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The European de minimis threshold for import duties is harmonized. Goods with a value of up to 128 SDR / 150 EUR / 186 USD are exempted from customs duties. The VAT de minimis threshold is not harmonized within the EU and can vary between 10 and 22 EUR, i.e. Member States can decide on a value within this range to grant an exemption on VAT for imported goods.

According to Romania's de minimis rule, goods with a value of up to 17 SDR / 22 EUR / 29 USD are exempted from VAT.

It is reported that Romania has a very high rate of cyber crime which hampers e-retail. The most common problems result from the use of stolen credit card numbers for the purchase of goods online, fraudulent use of online auction platforms, sophisticated phishing schemes and the hacking into companies' servers and stealing proprietary information, including customer credit card data.

The EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) covers traditional broadcasting services as well as audiovisual media services provided on-demand, including via the Internet. Article 13 of the Directive imposes on Member States the obligation to ensure that on-demand service providers promote European works, despite there is no explicit content quota. The Directive has been implemented by Member States in different ways, ranging from very extensive and detailed measures to a mere reference to the general obligation to promote European works.

In Romania, Article 13 has been implemented via two obligations:

- Video-on-Demand (VOD) providers have to reserve a share of European works in their catalogue;
- VOD providers have to use promotion tools which give prominence to European works such as indicating the country of origin in the catalogue.

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) found evidence of blocking or charging extra for the provision of VoIP services in mobile networks by certain mobile operators in Romania.

The European Court of Justice has interpreted in 2014 that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may be ordered by national courts to block customer access to a copyright-infringing website. This ruling aims to limit online piracy.

In Romania, the regulation allows for IP blocking of gaming sites without a license. The regulator has blacklisted 48 operators (full list available at http://www.onjn.gov.ro/home/lista-neagra) and has instructed all internet service providers to block access to their websites.

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbor. The Directive covers any type of infringement of third-party rights, including intellectual and industrial property rights and personality rights.

The limitations on liability in the Directive apply to clearly delimited activities (mere conduit, caching and hosting) carried out by internet intermediaries, rather than to categories of service providers or types of information. While it was not considered necessary to cover hyperlinks and search engines in the Directive, the Commission has encouraged Member States to further develop legal security for Internet intermediaries.

Since not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, the national case law is divergent and leads to legal insecurity on an EU level.

In Romania, the Law on Electronic Commerce establishes a series of exceptions from liability following the EU Directive. However, the term “liability of intermediary service providers” has been transposed as “liability of service providers”. This creates a legal uncertainty in relation to determining who qualifies for benefiting from the legal exoneration from liability.

In Romania, any transfer of personal data to any state requires prior notification to the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing (NSAPDP). Moreover, any transfer of personal data to a recipient state not offering an adequate level of protection needs prior approval.

In Romania, the game server must store all data related to the provision of remote gambling services, including records and identification of the players, the stakes placed and the winnings paid out. Information must be stored using data storage equipment (mirror server) situated on Romanian territory.

For intra-corporate transferees (ICT), contractual service suppliers (CSS) as well as independent service suppliers (ISS), there are limitations of stay for of 90 days with extension of one year.

For contractual service suppliers (CSS) and independent service suppliers (ISS) from outside the EU, there are labour market tests. Foreign workers may be employed when the employment in vacant positions cannot be ensured out of local resources. The law for labour market tests also applies for intra-corporate transferees (ICT).

For intra-corporate transferees (ICT), contractual service suppliers (CSS) as well as independent service suppliers (ISS), there are quotas for citizens of non-EU member states. There is a limited number of total work permits available regardless of industry/activity, which is set yearly.

The Rumanian State owns a minority share of 46% of Telekom Romania (formerly known as Romtelecom), the telecommunications incumbent operator.

Romania telecommunications market is liberalized and open to competition. The incumbent operator Telekom Romania (formerly known as Romtelecom), owns the last mile infrastructure.

It is reported that piracy remains widespread in Romania.

In the European Union, there is no general principle for the use of copyright protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principle in the US. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional, but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test”. This is a clause in the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.

Romania established provisions in terms of limitations and exceptions and it also transposed the fundamental principle in the field the three-step test.