The Government intends to extend the reverse charge in the field of natural gas supplies, according to the model applied in electricity, with the conditions that the gas trader/ gas provider holds a license from the National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE), gas trade to be its main activity and its own consumption to be 1% or less of the quantity of gas bought, according to a document obtained from government sources and quoted by Profit.ro.

Last October, the ECOFIN Council took the decision to extend the derogation from Article 199a of the VAT Directive which allows member states to apply the reverse charge mechanism for electricity, gas and electricity transactions by 30 June 2022. The initial derogation would have expired at the end of last year, in the absence of the ECOFIN decision. According to the initiator of the reverse charge extension text in the gas supply sector, OPCOM, this mechanism is “recognized as an effective tool for combating fiscal fraud in the area of VAT (which leads to significant budget losses and affecting the functioning of the internal market).”