Levi KeswickThis article is a must read for both Romanian and foreign business people and entrepreneurs who are just newly setting foot in the Romanian market or who have been trading with Romania companies for a longer period and wish to improve their trade relationships. Among many important points brought up in this article that are of the utmost importance for Romanian business people and entrepreneurs, I would like to mention the following:
Romanian Business Laws and Customs Union
Foreign merchants who trade with Romania and with Romanian companies have a lot of opportunities and opportunities of entering the Romanian market. Also, there are some particularities they need to take into account which it would be useful to know beforehand. This article intends to give their due attention to these particularities and to offer some advice on how to avoid or overcome them. The Romanian Business Customs, Language and Timing are also important issues that will be addressed.
Business Etiquette In Romania
The Romanian Business Customs, Language and Timing are also important issues that will be addressed.
The Romanian Business Customs
As a matter of fact, the Romanian Business Customs are very similar to those of other countries and to those of other European Union and Schengen countries. People who are aware of the ways and customs governing the business and trade in Western Europe, and who behave accordingly, will not be confronted with many problems when dealing with Romanian business people and entrepreneurs.
By the same token, Romanian business people and entrepreneurs who are aware of the Western business customs and who behave accordingly will have a great advantage and will be able to open up in international markets without much difficulty.
Romanian business contract practices should not be a problem as far as the actual business is concerned. However, some peculiarities shall be pointed out:
First of all, all Romanian business contracts, including those concluded between Romanian companies, are individual contracts. This means that none of the parties to the contract can claim on the result reached through the contract. If one of the parties can claim the result to the contract, then the contract is considered to be “providing for a sum of money”. In this case, the contract has no legal force, which is very important, because this means that the consignments, commodities, etc. ordered under such contract, can not not be taken from the person of the one who has made the order. Therefore, any order made under such contract is illegal and unsafe.
Therefore, a Romanian business contract has to provide that the result of the contract can be claimed only from the express consent of all the parties to the contract. Each of the parties to the contract shall claim the result of the contract itself and none of the parties to the contract can claim the result of the contract from the agreement reached on the entire contract. Consequently, the Romanian laws and customs do not allow any “unfair trade” practices described below. This means that Romanian laws and customs of business are very strict and business people are obliged to observe the good faith principle in their business. What is meant by this?
Making a good faith contract is a general obligation of the parties to a contract, an imperative of the contract and a component of the value of the contract. Whenever by a contract a party is required to pay a sum of money to the other party, he is entitled to receive a corresponding benefit. If one or both of the parties refuse to perform their obligations under the contract, while owing the other party an obligation, or are trying to avoid or escape from such obligation by using any kind of tricks, they are held in violation of the contract contractually, and they are said to behave in bad faith.
Furthermore, any business practice creating an artificial situation in order to profit from it is also considered to be an unfair business practice. For example, under the Romanian laws and customs, forcing another party to the contract to breach the contract is treated as an unfair, illegal and even criminal trade practice.
It is a serious offence to breach the Romanian Laws and Customs of Business.
Foreign Merchants who Trade with Romania or with Romanian Companies Have a Lot of Opportunities and Opportunities of Entering the Romanian Market.
Most all foreign merchants who trade with Romania have the opportunity of entering the Romanian market and of doing business with Romanian companies and individuals. Exceptions are only some hard economic branches: goods of foreign origin, chemical products, nuclear energy supply, arms and ammunition, drugs and drugs applied under medical prescription. Romanian banks are obliged to check the credit history of the seller or buyer of goods or services imported or exported from Romania, or to check the resources of the payment of the goods or services purchased from Romanian companies or individual Romanian citizens. The risk is greater for Romanian companies who intend to buy goods or services from foreign companies, because Romanian companies do not have the right to give a Romanian bank to keep the surplus of the money on a foreign account of the party (the foreign company) that sells or buys goods or services. This requirement is the cornerstone of the banking system and of the credit history of Romania’s own companies.
Foreign Merchants who trade with Romania or with Romanian Companies have a lot of opportunities and opportunities of entering the Romanian Market.
Most all foreign merchants who trade with Romania have the opportunity of entering the Romanian market and of doing business with Romanian companies and individuals. Exceptions are only some hard economic branches: goods of foreign origin, chemical products, nuclear energy supply, arms and ammunition, drugs and drugs applied under medical prescription. Romanian banks are obliged to check the credit history of the seller or buyer of goods or services imported or exported from Romania, or to check the resources of the payment of the goods or services purchased from Romanian companies or individual Romanian citizens. The risk is greater for Romanian companies who intend to buy goods or services from foreign companies, because Romanian companies do not have the right to give a Romanian bank to keep the surplus of the money on a foreign account of the party (the foreign company) that sells or buys goods or services. This requirement is the cornerstone of the banking system and of the credit history of Romania’s own companies.
For this reason, most foreign companies who want to sell their goods or services to Romanian companies or individual Romanian citizens must provide the Romanian banks with a document proving that they have enough financial resources (at least 150% of the contracted price of products or services) to safeguard the payments made, including the payment of taxes and other taxes. Romania is a member of the European Union and of the European Economic Area. Romanian companies with supporting documents can get the following support from the Bank: loan, guarantee certificate, acceptance credit, overdraft credit, free credit, etc. Foreign companies who want to trade with Romania must be very careful to know the Romanian Banks rules and procedure of trading.
IMPORTANT RULE FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH ROMANIAN COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUAL ROMANIAN CITIZENS.
Romanian companies and individual Romanian citizens can’t claim the profit of the sum of money or the service rendered under the contract. This means that the Romanian companies and individual Romanian citizens who purchase goods or services from foreign companies or individual foreign citizens, can not claim the profit of the sale or the service rendered from the sale or from the service rendered, as the case may be. The profit of the sale must be claimed according to the contract terms from the express consent (agreement) of both parties to the contract: the seller (the foreign company or individual foreign citizen) and the purchaser (the Romanian company or individual Romanian citizen).
Therefore the foreign merchants who trade with Romania have to be very careful not to violate the Romanian business customs with informing themselves about the Romanian laws and customs of business, so that not to be in the situation of:
First, the Romanian laws and customs of business ban the Romanian companies and individual Romanian citizens from the above mentioned practice;
Second, the Romanian laws and customs of business allow the foreign companies and individual foreign citizens to use this business practice. If the foreign merchant is not informed about the Romanian laws and customs of business, he may be in the position to lose all the money that he invested at the beginning of the contract, to get a part of its money back (the remaining part after deduction of the money that was spent to service the contract), or to have to face legal process in the Romanian Courts for non-compliance with the signed contract.
Foreign Companies which want to Trade with Romania can do it through Romanian Companies or Romanian CITIZENS or individuals.
Foreign companies that want to trade with Romania can do it through Romanian companies or Romanian citizens or individuals. Some advantages give the Romanian companies the opportunity of doing business with foreign companies. For example, Romanian companies have the opportunity to buy goods and services from foreign companies at prices lower than the prices of the same goods and services sold to Romanian citizens or individuals.
Also, Romanian companies that buy goods and services from foreign companies at prices lower than the prices of the same goods and services sold to Romanian citizens or individuals have the opportunity of passing on a part of such price difference to Romanian citizens and individuals.
Romanian Companies may provide the Services of Doing Business with Romania to Foreign Companies from All over the World.
Romanian companies may provide the services of doing business with Romania to foreign companies from all over the world. They can be the intermediaries of foreign merchants who want to sell their goods or services to Romanian companies, and/or the intermediaries of Romanian companies who want to buy goods and services from foreign companies. They may also provide the service of research, analysis and evaluation of the import and export opportunities of companies from their country. They may provide any other service to foreign companies who want to invest in Romania, in order to help them to enter, to invest and to work in Romania.
Foreign companies may find in Romania the opportunity of exporting goods with an increasing amount of profit, and of importing goods with other kinds of opportunity. The Romanian market amounts to 27.8 million inhabitants, for a GDP of the same amount as the Greek GDP, so that it is considered one of the most important markets in the Balkan Peninsula. Also, the Romanian market represents a rich opportunity for foreign investors who want to invest in Romania.
