August 1, 2022

Tax – Part of the amendments made to the Fiscal Code, which were approved in mid-July by the Romanian Government, came into force on Monday. Among them - the increase in excise duties for cigarettes and tobacco, as well as for alcohol and alcoholic products, higher taxes on gambling winnings and lower ceilings for granting tax exemptions for salaries in constructions, agriculture and the food industry. Other changes to the Fiscal Code, most of which have already been adopted, will be applied as of January 1, 2023.

Exercise – The city port of Constanţa (south-east) is hosting as of Monday a multinational exercise organized by the Romanian Naval Forces. The exercise takes place in maritime districts off the Romanian Black Sea Coast and in the military port of Constanţa. 240 Romanian soldiers and 60 foreign soldiers from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, the United States and Turkey are participating in the exercise. The exercise contributes to increasing the level of training in the combat against makeshift bombs and against mines, as well as to strengthening interoperability between the participating forces.

Customs – The Romanian citizens who return home or go abroad for the holidays have to wait a long time at the customs points for document control. In recent days, in Vama Nădlac 2 (west), long queues have formed both on the entry and exit lanes. During the weekend, in 24 hours, almost half a million people crossed Romania's borders in both directions. According to the Border Police, almost 262 thousand people entered the country, most of them, namely 152 thousand, crossing the border to Hungary. The Border Police announces that it has taken measures, so that the control of documents should be faster.

Airport – Băneasa Airport, in the north of Bucharest, reopens as of Monday. For nine years, the airport was closed to commercial flights and underwent a program of modernization of buildings and equipment. On Băneasa airport, the time required for the formalities will be less than an hour, unlike Otopeni Airport, where passengers must go at least two hours before boarding. Băneasa Airport was inaugurated in 1920, but its history begins on August 1, 1912, when the Romanian Aviation League, led by Prince George Valentin Bibescu, establishes, in Băneasa, a flight school for military pilots.

Cereals - A first ship carrying Ukrainian cereals on Monday left from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, according to the international agreement concluded with Russia on July 22, in Istanbul, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced. In Kyiv, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, estimated that, following the Russian invasion, this year, the cereals crops in Ukraine could be diminished by half. Before the launch of the Russian invasion on February 24, Ukraine held 46% of the world's sunflower exports, 9% of the wheat exports, 17% of the barley exports and 12% of the corn exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture. We remind you that the Joint Coordination Center, in charge of controlling Ukrainian cereals exports through the Black Sea, was officially inaugurated on Wednesday in Istanbul, according to the agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia, with the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations.

Census - In Romania, the population census process has come to an end. Sunday was the last day, after the National Institute of Statistics (INS) had already extended the population counting period twice, to give additional time to those who could not do it for various reasons. According to the communication director of the INS, Cătălin Raiu, more than 90% of the Romanian population had been counted. The capital and the big cities had the lowest counting percentages. (LS)