Importing used machinery from the UK and Europe to Romania

What should I establish before buying machinery in Britain or Europe?

For a purchase assessed in October 2026, start with the buyer’s status, the machine’s identity and the planned movement. Romanian Customs assigns Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers, and a customs representative may apply for a client. Agree who will be the importer and how the buyer will be represented before purchase.

The Romanian import declaration is completed in SNI by the declarant or customs representative. For a Euro Plant Finder purchase, the buyer’s own customs broker handles the declaration and clearance. Give that broker the buyer’s details, seller, serial number, stock location and intended Romanian destination before transport is discussed.

A British purchase and an EU dealer purchase need separate invoice decisions. The British seller’s VAT treatment, any deposit, export evidence and exporter arrangement are not settled for every sale. An EU dealer’s invoice scheme, transport evidence and the Romanian buyer’s VAT treatment are also transaction-specific.

Ask each seller for written invoice terms before payment. Compare stock locations using our UK versus European machinery guide, but let the Romanian tax adviser decide the actual buyer’s treatment. Do not turn the seller’s country into an automatic VAT answer.

The customs office, any transit arrangement and the country in which import VAT becomes due are not settled for the particular shipment. Put the proposed entry point, clearance office and Romanian destination on one route note. Your customs broker and forwarder should confirm the office, transit guarantee and closure before you commit.

Keep the movement plan tied to the same unit. Use the serial number, proposed invoice, buyer name, Romanian destination and intended use on each instruction. If the seller, buyer, entry point or destination changes, circulate a revised note before collection so the broker and forwarder are not working from different versions.

What customs duty and VAT checks does a Romanian buyer need?

For calculations made in October 2026, separate the VAT rate, VAT base, payment arrangement and tariff classification. The Romanian import-VAT rate for your machine is not settled. Obtain a written answer from the Romanian customs broker and tax adviser instead of using a general percentage.

The import-VAT base includes customs value, applicable duties, taxes and charges. It also includes incidental expenses such as commissions, packing, transport and insurance up to the first place of destination of the goods in Romania. Give the adviser the proposed invoice and each transport or service charge so the answer refers to the actual purchase.

Import VAT is paid to customs unless a qualifying VAT-registered importer has a deferral certificate, centralised clearance or an authorised entry-in-the-declarant’s-records arrangement. Those routes are conditional. The broker and tax adviser must establish the buyer’s eligibility, authorisations, payment method and any recovery position.

The treatment of a separate buying commission and the broker’s fee is not settled for every transaction. Keep each charge distinct on the working calculation. Ask the broker and tax adviser to say which amounts enter the base before anyone relies on a total.

EU tariff measures vary with the machine’s classification. Ask the Romanian customs broker for the exact current tariff line, duty and any origin preference. A description such as excavator, tractor or loader is not enough to transfer a code or rate from another machine.

Obtain that calculation before comparing the British and EU offers. A lower advertised figure can become irrelevant if the invoice, classification or payment arrangement differs from the assumption used in the comparison. Record which parts are settled and which still need a written decision from the broker or tax adviser.

Which conformity and engine papers should I ask the seller for?

For the October 2026 position, collect the identity and placing history before asking whether the machine is acceptable. Inspecția Muncii is the machinery market-surveillance authority. Missing CE marking or an EC declaration of conformity counts as non-conforming marking, but only the authority can decide how the actual machine’s papers and history must be treated.

Ask for the serial plate, conformity marking, declaration, original instructions and any record showing where the machine was first placed. The machinery instructions require a Romanian translation. Inspecția Muncii should confirm the documents, translation and conformity route before purchase.

The engine needs a separate file. RAR is the approval authority for the Romanian engine framework, while Inspecția Muncii is the market-surveillance authority. The engine declaration of conformity is drawn up in or translated into Romanian.

Send RAR, Inspecția Muncii and the manufacturer the engine identifier, build year, earlier market history and intended use. Ask them to confirm the stage, transitional position and tractor category for that unit. Do not rely on an age-based assurance from the seller.

Whether an older Great Britain machine’s placing history gives it an exception from the applicable conformity or engine requirements is not settled. Get the answer in writing for the specific history and intended use. No inspection report or CE plate by itself promises acceptance.

Use our guide to buying a used tractor sight-unseen to plan the seller evidence. Arrange an independent machinery inspection to match the plates, papers and condition to the machine before payment.

Make every document point to the same unit. Compare the serial and engine identifiers on the plates, declaration, instructions, invoice and inspection record. If a paper belongs to another variant or market, resolve the mismatch with the seller and the responsible authority before treating the file as complete.

Does RAR need to approve or register my tractor or excavator?

On the October 2026 position, do not treat site use as a general exemption. The current Romanian slow-road-vehicle definition excludes agricultural or forestry road vehicles and self-propelled machines. RAR can issue a technical attestation for a self-propelled machine on request.

Those points do not establish the route for every tractor, excavator or other self-propelled machine. Give RAR the machine category, plates, intended road and site use, conformity papers and placing history. Ask for the technical-attestation, approval, Cartea de Identitate a Vehiculului (CIV), document and registration position that applies to the exact unit.

Keep the RAR answer separate from the customs and engine answers. A machine can have an agreed import route while its intended use still needs a different official decision. Resolve that distinction before planning the machine’s first job.

Describe the intended use precisely when asking RAR. State whether the machine will travel on public roads, remain at a work site or move between sites, and identify any attachments that affect its configuration. Keep RAR’s response with the conformity and engine records for that serial number.

Does a used farm machine need plant-health paperwork?

For plant-health planning in October 2026, begin with the machine’s code and complete agricultural or forestry work history. Used machinery covered by the rules must carry an original phytosanitary certificate from the plant-protection organisation of the dispatch country. It must also be free of soil and plant debris.

Ask the seller to document where and how the machine worked, including any farm or forestry use by earlier owners. Give that history and the proposed code to the Romanian plant-health authority, ANFDF. ANFDF and the dispatch-country authority should decide the scope, certificate and cleaning for the actual machine.

For machinery within scope, ANFDF requires the importer to register in the official register of professional operators and create a TRACES NT account. Set the buyer’s registration, account access and filing responsibility before shipment. A private buyer should not assume the business route applies unchanged.

ANFDF’s machinery guidance calls for a Common Health Entry Document for Plants and Plant Products (CHED-PP) notification in TRACES NT at least 24 hours before arrival at the first EU point of entry for the relevant non-air shipment. The first-entry authority, ANFDF and the filer should confirm the selected post, notice method and any longer local requirement before dispatch.

The relevant machinery is inspected at the first EU point of entry even when it is destined for another member state. A listed border post does not prove that it can handle the chosen machine. Agree the actual post and any onward-control arrangement with the authorities and broker.

Wood packaging is a separate check. ANFDF’s wood-packaging guidance applies International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15). Ask the forwarder and ANFDF to confirm the treatment, marking and packing needed for this shipment.

Pre-purchase checklist

Before you commit to a machine for Romania:

— Establish buyer status, importer, EORI and the broker’s representation arrangement.

— Agree the clearance office, transit arrangement and applicable tax position before committing to transport.

— Ask the broker and tax adviser to classify the machine and confirm its duty, VAT base, charges and payment arrangement.

— Get the conformity papers, instructions and Romanian translations checked against the machine’s placing history.

— Send the engine plate and history to RAR and Inspecția Muncii for a machine-specific answer.

— Obtain RAR’s decision on technical attestation, approval and registration for the intended use.

— Confirm farm or forestry history, cleaning, certificate, registration, notice, first-entry inspection and wood packaging.

— Agree the seller’s invoice terms and, for British stock, export evidence and exporter arrangements in writing.

Use the same serial number and machine description in every request. Keep the seller’s answers, inspection record and authority responses together. Read them as one purchase file before releasing money or transport.

Working with a buying agent who already does this

Euro Plant Finder handles sourcing and the export side. We can find the machine, check the seller, arrange an inspection and coordinate its identity, condition and seller-side documents. We can also relay the questions raised by the buyer’s Romanian advisers.

Your own clearing agent or customs broker classifies the machine, decides the import route, submits the Romanian declaration and clears the goods. RAR, Inspecția Muncii and ANFDF make the official decisions that belong to them. We keep the seller-side evidence aligned with what those parties request.

Sources and last check

This guide was last checked on 26 October 2026 against the official sources below. It is general guidance, not a quotation or legal advice: rates and rules change, so confirm anything that affects your machine with your clearing agent or the authority named.

— Romanian Customs Authority — customs.ro EORI page — checked 23 Oct 2026.

— Order 2478/2025 (SNI) — legislatie.just.ro — 8 Aug 2025; MO 781 of 21 Aug 2025; checked 23 Oct 2026.

— ANAF — ANAF consolidated Fiscal Code (arts 289, 291, 312 heading, 326) — last update shown: Law 170/2026; checked 23 Oct 2026.

— ISZTAR4 EU measures — ext-isztar4.mf.gov.pl — by code, date 2026-10-23; checked 23 Oct 2026.

— HG 1029/2008 — legislatie.just.ro — checked 23 Oct 2026.

— HG 467/2018 — legislatie.just.ro — checked 23 Oct 2026.

— OG 78/2000 consolidated — legislatie.just.ro — checked 23 Oct 2026.

— ANFDF — machinery page — modified 23 Jun 2025; checked 23 Oct 2026.

— ANFDF — wood-packaging page — modified 27 Jul 2026; checked 23 Oct 2026.