Who must declare in RO e-Transport is decided by the operation, not by who owns the truck. The importer declares imports, the beneficiary declares intra-community acquisitions, the supplier declares intra-community supplies and domestic movements of high fiscal risk goods, the exporter declares exports, and the depositary declares goods in transit or in storage. The transport organizer, usually the carrier, is a separate role responsible for the vehicle and the positioning data. The driver carries the code and shows it at a check.
The declarant, by operation
Articles 8 and 9 of OUG 41/2022 attach the obligation to a commercial role. Read the table by finding your operation first, then your role.
| Operation | Declarant | Typical company |
|---|---|---|
| Import | The importer | The Romanian buyer clearing the goods |
| Intra-community acquisition | The beneficiary | The Romanian buyer receiving EU goods |
| Intra-community supply | The supplier | The Romanian seller shipping to the EU |
| Export | The exporter | The Romanian seller shipping outside the EU |
| Domestic transport of high fiscal risk goods | The supplier | The Romanian seller or distributor |
| Goods in transit or placed in storage | The depositary | The warehouse holding the goods |
Notice what the table does not contain: the carrier, the forwarder and the customer’s logistics department. None of them is a declarant by virtue of moving or arranging the goods. A carrier becomes a declarant only when it is also the importer, exporter, supplier or depositary for that specific movement.
The scope question — whether a movement is reportable at all — comes first, and depends on the thresholds and, for domestic routes, the goods. Both are set out in the RO e-Transport overview and in the guide on high fiscal risk goods.
What the transport organizer is responsible for
The name causes trouble in English, because Romanian practice and the legal text use different words for the same party. Clients say “the transporter”. The system says “transport organizer”. Same party, two vocabularies, and a forwarder reading a declaration for the first time will look for a field called carrier and not find one.
The role carries two duties that the declarant cannot perform for it.
The vehicle. The plates declared against the UIT code must match the vehicle actually carrying the goods. When a truck breaks down mid-route, the transport organizer sends the vehicle change; nobody else can. That message is the only field still open after departure, and the procedure is in the guide on changing the vehicle on a UIT code.
The positioning data. Vehicles must transmit position data to ANAF for the whole route, through the equipment fitted in the vehicle. This is a duty of the transport operator, discharged by telematics hardware, and no declaration software transmits it. What it involves is covered in the guide on GPS data in RO e-Transport.
Three parties, three exposures
The same missing code produces three different consequences, which is why “who is responsible” has no single answer.
The declarant is exposed to the fine for failing to declare, and to the confiscation of the countervalue of the undeclared goods. According to the sanctions in OUG 41/2022 as amended, legal entities face 20,000 to 100,000 lei (roughly 4,000 to 20,000 EUR).
The transport organizer is exposed for a vehicle that does not match the declaration and for positioning data that is not transmitted.
The driver is exposed for not presenting the code at a check — reported in specialist coverage at 5,000 to 10,000 lei (roughly 1,000 to 2,000 EUR) — even when the driver had nothing to do with the declaration, and even when the code exists but never reached the cab. The amounts and the appeal route are set out in the guide on RO e-Transport fines and appeals.
That third line is the one worth fixing this week. A code that exists in an office system and not in the driver’s hand protects nobody.
When one company holds two roles
Most confusion comes from movements where the same company appears twice.
A distributor delivering its own goods with its own trucks is both supplier and transport organizer. One company, two roles, one declaration, and it files as supplier.
An importer collecting goods with a hired carrier is the declarant; the carrier is the transport organizer. Two companies, and the importer needs the carrier’s vehicle data before it can file.
A warehouse receiving goods for a foreign owner is the depositary and declares the storage movement, while the foreign owner may be the declarant for the acquisition that brought the goods in. Two movements, two declarations, two codes.
A forwarder filing under an SPV mandate performs the act of declaring for a client who owes the obligation. The mandate moves the keyboard. It does not move the liability, and no clause in a forwarding contract makes ANAF address the fine to the forwarder.
Foreign companies: the role travels, the residence does not
A non-resident company that is the importer, exporter, supplier or beneficiary for a movement covered by RO e-Transport is the declarant, exactly as a Romanian one would be. Nothing in OUG 41/2022 makes the obligation conditional on being established in Romania.
What that requires in practice is a Romanian tax identification number and a way into ANAF’s Virtual Private Space (SPV) — either the company’s own qualified digital certificate registered for the role, or an authorised representative who holds one. Foreign carriers running transit through Romania sit in a different position again, and the details are in the guide for foreign carriers and non-resident companies.
Where the standard advice fails
“Our Incoterms decide who declares.” They do not. Incoterms allocate cost and risk between buyer and seller; RO e-Transport allocates a reporting obligation by operation type. An EXW sale and a DDP sale to the same buyer produce the same declarant for the same movement. Use the Incoterm to work out who has the data, not who has the duty.
“We wrote it into the transport contract.” Contracts bind the parties to each other. A clause saying the carrier declares does not stop ANAF from fining the importer, and its practical value is a recovery claim afterwards, not a defence at the check.
“The customs broker handles everything.” Brokers handle customs declarations. RO e-Transport is a separate system with a separate submission, and an import can clear customs cleanly while its transport declaration is missing.
“One shipment, one responsible party.” A single truck can carry six consignments, six declarants, six UIT codes and one transport organizer. The carrier’s job is to collect all six before loading.
Settling these roles once, in writing, costs an afternoon. Finding out at the roadside costs the fine plus the countervalue of the goods.
Sources: OUG 41/2022 on legislatie.just.ro; 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
Who must declare in RO e-Transport?
The declarant depends on the operation. The importer declares imports, the beneficiary declares intra-community acquisitions, the supplier declares intra-community supplies and domestic transport of high fiscal risk goods, the exporter declares exports, and the depositary declares goods in transit or in storage. The obligation follows the commercial role in the movement, not the ownership of the vehicle.
Is the carrier responsible for the UIT code?
Not for obtaining it, unless the carrier is also the declarant for that operation. The carrier's usual role is transport organizer: responsible for the vehicle declared against the code and for the transmission of positioning data from the vehicle. A carrier who leaves without a code is exposed at a roadside check, so carriers commonly ask for the code before loading.
Can the driver be fined for a missing UIT code?
Yes. According to the sanctions in OUG 41/2022 as amended, the driver faces a separate fine, reported in specialist coverage at 5,000 to 10,000 lei (roughly 1,000 to 2,000 EUR), for failing to present the UIT code at a check. The driver's obligation is to carry and show the code, not to obtain it. Give the code to the driver before departure.
What is a transport organizer in RO e-Transport?
The transport organizer is the party ANAF holds responsible for the vehicle used and for the positioning data transmitted while the goods are moving. Clients often call this party the transporter. In the declaration it is a named role with its own identification data, and it is the only party that may change the vehicle after the transport has started.
Who declares in a groupage shipment?
Each consignment is declared by its own declarant, according to its own operation. A groupage truck carrying goods for six recipients can carry six UIT codes filed by six different companies. The carrier does not merge them into one declaration; it collects the codes and carries them all.
Can a forwarder or accountant file on my behalf?
Yes, with a mandate registered in ANAF's Virtual Private Space (SPV). The person filing must hold a qualified digital certificate registered for that role. The liability for the content of the declaration stays with the company that owes the obligation, so a mandate transfers the work, not the exposure.
Who is liable if two parties both think the other declared?
The party the law names as declarant for that operation. Mutual assumption is the most common way a transport travels without a code, and it is not a defence: the importer who assumed the forwarder filed is still the importer. Settle the role in writing before the first shipment, not after the first check.
