Romania's National Authority for Fiscal Administration (NAFA) published Order 827/2026 on 2 July 2026. The Order approves a new procedure for issuing and amending advance pricing agreements (APAs) and sets out the required content of applications and supporting documentation. It applies to unilateral, bilateral and multilateral APAs.
The new rules govern applications submitted on or after the Order's entry into force. Applications filed before that date remain subject to the rules in effect at the time of filing.
Scope and basic mechanics
The procedure covers conditions and transfer pricing methods applicable to transactions between related parties over a fixed period. Any taxpayer registered with the Romanian tax authorities and carrying out related-party transactions may apply for an APA or an APA amendment.
Separate applications are required for APAs covering future transactions and those covering prior periods. A standalone APA cannot be requested exclusively for a period predating the filing date. Where a taxpayer has filed for a bilateral or multilateral APA, it may convert that application to a unilateral APA at any stage, provided the relevant foreign tax authority or authorities are notified.
Before filing, taxpayers may request a preliminary discussion with NAFA.
Validity period and rollback
An APA may be issued for a maximum of five years. For future-transaction APAs and amendment applications, the APA may take effect from the fiscal year in which the application is filed, at the taxpayer's request.
Where a transaction covered by a future APA was also carried out before the APA period, taxpayers may request rollback coverage for up to five closed fiscal years preceding the year of filing. Rollback eligibility is subject to a strict similarity analysis: the prior-period transaction must be similar in object and functional terms, involve the same related parties, and be governed by contractual terms that do not differ significantly from those in the future APA.
Taxpayers that have already been subject to a completed corporate income tax audit covering any part of the period for which rollback is sought cannot file a rollback application for that period.
Expanded documentation requirements
The documentation requirements under Order 827/2026 are substantially more detailed than under the previous framework. An APA application must include:
- a list of all intragroup transactions with each related party;
- year-end transfer pricing adjustments;
- information on relevant management positions, business restructurings and business strategy;
- details of research and development activities;
- a full functional and economic analysis; and
- a detailed comparability study.
The application content has also been aligned with NAFA Order 828/2026, published on the same date, which introduces mandatory annual transfer pricing report submission for large taxpayers.
Grounds for rejection
NAFA may reject an APA application where:
- the application or supporting documentation fails to meet minimum content requirements and the taxpayer does not provide clarifications or documents within 60 business days of NAFA's request;
- an amendment request for extension, expansion or revision is not filed at least 30 days before the expiry of the existing APA; or
- NAFA establishes, on the basis of documented evidence, that the application contains inaccurate or misleading information or conceals a different factual situation.
For bilateral or multilateral APAs, rejection is communicated to the taxpayer only after consultation and prior agreement with the relevant foreign tax authorities.
Annual monitoring
Beneficiaries of a future-transaction APA must submit an annual report on compliance with the APA's terms and conditions by the statutory deadline for filing annual financial statements or annual accounting reports. The report must be signed by the legal or authorised representative and submitted electronically through NAFA's Private Virtual Space.
For rollback APAs, the annual report must be submitted within 90 business days of the communication date of the order approving the APA, and must be prepared separately for each fiscal year covered.
Failure to submit the annual report on time may result in cancellation of the APA for subsequent periods.
Practical considerations
The more demanding procedural and evidentiary requirements make early preparation essential. Taxpayers contemplating an APA should assess at the outset whether their transactions are suitable, whether sufficient evidence exists to support the proposed transfer pricing methodology and comparability analysis, and whether prior periods could be covered through a rollback, taking into account the similarity conditions and the exclusion where a corporate income tax audit has already been completed.