Digitization is a type of process that, once initiated, can never be stopped. Therefore, the digitalization of Romania means the transition to a new paradigm – technological, informational and social.

Public institutions are just one of the key components of the digital transformation process. The private sector, the associative environment, local communities and society as a whole are equally essential parts of this process ( https://www.adr.gov.ro/adr/).

The digital tax system is part of the public authority’s strategy and unfortunately, the Romanian situation is not a very good one, even if in recent years there is an evolution in the use of e-government tools, the field of electronic public services remains underdeveloped. According to The Romanian Digitalization Authority “the main problem that best defines at a general, national level, the situation regarding e-government, is represented by insufficient development in Romania of electronic public services. This problem, which affects the entire population of the country, both public and private, places the country, despite the developments, still at the bottom of the international rankings relevant to the field”[1].

According to EIDES[2] in 2020 even if the index is associated with SMEs it is cklear that for tax point of view , onlu Greece and Bulgaria have a weak position in between .  Having in mind one of the eight cathegory Formal Institutions, regulation, taxation Romania index ia  37,93 while Denmark is 77,98 and Luxemburg is 86,47.

Nevertheless, efforts are made, and some development was created dealing with life events for Romanian citizens. Some examples are presented as follows:

Public platforms:

GHISEUL.ro https://ghiseul.ro – Sistemul National Electronic de Plata Online

The National Electronic Payment System (NEPS), also known as www.ghiseul.ro, is the system through which Romanians can pay their taxes online.

Ghiseul.ro system is managed and operated by the Agency for the Digital Agenda of Romania (ADAR); an institution subordinated to the Ministry for the Information Society (MIS). The online payment platform was made available free of charge by the Association for Electronic Payments in Romania (AEPR). This is an association that promotes electronic payments and consists of the 14 most important banks, international card schemes (VISA and MasterCard), processors and technology providers.

ANAF (National Authority for Fiscal Administration)     https://www.anaf.ro/

The National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) was established on October 1, 2003 under the Ministry of Public Finance, by Government Ordinance no. 86/2003, as a specialized body of the central public administration. Starting with January 2004, it became operational, acquiring the quality of an institution with its own legal personality, by detaching the departments with attributions in the administration of state revenues within the Ministry of Public Finance.

Within ANAF, the Financial Guard, the National Customs Authority, the general directorates of the county public finances and the General Directorate of Public Finances of the Municipality of Bucharest are also organized.

As a specialized body of the central public administration, with attributions in the application of the fiscal administration policy, ANAF carries out its activity in the field of budget revenue administration, through the procedures of: management, collection, fiscal control and the development of partnership relations with taxpayers.

Since 1 January 2007, the date of Romania’s accession to the European Union, the Romanian Tax Administration has been providing for the intra-Community exchange of information on VAT and excise duties and adapting the administration, collection and control to the requirements of the tax administrations of the Member States of the European Union.

The society in which tax administrations have to operate is in a constant state of dynamism. Against this background, the activity of the Romanian Tax Administration is in a continuous process of modernisation and adaptation to economic realities, waiting for high quality and operational services.

Casa Națională de Pensii (National House of Public Pensions)  https://www.cnpp.ro/home

The National House of Public Pensions is the Romanian public institution that provides pensions and other social insurance benefits due to persons included in the public pension system and accidents at work and occupational diseases, through territorial pension funds, as well as a series of benefits reparative character, established by special laws.

Private platforms:

There are some private platform performing tax/ bills payment such as

• SC VITAL SA (water,canal) https://plati.vitalmm.ro/login.jsp

SC VITAL S.A. provides clients with a new way of fast and permanent access to personalized information, online payment of invoices, self-read index transmissions, message transmissions to our company. In order to have access to these facilities, it is necessary to create a user account with the following information: email address, subscriber code, contract number.[3]

ELECTRICA SA (electricity / methane gas)

https://myelectrica.ro/index.php?pagina=plata-online

Provide clients with My Electrica platform to online payment of invoices, self-read index transmissions and other services.

Digi – https://www.digi.ro/plata

Clients can open an account and pay their invoices (telephone, internet, TV)

E-ON SA (methane gas) Autentificare clienti – E.ON Energie Romania

ROVIGNETE – vignettes https://www.roviniete.ro/ro/

Through this platform clients can pay RO and HU vignette, and can buy some mandatory romanian insurances (RCA).

Roviniete.ro is authorized by the National Company for Road Infrastructure Management (C.N.A.I.R. S.A.).

References

https://www.adr.gov.ro/adr/  – retreived February 3^rd, 2022

ghiseul.ro – Sistemul National Electronic de Plata Online – retreived February 3^rd 2022

https://www.anaf.ro/ – retreived February 3^rd 2022

http://static.anaf.ro/static/10/Anaf/prezentare/prezentare.htm, retreived February 3^rd, 2022

https://www.cnpp.ro/home –  retreived February 3^rd 2022

[1] Barriers to Digitization public and private environment in Romania https://www.adr.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ADR-Barierele-Digitalizarii-mediului-public-si-privat-din-Romania.pdf

[2] https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/european-index-digital-entrepreneurship-systems-eides/eides-country-ranks_en

[3] https://plati.vitalmm.ro/login.jsp visited 28.02.2022