Distributing a product

Market shares

The best-known brands in Romania are Aro (Automobile Romania), Clever, Metro Quality, the brand '1', the brands of Carrefour and of Cora. In 2006, only 9% of the population did not know these brands

A study in October 2008 shows that about 435 retail brands spread throughout Romania, 40% are discount stores (Profi, Plus Discount, Penny Market, Minimax) and 32% are supermarkets (Billa, Mega Image, Carrefour, Spar, Interex ...); 17% are hypermarkets (Cora, Auchan, Kaufland, Real, Carrefour) and 9% are convenience type stores (Metro, Selgros).

Organizations in the retail sector

FMCG Romania (English - Romanian)

We can identify professional tradeshows on your sector.

Market access procedures

International Conventions

Party to the Montreal protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer
Wassenaar arrangement on export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies

Main International economic cooperation

1 January 2007, Romania joined the EU. Since becoming a member of the EU, Romania's trade has increased with the countries which originally belonged to the EU and have been exempt from customs duties.

 

Romania is a member of the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, the International Organization of Francophonie, ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) etc.

Non tariff barriers

Romania does not impose import quotas or tariffs. Import permits are required for the import of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medical products. Health and safety standards are in force along with pollution standards for products which could harm the environment. Agricultural safety certificates are required for the importation of plants and vegetation. Documents regarding transport, recommendations are for a business letter which must have at least one original and four copies, the certificates of origin must be provided with the original and no less than five copies or more.

Customs duties and taxes on imports

Customs duties no longer exist for commercial trade with other EU countries. For other countries, customs duties generally amount up to 30% depending on the type and technical characteristics of the goods.

Customs classification

Accession to the European nomenclature.
The declaration of intra-European Union VAT is based on EU Regulations.

Import procedures

Joining the AEO status, Agreed Economic Operator, allows the unloading of merchandise at the destination to be considered them to be customs cleared. After the entry into the EU of Romania, customs duties were removed.

As part of the "SAFE" standards advocated by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union has set up a new system of import controls, the "Import Control System" (ICS), which aims to secure the flow of goods at the time of their entry into the customs territory of the EU. This control system, part of the Community Program eCustomer, has been in effect since January 1, 2011. Since then, operators are required to pass an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) to the customs of the country of entry, prior to the introduction of goods into the customs territory of the European Union.

Importing samples

More on import procedures since the joining of the EU.

For further information

The National Customs Authority of Romania

We can indicate you which are the customs duties applied to your product.

Find out the local taxes that apply to your product.

Organizing goods transport

Main useful means of transport

The rail network covers 11,385 km, the road network are 198,817 km of which 60,043 km are paved roads (including 228 km)of expressway) and 1,731 km of navigable waterways (including 1075 km on the Danube, 524km on secondary networks, and 136 km of canals).

Ports

The port of Constanta
The Port of Tulcea

Airports

Henri Coanda International Airport-Bucharest

Sea transport organizations

Romanian Ministry of Transportation

Air transport organizations

International Association for Air Transportation in Romania

Road transport organizations

Ministry of Transportation

Rail transport organizations

Ministry of Transportation
Law No. 128/2004 on rail transport

Get a ballpark figure for transportation costs for your product in this country through a shipping estimate.

Identifying a supplier

Type of production

Equipment and electrical machinery; Textiles and Footwear; Automobile assembly; construction materials; metallurgy; oil refining.

Business directories

Information from Romania
Romanian Yellow and White pages
Romanian Business Directory

Manufacturers associations of the main industries

Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Romanian Automobiles
Association of Romanian Furniture Manufacturers

Trade Agencies and their representations abroad

Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Enterprises federation

National Agency for Small Businesses and Cooperatives

Standards

National standards organizations

ASRO

Integration in the international standards network

The Romanian Institute for Standardization (Institut Roman de Standarizare -ASRO) is the organization that is responsible for issuing certificates of standardization.
Its goal is to harmonize Romanian standards with the standards of the European Union. ASRO is a full member of European Committee for Standardization (CEN), of European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); and an observer member of European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Classification of standards

Romania upholds national standards (SR), European standards (CE), and international standards (ISO).

Online consultation of standards

There is no on-line catalogue available. For more information consult ASRO website.

Certification organizations

RENAR

Find out the standards and labelling requirements that apply to your products.

Intellectual Property

National organizations

The Oficiul de Stat pentru Inventii si Marci (Office for Inventions and Trademarks) is the government agency that is responsible for the registration and protection of patents, trademarks and industrial designs.

 

Romania signed the Paris Convention concerning the Protection of Industrial Property and the Convention that establishes the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Regarding patents, it ratified the Munich Convention on the European patent of 1973 (EPC). It signed the Madrid Convention on the Registry of International Trademarks.