Thought Articles

Lately, the Romanian Fiscal Code suffered numerous amendments, which created certain controversies regarding the taxation modality. In practice, such repeated amendments generated confusion among both taxpayers and the representatives of the public administration. This article is only meant as a brief comparative presentation of the provisions of the Fiscal Code in force as of 1 January 2007 regarding the income obtained from the transfer of real estate properties belonging to the personal patrimony, by comparing them with the provisions preceding the date 1 January 2007. Be advised that with respect to the income obtained from the transfer of real estate ownership from the patrimony of certain legal entities, taxation shall be made according to the tax on global income of such business entity.

A recent research made by a reputable international consultancy company shows that Romania is at present the most profitable destination for investments on the real estate market. The review maintains that, during the last 10 years, the prices in the real estate field will increase over four times the present price. Under these circumstances it goes without saying that more and more foreign investors are attracted to major real estate transactions.

This article appeared in the 2006 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Product Liability; published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London. What systems of product liability are available (i.e. liability in respect of damage to persons or property resulting from the supply of products found to be defective or faulty)? Is liability fault based, or strict, or both? Does contractual liability play any role? Can liability be imposed for breach of statutory obligations e.g. consumer fraud statutes?

Romania’s accession to the European Union will also have consequences as far as the protection of nationally registered trademarks is concerned. Under the accession rules, Community trademarks filed for registration before the date of accession (irrespective of whether they have been registered or not), shall automatically enjoy protection within the territory of Romania.

In the broader context of Romania's efforts to join the European Union (EU) by the year 2007, the private sector participation in the national economy has grown significantly. Unlike the first years of the transition to the free market economy when privatisation played a key role in transferring the ownership and responsibility to the private sector, other instruments such as public private partnership (PPP) and private finance initiative (PFI) are currently developing with a view to modernising Romania's infrastructure. The article originally appeared in the Privatisation & Public Private Partnership Review 2006/07 published by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC in May 06.

Law No. 31/1990 that applies to commercial companies was initially based on the companies’ regulation as proposed by the so-called Commercial Code of Carol II of Romania. It was intended that the Commercial Code would come into force in 1940, but this did not happen due to World War II. The initial regulation has been amended many times, the current form of the law being for the most part the one republished in the Official Gazette No. 1066/17, in November 2004. But in the light of Romania’s imminent accession to the EU, a review of certain texts in the Company Law has proved necessary to bring these texts into line with European directives.