The President of the Tax Authority, Adrian Nica, announces that the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) is considering changing the fiscal record in such a way that individuals who have repeatedly managed companies that went into insolvency will no longer be able to establish other commercial entities. The proposal is set to be discussed with the business environment.
The statements were made at the Economic Stability Marathon organized by Profit.ro.
ANAF: Selling the company does not exempt you from liability
The head of the Tax Authority says that there are administrators who sell their companies with debts, counting on the idea that this way they escape responsibility.
However, he warns that this strategy does not work. ANAF checks the historical data of companies and can hold the administrator personally responsible, even if the company has been sold in the meantime.
According to Nica, in the near future, there will be more and more cases where this procedure of holding personal responsibility will be applied.
"Not only ANAF is deceived, but the entire business environment"
The President of ANAF argues that the issue does not only affect the state budget. A company that accumulates debts and is then sold leaves behind obligations towards private partners.
"It does not deceive only the Tax Authority. It is a problematic person for the entire business environment in which they operate," said Nica, accusing that some administrators sign contracts "only with the purpose of deceiving everyone."
In this context, the institution is considering tightening the conditions in the fiscal record for establishing a company.
Ban for those with multiple insolvencies
One of the options being discussed is the introduction of a ban for individuals who have been administrators of multiple companies that have gone into insolvency and were subsequently sold.
"If you have been an administrator of seven, nine, or even 15 companies, all of which have entered insolvency, all have been sold, you should not be able to start a new company. We are considering this possibility," explained the head of ANAF.
He specified that this is a preliminary discussion and that the criteria will be established after consulting the business environment, including specific sectors.
600,000 companies with unrecoverable arrears
Adrian Nica stated that upon taking office, he found "many billions of lei" in unrecoverable arrears.
According to the presented data, ANAF has identified over 600,000 companies that have generated these debts. In further analysis, the institution found a pattern: individuals who have managed 7, 9, or even 15 companies in recent years, all of which ended up in insolvency.
"We want to sanction this type of behavior," said Nica, emphasizing that the current system allows these individuals to quickly return to the market with a new company.
Low minimum capital, high risk of fraud
The head of ANAF also pointed out that establishing a company involves low costs - sometimes only 200 or 600 lei of share capital - which can facilitate abusive behaviors.
At the same time, he emphasized that any changes must be made carefully, so as not to affect young entrepreneurs and legitimate initiatives.
"We do not want to affect the young people who need to be encouraged in the entrepreneurial field. (...) We need to carefully manage this way of putting in the fiscal record the impossibility of establishing a company after displaying unfair behavior," said Adrian Nica.
After consultations with the business environment, ANAF will announce whether and in what form the legislation will be modified.