ROMANIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stan Tîrnoveanu and Alexandru Iorgulescu, Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners Attorneys At Law
Overview of the Market According to the latest statistics published by the National Trade Registry Office for the first eight months of 2025, there was a 2% decrease in the number of newly opened procedures compared to the same peri - od in 2024. However, the first four months of 2025 saw a 12% drop compared to 2024. The number of newly opened procedures has thus recently been increas - ing and, against the backdrop of the fiscal-budget - ary reforms adopted by the government in July and August 2025, it is expected that the total number of procedures opened in 2024 will be exceeded in 2025. Most insolvency procedures were opened in the fields of retail, construction, transport, storage and hospitality. Up to November 2025, no major compa - nies entered insolvency, but there were some surpris - ing developments. For example, the restaurant/food business has experienced constant growth in recent years (reaching EUR11 billion in 2024) but 2025 saw the opening of insolvency procedures for three well- known restaurant chains – La Placinte, Noodle Pack and Salad Box, a trend that may continue in the future for companies with low profit margins. The medical textile market took a strong hit with two relevant com - panies, Techtex and Alison Hayes, also entering insol - vency in the last year. A positive aspect is the significant increase (19.4%) in the number of newly registered companies in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The number of preventative proce - dures employed by debtors was also on an increasing trend, with successful examples such as the case of Liberty Galati, an industrial steel giant with debts of approximately EUR1 billion that managed to secure the creditors’ vote and confirmation from the syndic judge for its four-year restructuring plan during the summer of 2025. However, only a small proportion of companies in difficulty or that become insolvent man - age to recover by means of restructuring frameworks or insolvency proceedings. Delay in payments remains high, generating pressure in the more vulnerable sectors where a significant portion of sales are made on credit (pharmaceutical, agribusiness, construction) and increasing the risk of chain insolvencies. Taxes, duties, and excise increas -
es adopted by the government in July and August 2025 are expected to put further pressure on compa - nies. According to a recent report provided by RisCo, a financial analysis platform, the total outstanding debt towards the state reached over EUR15 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2025. Although the number of insolvencies remains high, with 2025 ending – according to the European Com - mission’s estimates – with a record deficit of over 8.5% of GDP, Romania maintains its status as an investment-grade country according to Moody’s rat - ing agency. Impact of the fiscal-budgetary measures adopted in July and August 2025 In July–August 2025, the Romanian government adopted two consecutive packages of fiscal-budg - etary measures aimed at generating significant addi - tional revenue and savings to address Romania’s large budget deficit. Among the most important measures adopted by the first legislative package (most of which came into force on 1 August) are the increase of standard VAT rate to 21%; the replacement of the reduced VAT rates (5% and 9%) by a single reduced rate of 11% for various essential goods and services; the increase of dividend tax from 10% to 16%; the introduction of an additional tax (or special tax) on bank revenues/turno - ver; the increase in excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and fuels by about 10%; the application of the health contribution (“CASS”) for pensions exceeding the threshold of RON3,000; and the capping of salaries and pensions in the public sector for 2026. The second legislative package, made up of five chap - ters, was adopted on 29 August 2025 and has since been under constitutional control. It is expected to largely enter into force by the end of 2025. It consists of changes in pension rights and retirement conditions for magistrates; specific reforms to improve efficiency in public health delivery and financing; changes in the management structures of state-operated companies for better efficiency (ie, a reduction in board mem - bers); reforms of the structure and functions of regula - tors such as the energy regulator ANRE, the financial supervisory authority ASF, and the communications
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