Press Review - January 4, 2018

01.04.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Romanians May Require Car Tax Refunds By Aug 31

Romanians may file requests for car tax refunds until August 31, according to an order published in the Official Journal.

After that date, citizens no longer have the right to claim refunds, according to the order signed by the environment and finance ministers.

Taxpayers may claim interest of up to 0.02% of the tax for each day of refund delay from when the tax was paid and until it is refunded.

The pollution tax for vehicles will be refunded between January 2018 and end-December 2018, and the environmental stamp tax will be refunded between September 2018 and end-March 2019.

Romanian Leu Firms Slightly After Ending 2017 at All-Time Low

The Romanian leu on Wednesday firmed slightly against the euro after ending 2017 at an all-time low.

The leu's average reference rate calculated by the central bank stood at 4.6412 to the euro on Jan 3, from 4.6597 lei to the euro on Dec 29, the last banking day of 2017.

The leu also firmed a bit against the US dollar, reaching an average reference rate of 3.86 on Wednesday, after exceeding the 3.9 threshold in December.

Romania Forex Reserves Grow to EUR33.494B in December

Romania's foreign exchange reserves grew to EUR33.494 billion at the end of December 2017 from EUR33.062 billion at the end of November, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country had foreign currency inflows of EUR2.424 billion and outflows of EUR1.992 billion in December, the data showed.

Romania's gold reserve remained steady at 103.7 metric tons and its value adjusted for international gold price stood at EUR3.612 billion at the end of December, compared with EUR3.64 billion at the end of November.

Family Physicians Protest Against Healthcare System Bureaucracy

Romanian family physicians on Wednesday protested against the bureaucracy within the healthcare system and refused to provide patients with services settled by the health insurance houses.

Family physicians decided to protest after the additional documents that extended the contracts on primary healthcare services and which are concluded with the county health insurance houses were not signed.

President of the National Society of Family Physicians Rodica Tanasescu said that family physicians were promised by the Government that their problems would be solved, but nothing changed. She said that some physicians will ask for money in exchange for medical check-ups because they cannot afford anymore to pay the rent for their practice and other expenses.

Family physicians had rallied on November 15 in Bucharest against the current situation within the healthcare system, where they say doctors are confronted with low income and bureaucracy.

Romanian Minister Of Waters And Forests Resigns

Romanian Minister of Waters and Forests Doina Pana on Wednesday announced she has resigned from the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Mihai Tudose citing health issues.

Pana, 60, said her health condition does not allow her to continue her work as minister but added that she will continue to support the governing program as a lawmaker.

Pana added to her resignation an activity report in which she says she managed to reduce illegal logging in Romanian forests and to implement a timber traceability information system called SUMAL, which has been praised by the European Commission.

Doina Pana had served as minister of Waters and Forests since June 2017 and she held a previous term in the same position between March – December 2014.