The European Commission has sent reasoned opinions to Romania for failure to comply with transposition obligations on VAT rates

The European Commission has notified Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain for failure to transpose Directive 2022/542, which allows the use of reduced VAT rates for essential products. These countries have two months to respond or risk financial penalties through a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Reasoned opinions have also been issued for non-implementation of Directive 2020/285, which simplifies the VAT regime for small businesses.