RO e-Transport fines fall on three different parties and are set by OUG 41/2022 as amended. According to the amounts reported for the sanctions in force, legal entities face 20,000 to 100,000 lei (roughly 4,000 to 20,000 EUR), individuals 10,000 to 50,000 lei, and drivers 5,000 to 10,000 lei for not presenting the code. The countervalue of the undeclared goods can also be confiscated. Both are contested the same way: a complaint filed with the local court within 15 days.
What the penalties are
| Who | Fine (lei) | Approx. EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entities | 20,000 – 100,000 | 4,000 – 20,000 |
| Individuals | 10,000 – 50,000 | 2,000 – 10,000 |
| Driver, for not presenting the code | 5,000 – 10,000 | 1,000 – 2,000 |
| All of the above | plus confiscation of the countervalue of the undeclared goods | — |
These figures come from the sanctioning articles of OUG 41/2022 as amended in 2024, and are reported consistently in Romanian specialist coverage. Check the current text of the ordinance before quoting them in a dispute, because the sanctioning articles have been amended more than once since 2022.
The confiscation is the part that changes the arithmetic. A fine has a ceiling; the countervalue of the goods does not. A load worth 300,000 lei carries a potential exposure several times the maximum fine, which is why a single undeclared shipment can cost more than a year of compliance for the whole fleet. The scope rules that decide whether you owed a declaration at all are in the RO e-Transport overview.
What actually gets fined
The breaches that produce reports at a roadside check are mundane and short. There is no elaborate fraud in most of them.
No declaration at all. The most expensive one, because it carries the confiscation. Usually the result of two parties each assuming the other filed, which is why the roles in the guide on who must declare in RO e-Transport are worth settling in writing.
A code that was never accepted. ANAF returns the UIT code at upload, before the content rules run. A declaration rejected minutes later leaves the truck with a number that is attached to nothing. At a check, this looks the same as having no declaration.
A code the driver cannot show. The declaration is perfect and sitting in an accounting system. The driver has nothing.
The wrong vehicle. The plates on the declaration do not match the truck that turned up. After a breakdown or a last-minute swap, the transport organizer has to send a vehicle change; the procedure is in the guide on changing the vehicle on a UIT code.
An expired code. A UIT code is valid 5 calendar days from the declared start date, 15 for intra-community acquisitions and the operations named in art. 2 pt. 9 letters g) and j) of OUG 41/2022. A transport that has not finished by then must be redeclared.
How to appeal a RO e-Transport fine
The appeal route is not tax procedure. Contravention fines follow Government Ordinance 2/2001, the general law on contraventions, and that gives you a court complaint rather than an administrative objection to ANAF.
Step 1 — record the date. The 15 days run from the handing over or communication of the report, not from the date of the check and not from the date you read it. If the report arrived by post, keep the envelope and the acknowledgement.
Step 2 — decide between the two paths, quickly. Within the same 15 days you can either pay half the minimum fine under art. 28 of GO 2/2001, extended to all contravention fines by Law 203/2018, or contest. Paying half closes the fine but accepts the report, and it does not undo the confiscation. Contesting keeps everything open and suspends enforcement.
Step 3 — assemble the evidence before the deadline, not after. For an e-Transport report, the useful file is small and specific: the declaration as submitted, ANAF’s response with the UIT code, the status response showing acceptance, the timestamps of both, the transport document, and proof the code was communicated to the driver. Timestamps do most of the work — they show a declaration existed before the vehicle moved.
Step 4 — contest the confiscation expressly. The complaint suspends execution of the fine. Confiscation applied by law is a separate measure, so do not assume the suspension covers it. Ask for it to be set aside in the same complaint, on the same facts.
Step 5 — argue proportionality where the breach is formal. A declaration filed late by an hour, a correct declaration whose code the driver could not display, an accepted declaration with one wrong digit in a plate: these are not the same as moving undeclared goods, and the difference belongs in the complaint.
Where the amount is large or the report also orders confiscation, it is worth having a Romanian tax adviser review the file before the 15 days run out — for instance the team at TaxOlia, which handles tax audits and appeals in Romania.
The evidence problem, and how to avoid having it
Most e-Transport complaints turn on one question: can you show that an accepted declaration existed before the vehicle moved? That is a records question, and it is decided long before the check.
Three records answer it. The submission, with its timestamp. ANAF’s acceptance of the content, not merely the code returned at upload. And the moment the code reached the driver. Companies that keep all three win the argument on paper. Companies that keep the first one only are arguing from a code that may never have been accepted.
Where the standard advice fails
“We will sort it out with ANAF.” There is no administrative appeal for a contravention report. The route is a court complaint under GO 2/2001, within 15 days, and a phone call to a tax office does not stop the clock.
“Pay half and move on.” Reasonable for a small formal breach. A poor choice when confiscation is on the report, because paying the fine leaves the confiscation standing and accepts the facts recorded by the officer.
“We had the code, so the fine is void.” Having a code is not the same as having an accepted declaration, and neither is the same as the driver presenting it. Check which of the three failed before deciding what to argue.
“Fifteen days is plenty.” It is 15 calendar days for finding the file, drafting the complaint and filing it at the right court — the one in the district where the check happened, which may be four hundred kilometres from the head office.
“The carrier pays.” The fine is addressed to whoever the report names, and for a missing declaration that is the declarant. Contractual recovery from a carrier is a separate, slower matter.
Sources: OUG 41/2022 on legislatie.just.ro, where Government Ordinance 2/2001 on the legal regime of contraventions is also published; ANAF’s RO e-Transport guide (2025); Order ANAF/AVR 1.337/1.268/2024, Official Gazette 597 of 27 June 2024.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the fine for a missing UIT code in Romania?
According to the sanctions in OUG 41/2022 as amended in 2024, legal entities face 20,000 to 100,000 lei (roughly 4,000 to 20,000 EUR), individuals 10,000 to 50,000 lei, and the driver 5,000 to 10,000 lei for failing to present the code. On top of the fine, the countervalue of the undeclared goods can be confiscated. Verify current amounts against the ordinance before relying on them.
Can ANAF confiscate my goods for an e-Transport breach?
The sanction is confiscation of the countervalue of the undeclared goods, applied alongside the fine. In practice it is the harsher half of the penalty, because it is measured against the value of the shipment rather than capped like the fine. Confiscation is applied by the same official report as the fine and is contested together with it.
How do I appeal a RO e-Transport fine?
Under Government Ordinance 2/2001, you file a complaint against the official report with the judecătorie — the first-instance court — in whose district the contravention was committed, within 15 days of the report being handed to you or communicated. Filing the complaint suspends execution of the fine. Attach the evidence: the declaration, the ANAF response, the timestamps.
Can I pay half the fine?
Yes. Under art. 28 of Government Ordinance 2/2001, extended to all contravention fines by Law 203/2018, you may pay half the minimum amount of the fine within 15 days of the report being handed over or communicated. Paying half closes the fine but does not undo the confiscation, and it means accepting the report rather than contesting it.
Does appealing stop the confiscation too?
The complaint suspends execution of the fine. Confiscation applied by law is a separate measure, and the safe assumption is that filing a complaint does not lift it on its own. Contest the confiscation expressly in the same complaint against the official report, and set out why the goods were declared or why the obligation did not apply.
I have the UIT code but the driver did not show it. Is that still a fine?
It can be. The driver's obligation is to present the code at the check, and a code that exists in an office system but not in the cab is not presented. If you can show that a valid, accepted declaration existed before departure, that is exactly the evidence a complaint is built on — but the cheaper fix is putting the code in the driver's hands before the truck moves.
What is the deadline to react after a check?
Fifteen days, and it runs from the moment the official report is handed over or communicated. The same 15 days cover both options: paying half the minimum fine, or filing a complaint with the local court. Miss the window and the report becomes enforceable, so the date on the report is the first thing to record.
