Romania, last in the EU at collecting VAT: a 30% gap
For every 10 lei of VAT that should be collected under the law, the Romanian state does not see 3. It is the largest gap in the European Union, more than three times the EU average.
The ROptimizaRE editorial team · 5 min read · updated 15 October 2026
In short
- Romania's VAT collection gap was 30.0% in 2023, the largest in the EU, compared with the European average of 9.5%[1]
- In absolute terms, that means €9.2 billion uncollected in a single year[1]
- Austria, with the smallest gap in the EU (1.0%), collects practically all the VAT owed[1]
- The Romanian gap grew by 3.4 percentage points over the previous year, against the EU trend[1]
The largest gap in the European Union
Every year the European Commission calculates the “VAT compliance gap”: the difference between the VAT that should be collected under the law and what is actually received. The December 2025 report, with data for 2023, places Romania last among the 27 member states: a gap of 30.0%, more than three times the EU average of 9.5%[1].
Uncollected VAT in Romania, 2023
9.2bn €
Year 2023 · source[1]
Equivalent to 30.0% of the total VAT owed under the law (VTTL — VAT Total Tax Liability).
VAT collection gap, 2023[1]
2023 · lower values = better
Romania: rank 7 of 7 (1 = the lowest value)
View the data as a table
| Country | Value |
|---|---|
| Romania | 30% |
| Malta | 24.2% |
| Poland | 16% |
| Italy | 15% |
| Germany | 9.7% |
| EU average | 9.5% |
| France | 5.6% |
| Austria | 1% |
The situation is getting worse, not better
The Romanian gap is not only large, it is growing. Compared with 2022 it rose by 3.4 percentage points, while the EU average rose by only 1.6 points. Austria, at the opposite end, has a gap of only 1.0%: it practically collects everything it should under the law[1].
Sources
Primary official sources; where we use the press (only when the official document is not public) we mark it. The links lead to the original document or to the report cited (titles are translated; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated).
- [1]
European Commission — Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) — VAT Gap Report 2025 — Tables Report (Table 7: VAT compliance gap in EU Member States, 2022 and 2023) (the “Tables Report” Excel file, sheet Table 7; 2023 figures: RO 30.0% (€9,201 million), EU average 9.5% (€128,017 million))
Published 11 December 2025 · Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
This is a translation of the Romanian article, which prevails. Source titles are translated for convenience; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated.