Starting this week, stakeholders have begun to see the first measures taken in abolishing the 8 barriers.
Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) published the Regulation amending the Annex to Regulation no. 7/2006 on the Romanian National Securities Commission revenues. Regulation is published in the Official Gazette, Part I, no. 453, June 2014, 20 and will come into force on September 16, 2014. The changes include:
- the reduction from 0.08% to 0.06% of the rate applied on the value of transactions with financial instruments borne by the buyer
- keeping at the level of 0.04% the rate applied on the value of transactions on the regulated markets and/or an alternative trading system by the intermediaries who act as Market Makers, and
- introducing the exemptions for the entities supervised, authorized and regulated by the FSA that will not need to pay for an opinion constituting official response to questions on the application of laws and regulations, which currently costs RON 10,000.
Misu Negritoiu, President of ASF, stated: “ASF took the first steps for diminishing the capital market barriers. This includes changes in legislation and a significant cut in the transaction fees. This shows an irreversible decision towards making the market not just more competitive, but very competitive, and we hope that other parties involved will act accordingly. This process is going to be a gradual one, but a permanent one, in order to smooth the access to the Romanian Stock Market, so investors won’t have to think twice before placing their money here. We really appreciate the hard effort of everybody who is involved in the Great Barriers Shift working group, including BVB, The Ministry of Public Finances, the Parliament and the Romanian Government.”
In addition to the FSA measure, Ministry of Public Finance announced on June 18 that the Government approved the Emergency Ordinance amending and supplementing the Fiscal Procedural Code, which includes among other issues:
- to eliminate the obligation of having a fiscal representative for non-residents who have declarative obligations in Romania, if they are resident in an EU Member State or a country with which Romania has concluded a double taxation treaty or other legal act through which information can be exchanged
- to give the possibility of electronic communication between the taxpayer and the tax authorities for various procedural acts or requirements (will be followed by a common order of MPF and Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration in this regard).
“The two measures already taken by FSA and the Government represent a first concrete step towards the common goal to eliminate the 8 barriers. The reduction of commissions by FSA is a measure requested by the market and is welcomed by the capital market participants, as it brings Romania closer to the more developed markets as of the cost of trading. The Government decision related to the ease of the fiscal registration process of a non-resident in Romania reduces significantly the time to set-up a trading account in Romania, perceived as a burden investing locally. There is still a long way to go for removing all the barriers and improving the whole regulatory framework related to the capital markets. On its side, BVB already operated changes in the Rulebook and proposed new changes to be made in connection to this project, awaiting FSA approval. Following FSA decision, BVB is currently analyzing the reduction of its own trading fees” said Ludwik Sobolewski, Bucharest Stock Exchange CEO.
Updates on the activity of Great Barriers Shift working group and the steps taken in eliminating the barriers are available on the dedicated website www.rocapmarketmodern.ro.
