The conditions for the sale of out-of-town agricultural land are severely tighten, among others, by imposing an 80% tax on resale less than eight years after the date of purchase.
A legislative initiative registered in 2017, which concerns the amendment of the Law of 2014 regulating the conditions under which the sale of agricultural lands located outside the built-up areas of localities can be carried out, will soon enter into force. This will be promulgated by the President of Romania as a consequence of the rejection of the objection of unconstitutionality by the Constitutional Court, in mid-July 2020.
This new Law will bring major changes in terms of the conditions under which the sale of agricultural land located outside the built-up area can be achieved which has experienced an explosive growth, with Romania’s accession to the Euopean Union.
Thus, compared to other E.U. Member States, agricultural land in Romania had much lower prices which led to an accelerated sale of them, especially for speculative purposes. Even today, the price of agricultural land in Romania is among the lowest in Europe. For example, according to the initiators of the new Law, in a period of three and a half years (2014-2017), approximately 470,00 hectares of agricultural land were subject of sale procedures. This represents about 3.5% of the total agricultural area of almost 14 million hectares of arable land. Romania ranks sixth among the E.U. Member States in terms of agricultural land area.
The new Law establishes much more drastic conditions in which you can buy agricultural land located outside the city. Among the most important amendments we mention:
(i) Sale before the end of an eight-year period from the date of purchase, will attract a tax of 80% applied to the difference between the sale price and the purchase price.
(ii) A substantial increase in the number of persons benefiting from a pre-emption right to purchase. Thus, in addition to co-owners, tenants, neighbouring owners and the Romanian state, are added: first degree relatives, wives and relatives up to the third degree, owners of agricultural investments, the young farmers, and any natural person domiciled in the locality where the land is located or in neighbouring localities, etc.
(iii) The procedure for exercising the right of pre-emtion becomes more complex and long in time, and in addition to the sanction of absolute nullity, non-compliance with the provisions of the law is sanctioned with doubled fines, between 100,000 to 200,000 lei.
