Entrepreneurs and companies operating in Romania can no longer treat cash as a convenient default for business payments. Recent legal changes have gradually restricted cash collections and payments, especially in B2B and B2C transactions, while making modern payment methods and payment accounts a general compliance expectation. As of 2026, Romanian legal entities must have a payment account, and businesses that continue to operate exclusively in cash may face fines, tax risks and increased scrutiny from the authorities.
Failure to maintain a payment account may trigger fines between RON 3,000 and RON 10,000 and can lead to the company being declared fiscally inactive. Fiscal inactivity has serious consequences: during the inactive period, the business cannot deduct expenses or paid VAT, and its clients may also lose the right to deduct VAT related to acquisitions from that inactive taxpayer. If fiscal inactivity lasts more than one year, the company may also face the risk of ex officio dissolution, under certain legal conditions. In practice, the absence of a payment account also makes it difficult or impossible to implement modern payment methods, which may create additional sanctions and tax risk indicators.
Romanian businesses must also observe the legal cash payment thresholds. Exceeding the cash collection or payment limits, including through split payments, may be sanctioned with a fine equal to 25% of the amount exceeding the legal threshold, but not less than RON 500. In B2B transactions, the main daily limits are generally RON 5,000 per person for collections and payments, with specific rules for cash & carry stores and total daily cash payments. In B2C relations, payments and collections for goods, services, dividends, assignments of receivables and similar transactions are generally subject to a daily threshold of RON 10,000 per person. For entrepreneurs in Romania, relying exclusively on cash can therefore create not only administrative exposure, but also serious tax and operational consequences.
For a detailed analysis in Romanian, see the author’s full article published on Avocatnet.ro