Customs duties exemptions for SMEs

The Ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Co-operation (MIMMC) will send the General Customs Department (DGV) an official memo specifying the documentation the small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are supposed to produce at the customhouse in order to benefit from customs duties exemption for imports of machinery, installations, industrial equipment and know-how to develop their production.

SME minister Silvia Ciornei and the director general of the General Customs Department Dinu Gheorghe last week discussed the fiscal incentives for SMEs granted under Law 133/1999 to encourage private entrepreneurs.

At the same time, the two state institutions will conclude a co-operation protocol, by which DGV will provide the ministry with information about imports made by SMEs per type of equipment, business, counties of origin and value of the imports in question.

Monitoring duty-free imports will allow the ministry to build a database. Law 133/1999 grants SMEs customs duties and VAT exemption for machinery, installations, industrial equipment, know-how imported to allow SMEs to carry out their productive and service activities paid by them or by loans from foreign or Romanian banks.

SMEs are also exempt from payment of customs duties for import of raw material required to manufacture their products, in case those products are import customs duties exempt, as well.