A USR-sponsored proposal to reduce VAT on photovoltaic panels, heat pumps and solar panels from 19% to 5% was passed by the Chamber of Deputies and will enter into force when it is enacted by the President of Romania, the Save Romania coalition party ( USR ) said in a press release on 13 December.
The bill aims to promote new investments in renewable energy, particularly in small-scale production capacity, and to improve energy efficiency for consumers. As new producers and consumers increase, they will not only be able to produce energy for their own use, but will also be able to offer their surplus production to the market. The USR will continue to support energy production and investment through the new law on tax reduction, following the USR's active resistance to the proposed "sun tax" to be introduced by the government by December.
Cristina Prună, USR representative and vice-president of the Industry and Services Committee, said that Europe is in the midst of the worst energy crisis of the past decades and is in urgent need of new investments. The number of energy producers and consumers has grown rapidly, reaching 27,000 by the end of September this year, with more than 250 megawatts of capacity successfully invested in. Reducing VAT to 5% on photovoltaic panels, heat pumps and solar panels will further accelerate the pace of investment in producing energy for own use, while improving household energy efficiency. Europe and Romania will only be able to weather this energy crisis if investments in renewable energy are strongly promoted.