Romanian Lawyer Office. Simplified procedure of debt recovery in Romania.
Common procedure judgement versus simplified procedure
Romanian courts of law try civil cases under common procedure. In certain situations, Romanian courts of law can also try a case and issue a judgement under special, simplified procedure.
Trial under common procedure allows the parties to propose and administer all possible proof (expert opinion, witness statement, interrogation of parties and so on). A judgement given under common procedure takes longer and requires the creditor to pay a court tax, which is calculated based on the value of the claim. A claim of higher value has the creditor pay a higher tax.
For monetary claims, the creditor may opt for a judgement under the Order of Payment special procedure. The procedure is a simplified judgement and presents the advantage of a quicker judgement and fixed court tax of 200 Romanian Lei (roughly 40 EUR), no matter the value of the claim.
Similarly, for certain claims of a value lower than 10.000 LEI (roughly 2.000 EUR), the creditor may opt for filing a low value claim. Such a claim is tried under a simplified, written procedure. The procedure is quick and costs the creditor a fixed court tax of 50 LEI (roughly 10 EUR) for claims under 2.000 Romanian Lei (under roughly 400 EUR) or 200 Romanian Lei (roughly 40 EUR), for claims of value between 2.000 Romanian Lei and 10.000 Romanian Lei.
Order of payment
What is an order of payment?
An order of payment is a court order, issued following a special, simplified procedure.
The order of payment procedure represents a simplified judgement, in which the creditor takes the debtor to court before a Romanian court to obtain the recognition, through court order, of their monetary claims.
The simplified aspect of the procedure essentially refers to the fact that the judgement is based exclusively on documents. As such, the claimant presents the court with documents that prove their monetary claim. Only documents may be used before the court in this procedure.
Also, Romanian law states such claims are to be judged with priority to ordinary procedure.
Another major advantage of the procedure is the fixed court tax of 200 Romanian Lei (roughly 40 EUR).
Excerpt from order or payment court order
Low court tax
Low court tax of roughly 40 EUR: As a rule, pecuniary claims brought before a Romanian court are charged proportionate to the value of the claim. This is not the case for the order of payment procedure. According to Government Ordinance no. 80/2013, the court tax applicable for such claims is 200 RON (Romanian Lei), which is roughly 40 EUR.
The amount is fixed, no matter the value of the claim. The low court tax represents a significant advantage for creditors.
As an example, the court tax for a claim valued at 20.000 EUR is around 600 EUR, as opposed to 40 EUR, if the claim is filed using an ordinary procedure (not the order of payment procedure).
Limitations of the procedure. Conditions.
You may file a claim under the order of payment procedure if the following conditions are met:
- Your claim must be monetary. You are allowed to only claim payment of a sum of money through this procedure.
- Your monetary claim should be certain (certainty of its existence results from documents, such as a contract or invoice), due (term or conditions of payment are fulfilled) and for a determined amount (the amount must be a determined, fixed one).
- Debt must result from written proof, such as a contract, a document, a statute or a regulation.
- Important – Written proof of said debt must have had been accepted by the debtor under signature or other means permitted under law. Contracts or invoices that are not signed by the debtor may not be accepted by the court.
- Court should be able to solve the claim based exclusively on provided documents.
Limitations of the procedure. Dismissal.
If the debtor states they do not owe the sum of money (which is a frequent defence and one any debtor might think of), the court will evaluate if the judgement can or cannot be given based on provided documents.
If the court believes a solution cannot be given based solely on documents, they will dismiss the application. The creditor can then file a new application through an ordinary procedure, paying the full court tax and asking for further proof, such as witnesses, an expert’s opinion on the matter, interrogation of the debtor and other such means of proof.
Such is the case when the court appreciates that further proof is necessary to solve the case, such as an expert’s opinion, witnesses, interrogation of the parties and so on (proof which is not written proof and cannot be administered during the order or payment procedure).
This is not the case, however, if the court can establish the debtor does not owe the sum of money based on the documents provided or that the sum of money is not due yet. In such a case, the court will be able do solve the claim, and the creditor might not be able to file a new claim.
We recommend consulting us beforehand, when choosing between a simplified procedure or the general procedure.
Contract or invoice
We recommend the order of payment simplified procedure when the creditor holds written proof of their convention with the Romanian debtor, such as a contract or an invoice signed by the debtor. A contract should establish:
- an obligation to pay a sum of money;
- the value of the debt;
- the date or conditions when the debt becomes due and the value that is due (if payment becomes due in instalments);
If the creditor does not have a written contract (in the traditional sense) an invoice will also do, as it is also proof of a contract between the parties. The invoice needs to be signed by the debtor. If the invoice is not signed, the debtor might not recognise your claim and the judge might dismiss the application.
The creditor any written proof available, such as written proof of delivery of goods or services, written conversations between the parties, transport documents, written acceptance of a contractual offer and such.
If the invoice is not signed, the creditor might try to attach other written and signed proof of the convention with the debtor. The creditor does so at their own risk of application being dismissed. The judge needs to be able to establish the existence and the due character of your debt from written proof. Without signed documents, you risk the court to dismiss your claim if the debtor challenges the claim.
More advice can be provided by us only by studying the documents you provide.
Mandatory prior notice
For this procedure, it is essential you give the Romanian debtor prior written notice for them to pay your claim and any damages or interest. Procedural rules have the creditor allow the debtor 15 days to voluntarily pay their debt.
We recommend you give the debtor prior notice through our legal practice, and not by means of your local mail or courier services. The Romanian Civil Procedure Code states that such notice must be proven under certain criteria and requirements stated by local procedure. Notices made through local courier services have no value, in our opinion, under the Romanian Civil Procedure Code.
An example from our practice
In international commercial relations, businesses frequently (and understandably) bypass drafting a formal contract, due to high volumes of demand. Many stick to PRO FORMA invoices and send fiscal invoices together with the goods they deliver to the debtor of the obligation to pay the price.
A recent example from our practice, which is worth mentioning, is that of a Turkish business (our clients) that delivered goods to a Romanian business. The goods arrived in Romania, but the Romanian company did not pay the price
The example is worth mentioning, because the parties had never drafted a formal contract, and neither Pro Forma Invoice nor Fiscal Invoice issued by the Turkish company was ever signed by the Romanian company. The Pro Forma Invoice was sent to the Romanian company (the buyer) by e-mail, and the fiscal invoice was sent to the Romanian company together with the shipment of goods.
We, however, used mail correspondence and the CMR Document signed by the debtor upon delivery (“Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road/Convention relative au Contrat de transport international de merchandises par route”). The CMR, itself, might not have been proof enough, as the judge insisted upon the fact that through written e-mail correspondence, the debtor issued an order and accepted the delivery.
Low value claims or small claims procedure
For certain claims of a value lower than 10.000 LEI (roughly 2.000 EUR), the creditor may opt for filing a low value claim. Such a claim is tried under a simplified, written procedure. The procedure is quick and costs the creditor a fixed court tax of 50 LEI (roughly 10 EUR) for claims under 2.000 Romanian Lei (under roughly 400 EUR) or 200 Romanian Lei (roughly 40 EUR), for claims of value between 2.000 Romanian Lei and 10.000 Romanian Lei.
The conditions presented above for the order of payment procedure do not apply to the low value claim procedure. It is worth mentioning that this procedure has the parties write their claims and defence by using a standardised form.
However, the court may decide to request further explanations or proof for the claim and even call the parties before the court.
Also see:
Recognition of Foreign, Non-EU Court Orders in Romania. Exequatur Procedure
Article about the recognition and enforcement procedure for a foreign court order in Romania
European Union Member State Court Order Recognition in Romania
Article about the recognition and enforcement procedure in Romania for a court order issued by a court of a European Union member state
File a claim before a Romanian court
If the debtor is located in Romania, we can help! Find out general information in the following article.
Recognition of Foreign, Non-EU Court Orders in Romania. Exequatur Procedure
Article about the recognition and enforcement procedure for a foreign court order in Romania
European Union Member State Court Order Recognition in Romania
Article about the recognition and enforcement procedure in Romania for a court order issued by a court of a European Union member state
File a claim before a Romanian court
If the debtor is located in Romania, we can help! Find out general information in the following article.
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About Us
Mr. Andrei-Mihnea Gane, Managing Partner
We understand how difficult it is for our clients to find legal professionals they can entrust their case to outside their country’s jurisdiction. We aim to offer professional, high quality legal services to clients from outside Romania and build durable relations based on trust and transparency.
We are authorised under law to practice by the National Bar Union of Romania. We’ve assisted hundreds of clients in civil cases before Romanian Courts of law over the years, many of which have been international clients. We invite you to read the articles posted on our website, articles in which we’ve attached examples of court orders from our practice.
About Us
Mr. Andrei-Mihnea Gane, Managing Partner
We understand how difficult it is for our clients to find legal professionals they can entrust their case to outside their country’s jurisdiction. We aim to offer professional, high quality legal services to clients from outside Romania and build durable relations based on trust and transparency.
We are authorised under law to practice by the National Bar Union of Romania. We’ve assisted hundreds of clients in civil cases before Romanian Courts of law over the years, many of which have been international clients. We invite you to read the articles posted on our website, articles in which we’ve attached examples of court orders from our practice.
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