CCF: Raising VAT to 21% will affect Romania's agriculture by increasing raw material prices

  Raising the Value-Added Tax (VAT) to 21% will affect Romania's agriculture by increasing the prices of raw materials for industries that generate food products, the Chamber of Tax Consultants (CCF) said in an analysis sent on Tuesday.A reduced VAT rate will no longer apply under Law 141/2025 for the delivery of plants, seeds and ingredients used for food preparation, products used to complement or replace bees' food or feed. More specifically, it is about certain cereals, oilseeds and fruits, various seeds and fruits, fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin, salt, etc. Basically, they will be subject to the standard 21% rate."The non-application of the reduced rate throughout the economic chain, from production to the finished product, leads in many cases to VAT refunds. Agriculture is affected by raising prices of some products that are raw material for the industries that generate food products and which, if they are VAT payers, will deliver with the reduced rate of 11%," say the tax specialists."We do not believe that cancelling the reduced VAT rate on bee feed is justified, first of all because of the insignificant budgetary impact and then because of the need to support this sensitive sector by keeping in place the reduced VAT rate. The bee population is decreasing from one year to the other due to excessive drought and chemicals used as pesticides, thus affecting agricultural production," according to Mariana Vizoli, member of the CCF Superior Council, quoted in the release.Moreover, reverse charge for a series of cereals does not solve the problem of increasing the VAT rate for cereals, since there are a series of products that do not fall under the incidence of reverse charge and, in other words, only VAT payers would benefit from reverse charge on the purchase of cereals, while non-VAT payers would buy these products at the rate of 21% (as against a current 9%) when they are used for the preparation of food for human or animal use (feed), therefore at a higher price.The Chamber of Tax Consultants suggests a legislative amendment to reintroduce to the category of food products those excluded by law, as they were before August 1, 2025, namely: the delivery of plants, seeds and ingredients used for food preparation, products used to supplement or replace food, bee fee.The suggestion is based on both the negative effects of the exclusion of these goods from the category of those subject to the 11% rate, but especially on the difficulties of classifying some goods in the category of products subject to reduced or standard VAT."Another aspect of a technical nature, on which an explanation should be given through norms or, as the case may be, a legislative amendment, concerns the transitional provisions where it is provided that in order to benefit from the reduced VAT rate of 9% for the supply of housing, if the legal acts between the livings were signed between July 3 and 31, 2025, the advance must be 20%, excluding VAT."The Chamber of Tax Consultants is a professional organisation of public utility, a non-profit legal person, with its own assets and budget. It is made up of tax consultants, assisted tax consultants who have acquired this capacity, as well as tax consulting companies, authorized by the Chamber.