The VAT return (D300): calendar and pitfalls

The deadline: 25th of the following month

The VAT return (form D300) is filed and paid by the 25th of the month following the reporting period. For monthly payers this means the next month, and for quarterly payers, the month after the quarter ends.

The same date is also the payment due date, so filing the return and paying the VAT due go together. It helps to treat the 25th as a single deadline for both.

The rates in force in 2026

After the August 2025 reform, the standard VAT rate is 21% and the reduced rate is 11%. The 9% rate for housing expired on 31 July 2026 for older contracts still in transition.

Applying the correct rate on every invoice line is the first thing to check, because a wrong rate flows straight into the return totals.

On the invoice, the rate is set by the nature of the good or service and by the date of the chargeable event, not by the payment date. A common error is applying an old rate to a current-period supply, or the reverse, which creates differences between the sales journal and the return.

Adjustments on old rates

Transactions tied to periods with old rates (19%, 9%, 5%) do not disappear. Corrections, credit notes, or late invoices on those rates are reported on the adjustment lines of the return, separately from current operations.

Confusing a current operation with an adjustment is a common source of errors, so it is worth separating them already in the books.

A sign that an operation is not classified correctly appears when the total VAT in the return does not match the journals: usually, an adjustment has been recorded as a current operation.

Cash-basis VAT (art. 282)

Under the cash-basis VAT system, the tax becomes chargeable on the date the invoice is collected, not on the issue date. The turnover ceiling for access to this regime is 5,000,000 lei.

Companies applying the regime must track actual collections, because they determine the period in which VAT becomes chargeable and, therefore, the return it belongs to.

The regime applies uniformly to all eligible operations, not selectively. Entering and leaving it is done under certain conditions and with notice, and moving chargeability to the collection date can significantly change cash flow for a company whose clients pay late.

Checking before filing

A rejected return means lost time and, sometimes, a missed deadline. Checking the file with DUKIntegrator, ANAF's official validator, before filing removes rejections on structural grounds.

Clarito runs this validation locally, so the return goes out correctly the first time, with no surprises at upload.