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Business travel legislation in Romania: Overview of responsibilities | Infographic

June 20, 2024
This article is also available in
Romanian

Are you planning to send your employee on a business trip to or from Romania? In that case, it’s important to pay attention to the business travel legislation in Romania to ensure that you are compliant with all legal regulations. To help you better understand the scope of business travel demands, we’ve created an infographic with a basic overview of definitions, requirements and details.

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DURATION OF A BUSINESS TRAVEL

Delegation is the temporary performance by an employee of work or tasks corresponding to the duties of his or her job outside his or her place of work at the employer’s instructions. 

Delegation may be ordered for a maximum of 60 calendar days in any 12-month period and may be extended for successive periods of up to 60 calendar days only with the employee’s agreement. 

According to the Romanian legislation, the calculation of a business travel’s duration is based on the calendar days starting from the departure date and time until the date and time of the return. Each 24-hour period of the trip is considered as one day of business travel.

For domestic travel in Romania, the number of calendar days on which the person is on secondment shall be calculated from the date and time of departure to the date and time of return of the means of transport from and to the place where he/she has his/her permanent place of work, each 24 hours being considered a day of secondment.

In order to benefit from the tax facilities, the employee must be delegated to a locality more than 5 km from the locality where he or she has his or her permanent place of work and the duration of the secondment is at least 12 hours.   

For delegations abroad, the period for which the daily allowance is granted in foreign currency is determined according to the means of transport used, taking into account:

1. the time of take-off of the aircraft, on departure abroad, and the time of landing of the aircraft, on arrival in the country, from and at airports considered crossing points of the State border of Romania;

2. the moment of crossing Romania’s State border crossing points by train or car, both on departure abroad and on return to the country.

In order to benefit from the tax facilities, for time periods not totaling 24 hours, the daily allowance is granted as follows: 50% up to 12 hours and 100% for the period exceeding 12 hours.

THE VEHICLE USED FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL
Expenses for vehicles used exclusively for business purposes are fully deductible, but the company must maintain a log of kilometers driven, including the mileage at the beginning and the end of each trip, to calculate the number of kilometers travelled. The employee should also provide fuel receipts to justify the driven distance. The cost of fuel is based on the average consumption and the employee’s submitted documents. If the fuel is purchased abroad, the cost is converted to Romanian currency based on the National Bank of Romania rate on the date of purchase.
MEAL ALLOWANCE FOR DOMESTIC BUSINESS TRAVEL IN ROMANIA
During domestic business travel, the employee is entitled to daily per diems that cover food and/or other unforeseen expenses, and there is no need to submit additional receipts. The delegation allowance is subject to income tax from wages and social contributions if it exceeds the deductible limit set by the Romanian Tax Code, which is set at RON 57,5/day and in the limit of 3 base salaries corresponding to the job held.

The ceiling of 3 basic salaries corresponding to the post held is calculated separately for each month by dividing the 3 salaries by the number of working days in that month and multiplying the result by the number of days corresponding to each month of the period of delegation/detachment/work in another locality, in the country or abroad. 
MEAL ALLOWANCE FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL ABROAD

Foreign daily allowances are granted according to the amount establishes by law in the destination country of the business travel, and in this situation the Government’s decision must be verified for Romanian personnel sent abroad for temporary assignments. In the EU, the daily allowance is typically EUR 35 per day, with a fiscal maximum of EUR 87.5 per day and within the limit of 3 base salaries corresponding to the job held. 

The ceiling of 3 basic salaries corresponding to the post held is calculated separately for each month by dividing the 3 salaries by the number of working days in that month and multiplying the result by the number of days corresponding to each month of the period of delegation/detachment/work in another locality, in the country or abroad.

The period for which the foreign daily allowance is granted is determined based on the means of transport used, considering when the employee crosses the border, their train or car crosses the border or when their plane departs or lands.

REDUCTION OF A MEAL ALLOWANCE

If the private employer grants and bears all the expenses incurred in connection with business travel, and this is the agreement of the parties, then the employee may no longer be granted a delegation allowance, but in our opinion, this should be stipulated in the individual employment contract, internal regulations, collective agreement and/or other internal procedures of the employer and made known to the employee.

Nevertheless, since the practice is not uniform, in order to avoid possible risks, our recommendation is that private employers to grant employees the delegation allowance and take into account the provisions of the government decisions establishing the conditions for granting the daily allowance for staff in public institutions.

ADVANCES FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL COMPENSATION
The employer can provide the employee with a cash advance, based on which it is necessary to create a Statement of Expenses. The Statement of Expenses must outline the specific costs covered by the advance and be supported by relevant documentation and must include all expenses incurred, including daily subsistence allowance, on return from the trip. If the amount of expenses plus per diem is less than the advance granted then the employee will receive the difference, and if the ratio is reversed, the employee will have to repay the excess.
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENTS
For example, the employer must reimburse the following items:

1. Travel expenses (travel ticket, plane ticket, taxi, public transport ticket);

2. Accommodation expenses;

3. Incidental expenses (phone fee, fax fee, Internet fee, parking fee, highway fee).

If an employee goes on vacation following a business travel and returns to the workplace, the cost of return transportation is not covered and will not be reimbursed.

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