data of employees. These special rules are aimed at situations where employers use electronic monitoring systems and/or video surveillance of employees at work. Article 5 of Law no. ...
Amendments to Waste Legislation
26 June, 2019Emergency Ordinance no. 74/2018 amending and supplementing Law no. 211/2011 on treatment of waste, Law no. 249/2015 on the management of packaging and packaging waste and Government Emergency Ordinance no. 196/2005 on the Environmental Fund (“Emergency Ordinance no. 74/2018”) has brought ...