How to obtain an EORI number in Romania

All the economic operators involved in import, export and transit in the European Union are obliged to obtain an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. The economic operators are defined as all the legal entities performing businesses regulated by the EU Customs legislation. This means that even though the company is not registered in an EU country, it has to obtain such a number if it wishes to perform import, export or transit operations in the EU territory.

Entrepreneurs who are interested in this registration can receive specialized assistance from our team of lawyers in Romania.

The EORI number in Romania

The EORI is an unique reference number that has mandatory usage in all the electronic communications involving Customs and other government agencies responsible with international movement goods. This number usage applies in all EU member states.

Since 1 May 2016, the EORI rules in the European Union are laid down in the Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, art. 9) and in Regulations (EU) 2015/2446 and 2015/2447, which replaced Regulation (EC) No 312/2009 and the implementing provisions of the former Community Customs Code.

The registration requirement is different for branches, compared to a local company in Romania. In this case, it is advisable to discuss the matter with the experts at our law firm in Romania.

In Romania, EORI numbers are obtained from the Romanian Customs Authority (Autoritatea Vamală Română), which registers and assigns these unique numbers. The companies have to address the regional customs directorate that covers the territorial jurisdiction in which the applicants are established or at customs offices (here only in exceptional cases). Regional customs directorates operate in several cities, including Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj and Galati.

Please feel free to reach out to our team of Romanian lawyers. We can help you register and comply with the ongoing regulations.

Documents needed for the EORI application

In order to obtain the EORI number the applicant must submit an application completed in the EORI-RO application on the website of the Romanian Customs Authority (www.customs.ro), then printed, signed and sent to the competent regional customs directorate; any supporting documents are uploaded in the same application (Order of the Romanian Customs Authority no. 1760/2023). Our lawyers in Romania summarise the supporting documents below:

• companies established in Romania no longer attach their trade register certificate or VAT registration certificate: the customs authority checks these data itself in the trade register (RECOM) and VAT (VIES / ANAF VAT register) databases;
• operators not established in the EU attach the registration document issued in their country, any EU VAT registration certificates and, if the address differs, a document showing the current registered office or tax domicile, with a certified translation;
• individuals attach an identity document showing the personal numeric code and address (persons established in Romania) or a valid passport (persons established outside the EU).

The term for issuing an EORI number by the regional customs directorate is about 2-3 days. The notification for the applicant is sent via e-mail (at the address indicated by the applicant) or at the headquarters of the Regional Directorate. Any changes in the data contained in the application or the document submitted must be notified at the competent regional directorate by the EORI number holder. Our Romanian lawyers can help with these submissions. 

Once you have obtained an EORI number, you will notice that the structure of the EORI number is composed of an country code consisting of two alphabetic characters (ISO alpha 2) followed by a single national identifier State, up to 15 alphanumeric characters. In Romania, the unique structure of the EORI number for resident companies (companies from Romania) was set to be the unique identifier (CUI), the same number assigned by the Romanian Trade Register upon registering a new Romanian company.

Our team also assists foreign nationals who are interested in property or land purchases in Romania. Foreign nationals can buy apartments and buildings in Romania; land is subject to Law no. 312/2005: EU/EEA citizens can buy it under the same conditions as Romanian citizens, while other foreigners can acquire land only under international treaties, on a reciprocity basis. Our team can give you more details according to the purchase that interests you. Also, read about Romanian export and import duty and taxes. 

For any additional information and assistance regarding the EORI number, feel free to contact our team of lawyers in Romania.