Automotive Investment in Romania: Sites, State Aid and Contracts

Legal position as at: 24 October 2026

An automotive supplier setting up in Romania faces the same sequence of legal decisions whatever its tier: whether the investment needs clearance, where to build, what public support can be combined with the project, how to contract with customers and sub-suppliers, and how to staff the plant. This guide follows that sequence and points to the rules that decide each step.

1. Foreign investment screening comes first

Romania's foreign direct investment screening regime is set out in Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 46/2022, approved by Law 164/2023 and substantially amended by OUG 17/2026. The main points for an industrial investor are:

• Threshold. Investments that fall within the security fields of CSAT Decision 73/2012 and exceed 5,000,000 euro must be submitted for authorisation (art. 3(1)). The screening commission may also examine smaller investments if they could affect national security or public order (art. 3(2)).
• Aggregation. Interdependent operations carried out by or between the same persons within one year are treated as a single investment once their cumulative value reaches the threshold (art. 3(2^2)).
• Sensitive domains. OUG 17/2026 added a list of domains in which even the acquisition of tangible or intangible assets can be screened (art. 2^1). It includes critical and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors and electronic components, cybersecurity and energy storage technologies, as well as dual-use production. Battery, electronics and software-defined vehicle projects therefore need a careful check.
• EU investors are covered too. Unlike many Member States, Romania also screens investments by investors from the EU.
• Fee. An examination fee of 5,000 euro is payable when the request is filed (Competition Law 21/1996, art. 31^2(1)).

Greenfield projects are not exempt by default. The analysis should be done before land is secured or contracts are signed, so that authorisation can be built into the timetable.

2. Choosing the site: industrial parks and free zones

Industrial parks

Industrial parks are set up under Law 186/2013. Their main legal advantage is in local taxes: the Fiscal Code exempts buildings and land located in industrial parks, scientific and technological parks and business incubators from building and land tax, subject to state aid rules (art. 456(1)(g) and art. 464(1)(k)). Separately, new buildings erected as part of investment projects in manufacturing, warehousing and logistics are exempt from building tax for two years after final acceptance, again subject to state aid rules (art. 456(1)(h)).

Because these exemptions are state aid, they count towards the aid ceilings of the project and must be reported and combined correctly with any other support.

Practical points for a park lease or land purchase: the title of the park administrator, the infrastructure it is obliged to provide, connection rights for electricity, gas and water, the allocation of permitting responsibilities, and exit rights if infrastructure is delayed.

Free zones under Law 84/1992

Free zones may be set up in Romania's sea and river ports, along the Danube-Black Sea Canal and other navigable canals, and near border crossing points (Law 84/1992, art. 1). Within them, goods and persons are subject to EU and national customs legislation (art. 2(1)); in EU terms, a free zone is a special customs procedure under the Union Customs Code.

What the law offers in 2026 is more limited than older summaries suggest:

• activities in a free zone require a licence from the zone administration (art. 11);
• land and buildings are made available by concession, for up to 49 years, or by lease, awarded by public auction (art. 12 to 12^2);
• the old tax exemptions were repealed long ago; state aid may be granted only within the EU rules on regional aid and aid for SMEs (art. 14(1) and (5)).

A free zone is therefore useful mainly for customs logistics, for instance where non-EU components are stored or processed for re-export. It is not, by itself, a tax incentive.

3. State aid: what can realistically be combined

Romanian investment aid for manufacturing is granted within the EU state aid framework:

• Regional aid map 2022-2027. The European Commission approved Romania's regional aid map for 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2027. The map sets the maximum aid intensity for each region; intensities may be increased for small and medium-sized enterprises.
• General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). Most national schemes are adopted under Regulation (EU) 651/2014, which was prolonged by Regulation (EU) 2023/1315 until 31 December 2026. Investors applying in 2027 should check whether the GBER has been prolonged or replaced and how the national schemes have been adjusted.
• National schemes. Schemes for regional investment, job creation and training are adopted by Government decision and administered by the scheme provider named in each decision. Calls, budgets and eligibility criteria change, so the current scheme text is the only safe reference.

Common conditions that shape the project from the start include the incentive effect (the aid application must be filed before work starts), the obligation to maintain the investment in the region for a minimum period (as a rule five years, three years for SMEs), job maintenance commitments where aid is linked to jobs, and cumulation limits across all forms of support, including the local tax exemptions described above. Clawback of aid on breach is the norm, so these commitments should be reflected in financing documents and group planning.

4. Supplier contracts under Romanian law

Customers in the automotive chain usually impose their own general terms. Where Romanian law governs, a few Civil Code rules deserve particular attention.

Unusual standard terms need express written acceptance. Standard clauses that limit the liability of the party proposing them, give it a right to terminate unilaterally or suspend performance, impose forfeiture of rights on the other party, restrict its freedom to contract with others, provide for tacit renewal, choose the governing law, provide for arbitration or derogate from court jurisdiction take effect only if the other party accepts them expressly, in writing (art. 1203). A signature on the order alone may not be enough; a separate acceptance of the specific clauses is the safer route.

Hardship. Parties must perform even when performance has become more onerous. A court may adapt or terminate the contract only where performance has become excessively onerous because of an exceptional change of circumstances that occurred after signing, could not reasonably have been foreseen, and whose risk the debtor did not assume, and only if the debtor first tried in good faith to renegotiate within a reasonable time (art. 1271). Raw material and energy price clauses should therefore be negotiated expressly rather than left to the statute.

Limits on liability caps. Liability for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence cannot be excluded or limited (art. 1355(1)). Exclusions for damage to property caused by simple negligence are valid (art. 1355(2)). Recall, warranty and line-stoppage clauses should be drafted with these limits in mind.

Payment terms. Late payment between businesses is governed by Law 72/2013, which implements the EU Late Payment Directive. Long payment terms imposed by large customers should be checked against it.

Other recurring themes are tooling ownership and the right to remove tooling, the transfer of IP in customer-funded development, quality and traceability obligations, capacity reservations and step-in rights, and the choice of forum. For export-oriented suppliers, arbitration clauses must also meet the express acceptance rule in art. 1203.

5. Staffing the plant

Romanian employment law is codified in the Labour Code (Law 53/2003). Points that regularly matter for automotive employers:

• Non-compete clauses. A post-termination non-compete is valid only if the employment contract specifies the prohibited activities, the monthly indemnity, the duration, the third parties concerned and the geographical area (art. 21(2)). The monthly indemnity is negotiated and must be at least 50% of the employee's average gross monthly earnings over the last six months (art. 21(3)). The clause may last for at most two years after termination (art. 22(1)).
• Temporary agency work. A user company may use temporary agency workers only for a precise and temporary task, subject to the exceptions in the Code (art. 89). Agency staffing plans for launch phases should be checked against the duration limits and equal-treatment rules.
• Collective bargaining and working time. Shift systems, overtime and night work must be set up within the Labour Code and any applicable collective agreement; the internal regulations and shift plans should be ready before hiring starts.

6. A practical checklist

When to get legal advice

The costly mistakes in automotive projects are usually made early: an investment closed without screening, works started before the aid application, or customer terms accepted without reading the liability and termination clauses. Our practice advises suppliers on structuring, screening filings, state aid conditions, site agreements, supplier contracts and employment documentation.

This article is general information on the legal position at the date shown and is not legal advice for a specific case. For advice on your project, please write to us at