6910

Authorization procedure and Trade Register aspects for CAEN 6910

Establishing a company with the main activity of CAEN code 6910 - Legal activities involves the standard registration procedure with the National Office of the Trade Register (ONRC). According to Law 31/1990 and Law 359/2004, no special prior approvals from other institutions (e.g., Tax Authority (ANAF), Police, or Ministry of Justice) are required for this class; however, it is mandatory to submit a declaration on own responsibility regarding compliance with legal operating conditions. Obtaining the fiscal registration certificate (CUI) and the fiscal vector is done automatically through the ONRC platform, and subsequently, the company must request authorization for holding fiscal journals or cash registers (if applicable for ancillary services). Attention: for actual legal activities (consultancy, judicial assistance), the persons performing the activity must be lawyers enrolled in the bar. In the case of law firms, the legal form is specific (professional civil partnership), and registration is done through UNBR, not ONRC. For mere registration of CAEN 6910 for fiscal purposes (without performing specific legal acts), it can be done through ONRC.

Regulatory framework, specific approvals, and control institutions

Legal activities are strictly regulated by Law 51/1995 (for the legal profession) and the profession's statute. Any registration of CAEN 6910 must respect the prohibition against performing acts of judicial representation without being a lawyer. For companies that only provide general legal consultancy (without representation), no additional approvals are required, but notification of ONRC is recommended. The main control institution is the National Union of Bars in Romania (UNBR) and the territorial bars, which may verify the legality of the services provided. ANAF may conduct fiscal checks regarding the correctness of income recording, VAT applicability, and the VAT regime for legal services (VAT exemption under Article 292 of the Fiscal Code – legal services provided by lawyers). Any violation of legal norms entails administrative and even criminal sanctions (e.g., unauthorized practice of the profession).

Tax management, ANAF audit risk, and specific accounting

From a tax perspective, companies with CAEN 6910 may choose the taxation regime (micro-enterprise or profit tax), provided they meet legal conditions. It is mandatory to distinctly record income from legal activities compared to other services, in order to benefit from the VAT exemption (or not, as applicable). The audit risk increases significantly if the company issues invoices with unjustified VAT or fails to comply with the RO e-Factura provisions (from July 1, 2024, all invoices to legal entities must be transmitted in the e-Factura system). Accounting must include written contracts for each client, time-tracking records (if billing by the hour), and monitoring of fees. I recommend using a standard legal services contract and retaining supporting documents for at least 10 years. For mixed tax consultancy (lawyer and consultant), a clear separation of income and tax bases is required to avoid reclassification of income by ANAF.