Transfer Pricing File 2026 (Draft): Annual Filing via SPV and Thresholds per Related Party
Later edit: On 2 July 2026, the final version was published as Order No. 828/2026 (Official Gazette No. 543/2026). The article below is based on the draft version of this Order. To read the final version, as published in the Official Gazette, please access the updated article here.
On June 10, the Romanian tax authority (ANAF) released for public consultation a draft order that substantially revises the rules governing transfer pricing documentation.
This is not a minor adjustment. It represents the first major revision since Order No. 442/2016 and introduces significant changes to both the preparation and submission obligations, as well as the content requirements of the transfer pricing documentation file.
Below are some of the key changes currently envisaged:
1. Mandatory annual submission for large taxpayers.
The most significant paradigm shift is that large taxpayers will no longer prepare the transfer pricing file and wait for a request from the tax inspectors. Instead, the transfer pricing file must be submitted electronically through the tax authority’s electronic portal (SPV) within 30 working days following the statutory deadline for filing the annual corporate income tax return, for each fiscal year.
Where the transfer pricing file has not been submitted through the SPV, the taxpayer will be required to provide it within a maximum of five working days from the date of a request issued by tax inspectors during a tax audit.
This change fundamentally alters the role of the transfer pricing file, shifting it from a reactive compliance document to a proactive tool that ANAF may use for risk assessment purposes and to support its tax monitoring activities
2. Revised materiality thresholds aligned with risk assessment criteria
The draft order introduces significant changes to the value thresholds that determine the obligation to prepare transfer pricing documentation, applicable for both large taxpayers as well as small and medium-sized taxpayers.
Large taxpayers:
- Services: EUR 100,000 (down from the current EUR 250,000 threshold)
- Financing transactions / interest: 200.000 EUR
- Intangible assets / royalties: EUR 250,000 (replacing the current general threshold applicable to tangible and intangible assets)
- Tangible assets: 350.000 EUR
Small and medium-sized taxpayers:
- Services: EUR 50,000
- Financing transactions / interest: EUR 60,000 (up from the current EUR 50,000 threshold)
- Intangible assets / royalties: EUR 80,000 (replacing the current general threshold applicable to tangible and intangible assets)
- Tangible assets: EUR 100,000
A key change is that the thresholds will be assessed separately for each related party and for each category of transaction, rather than by aggregating transactions carried out with all related parties, as is currently the case.
This change will require taxpayers to reassess their internal systems for monitoring intra-group transactions and will enable the tax authorities to conduct more targeted and granular risk assessments.
3. Clarification of the rules governing comparability studies
The draft order introduces a new geographical hierarchy for the search of comparable transactions and companies, differentiated according to the tested party.
Where the tested party is located in Romania, the analysis will continue to look first for local comparables, followed—where necessary, depending on the outcome of the search—by an expansion to the European Union (including the United Kingdom), the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, and subsequently to an international level.
Where the tested party is not located in Romania, the search will look first in the tested party’s jurisdiction of tax residence, followed by an expansion to the broader geographical region to which that jurisdiction belongs and, ultimately, to an international level.
This gradual approach is aligned with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and is intended to reduce disputes arising from the exclusive use of local data without due consideration of the market that is relevant to the transaction.
4. Enhanced transparency requirements
The draft order introduces enhanced transparency requirements, including the obligation to make available to the tax authorities supporting schedules, annexes and other requested documentation in an editable format. Furthermore, where the tested party is not a Romanian entity, taxpayers will be required to provide an independent auditor’s report certifying the calculation of the profitability indicator used in the analysis.
Taxpayers will also be required to disclose specific elements supporting their comparability studies, including the search strategy employed, detailed information on the selected comparables, and evidence of the most recent data available at the time the study was carried out.
5. Significant changes to the content requirements
The content requirements have been aligned with the updated OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The draft order significantly expands the scope of information to be included in the transfer pricing file, introducing new documentation requirements such as taxpayer declarations, information on pass-through costs, independent auditor reports supporting certain indicators, as well as more detailed functional analysis and functional profit considerations.
6. Practical consequences
In essence, the draft order aims to transform the transfer pricing file into an operational tool for continuous tax monitoring, granting tax authorities ongoing access to relevant information necessary to perform risk analysis.
As the draft order will apply to transactions carried out from 1 January 2026, a fiscal year already in progress, taxpayers should begin planning and preparing their 2026 transfer pricing documentation without delay, taking into account the proposed new requirements.
This entails timely and open communication between the company and its advisor, together with a structured approach to the transfer pricing documentation process, rather than a rushed, deadline-driven preparation effort.
Nowium Transfer Pricing is closely monitoring the development of this draft order and is available to support you throughout its implementation.
In the Resources section, you will find our monthly newsletters, where we will provide regular updates on the progress of the draft order. We will also keep you informed as soon as it is officially enacted, including details of the final provisions implemented.
Article written by Raluca Mihăilă, Transfer Pricing & Tax Partner, Nowium Transfer Pricing
Access other articles published by Nowium in the section News.
Do you have a fiscal emergency and need support now?
Tell us in a message and we’ll get back to you shortly.