Our company was indicted without any expert report. Does that matter?

Yes, decisively. By Decision no. 430/2025 the High Court held that failure to obtain the specialist expert report required by art. 10 of Law no. 241/2005 renders the referral irregular and leads to the case being returned to the prosecutor. The point is raised in the preliminary chamber.

If we pay the tax, does the case end?

It can, depending on when payment is made and on the size of the loss. Below EUR 1,000,000 the act is not punished if the loss is covered in full together with an increase of 15%, 25%, 50% or 100% depending on the procedural stage. Above that threshold, full payment still reduces the statutory limits.

Which prosecutor handles a large tax evasion case?

Since Law no. 126/2024, where the loss exceeds RON 10 million the case falls to the National Anticorruption Directorate regardless of who is investigated. Below that, it is handled by the ordinary prosecutor\u2019s offices, or by DIICOT where an organised criminal group is involved.

Can accounting errors amount to tax evasion?

Not by themselves. The offence requires intent, and the line between an accounting irregularity and a criminal offence is where most of these cases are decided. The expert report is the instrument through which that line is drawn.

Tax Evasion Defence in Romania

Scope of practice

Offenses under Law no. 241/2005 on preventing and combating tax evasion — including recording fictitious expenses, concealing the taxable source, evading payment of fiscal obligations;
Connected cases: forgery, embezzlement, money laundering derived from tax evasion;
Dealings with the tax authorities in parallel with the criminal case — inspections, assessment decisions, referrals by ANAF.

Error or intent — the line between a penalty and a criminal case

Tax evasion is an intentional offense. An incorrect accounting classification, a different reading of tax legislation or a case of negligence do not, in themselves, amount to bad faith. The defense starts from the documents: the accounts, expert reports, correspondence with the authorities — and demonstrates, where applicable, that the facts do not satisfy the subjective element of the offense.

The alleged damage is a separate chapter: the method of calculation is frequently open to challenge, and covering it may, under the conditions of the law, carry significant consequences for criminal liability.

Why timing matters

Many tax evasion cases begin with a tax audit. Legal assistance at that stage — before any criminal referral — can decisively shape what follows. See also money laundering, frequently charged in the same case.

The expert report is now a condition of a valid indictment

This is the most important development in the field. By Decision no. 430/2025, delivered on 15 December 2025 and published in Official Gazette no. 149 of 26 February 2026, the High Court of Cassation and Justice held, with binding effect, that in interpreting art. 10 of Law no. 241/2005 as amended by Law no. 126/2024, failure to obtain the specialist expert report renders the referral to the court irregular, which leads to the case being returned to the prosecutor.

Art. 10 (2) provides that the loss is determined on the basis of a specialist expert report, in which the suspect or defendant has the right to participate. In a case indicted after 16 May 2024 without such a report, the omission is raised in the preliminary chamber. It is the first thing to check in any file indicted after that date.

The non-punishment and reduction mechanism

Art. 10 offers a staged mechanism for the offences in art. 6 index 1, 8 and 9, depending on when payment is made and on the size of the loss:

Before the criminal authorities are notified: if a loss of up to EUR 1,000,000 is covered in full within 30 days of the end of the audit, increased by 15% plus interest and penalties, the act is not punished and the competent authorities no longer notify the criminal investigation bodies.
During the investigation: loss below EUR 1,000,000, covered in full and increased by 25% plus accessories, the act is not punished.
In the preliminary chamber or up to the first instance judgment: same solution, with a 50% increase.
On appeal, up to the final judgment: same solution, with a 100% increase.
Regardless of the threshold: full payment by the first hearing halves the statutory limits, and thereafter, up to final judgment, reduces them by one third.

Art. 10 (4) extends the benefit to all defendants even where they did not contribute to covering the loss. Paragraph (6) blocks it where the person committed another offence under the same law within the previous five years.

Which prosecutor's office handles the case

Law no. 126/2024 changed the rule. Under art. 13 (3 index 1) of Ordinance no. 43/2002, the offences in art. 8, 9 and 9 index 2 of Law no. 241/2005 fall to the National Anticorruption Directorate, regardless of the person's office, where the loss exceeds RON 10 million.

Further case law

By Decision no. 363/2015 the Constitutional Court found art. 6 of Law no. 241/2005 unconstitutional for lack of foreseeability, and it was repealed in August 2015. The conduct was re-criminalised by art. 6 index 1, introduced by Ordinance no. 130/2021, in different wording. For conduct falling between those dates, the more favourable criminal law remains an open question.

By Decision no. 25/2017 the High Court held that the acts and omissions listed in art. 9 (1) (b) and (c), where they concern the same company, are alternative forms of a single offence rather than concurrent offences. This has a direct effect on sentence.

Working with a client based abroad

Proceedings are conducted in Romanian and an interpreter is provided by the authorities, but the practical work happens before that. Documents, correspondence and strategy discussions are handled with you in English, then filed in Romanian. A lawyer holding a mandate can represent you at most procedural stages, so not every hearing requires you to travel.

If a preventive measure is in place, judicial supervision may include an obligation not to leave the country or a specified area. That obligation can be challenged and modified during the proceedings, which is one of the first things to address for a non-resident client.

Tax evasion defence in Romania