Order no. 719/740/M.57/2.333 (“Implementing Regulation”) on the approval of the implementing regulation of the 1st title of Law no. 17/2014 on the regulation measures for sale of agricultural lands located out-side the built-up areas and for the amendment of Law no. 268/2011 on the privatization of companies holding in administration public or private State owned agricultural lands and the establishment of the State Domains Agency, as it was modified by Law no. 68/2014 (”Law 17”) has been published in the Official Gazette no. 401/ 30 May 2014. The Implementing Regulation details the rules and procedure to be observed in case of sale of agricultural lands located out-side the built-up areas as summarized herein below.

Procedure to be observed in case of sale of agricultural lands located outside the built-up area

In case of sale of agricultural lands located outside the built-up areas in Romania, the owners should observe the following rules:
• the owner will submit a request for posting the sale offer to the town hall where the land is located, accompanied by the offer and a number of documents attesting the identity of the seller and the ownership right on the land (e.g. identity card/ passport/ certificate of good standing in case of legal persons; copies of the ownership title certified by the public notary, the court or certified for conformity by the civil servants from the town hall; land register excerpt for information issued not more than 30 days before posting the offer, accompanied by the cadastral plan excerpt, if the land is registered in the Land Register; the decision of the corporate body resolving on the sale of the land, in case of legal persons; fiscal certificate issued by the town hall);
• the town hall will post the sale offer at the town hall’s seat and on the web site of the city hall (if the case) for 30 days;
• during this term, the pre-emptors, namely the co-owners, the leaseholders, the neighbours (owners of the lands that have a common boundary with the land that is sold) and the Romanian State through the State Domain Agency (in this order, at the same price and under equal terms and conditions) should exercise their pre-emption rights by submitting to the town hall the acceptance of the offer and the documents that certify the identity of the pre-emptor and the quality of pre-emptor (e.g. identity card/ passport/ certificate of good standing in case of legal persons; certified copies of the co-ownership title, of the lease agreement, of the ownership title of the neighboring lands);
• the seller will choose the buying pre-emptor with respect for the priority ranking and for the conditions regarding the price offered by the preemptors and will communicate to the town hall its name. Within 3 working days, the town hall will submit the file to the territorial or central structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which shall issue within 5 working days the final approval or the negative notification regarding the sale, as follows:
• for lands with a surface of not more than 30 ha, the final approval/ negative notification will be issued by the territorial structures of the Ministry of Agriculture;
• for lands with a surface of more than 30 ha, the final approval/ negative notification will be issued by the central structure of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The final approval is valid for 6 months from the communication to the seller. The approval shall be valid also after the 6 moths term elapses, if the parties have concluded during this period a pre-contract or a call-option agreement with respect to the sale of the agricultural land located out-side the built-up area for which it has been issued.

If the structure of the Ministry of Agriculture will assess that the procedure imposed by the law for the exercise of the pre-emption right was not observed, a negative notification shall be issued, which shall be submitted to the competent Land Register Bureau in order to be registered in the Land Register of the land. The negative notification will be erased from the Land Register only on the basis of a subsequent final approval, of a certificate issued in respect of the free sale or of a final court ruling;

• in case none of the pre-emptors exercise their pre-emption right, the approval will be replaced by the certificate issued by the competent town hall attesting to the free sale of the land;
• in case none of the pre-emptors exercise their right to purchase the land, the owner may freely sell the land. However, the land may not be sold to a lower price or under more advantageous conditions than the ones stated in the initial sale offer. Breach of this mandatory provision triggers the nullity of the transfer deed. In case the offer does not provide any other condition of the sell except for the price, the land may be sold under any condition, except for the reduction of the price. The situation in which the surface resulted from the cadastral measurements is different from the one mentioned in the ownership titles in not considered a more advantageous condition.

Closing the sale agreement on agricultural lands located outside built-up areas
At the closing of the sale agreement, the public notary will ask the seller to submit the following documents, if the case:

• the final approval issued by the central structure or the territorial structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
• the certificate issued by the town hall in case the sell is free, accompanied by the sale offer certified for conformity by the civil servants of the town hall;
• the specific approval issued by the Ministry of National Defence for the agricultural lands located out-side built-up areas within a depth of 30 km from the state frontier and the Black Sea shore, as well as the lands located within a distance of 2,400 m from special objectives (in case the approval is not issued within 20 working days since the registration of the seller’s request, it is considered as a positive approval);
• the address issued by the town hall attesting whether it is necessary or not the specific approval of the Ministry of Culture, and, if the case, the specific approval issued by this Ministry, for the lands where there are located archaeological sites, where there have been seized areas with marked or incidentally pointed out archaeological patrimony (in case the approval is not issued within 20 working days since the registration of the seller’s request, it is considered as a positive approval).

The registration of the ownership right over the agricultural lands located outside built-up areas
In order to register in the Land Register the ownership right acquired on the basis of a court ruling approving the sale of the land or on the basis of a sale agreement authenticated by the public notary, the request for registration will be accompanied by certified copies of the following documents:

• the specific approval issued by the Ministry of National Defence (if the case);
• the address issued by the town hall, attesting whether it is necessary or not the specific approval of the Ministry of Culture, and, if the case, the specific approval issued by this Ministry;
• the final approval issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
• the pre-contract concluded before the ruling of the court;
the affidavit of the owner that the specific approval of the Ministry of National Defence/Ministry of Culture has not been communicated within the term of 20 working days;
• the certificate issued by the town hall in case the land sale is free, accompanied by the copy of the sale offer certified for conformity by the civil servants of the town hall.

In case the text of the court ruling or of the sale agreement mentions the above documents, it is no long required to attach these documents to the request for registration.

Failure to submit the documents above, in case they are not mentioned in the text of the justifying act, triggers the rejection of the request for registration of the ownership right with the Land Register.

Sanctions
The sale of agricultural lands located out-side the built-up areas without the observance of the pre-emption right rules or without obtaining the pertinent approvals of the competent authorities triggers the nullity of the transfer deed.

Moreover, sale of agricultural land without observance of the pre-emption right rules is considered a misdemeanour and is punished with fine ranging from RON 50,000 to RON 100,000.

The data base of agricultural lands located outside built-up areas
Data bases on the circulation of agricultural lands will be established at central level, respectively at local level and will include information on:
• the surface of agricultural land located out-side the built-up area sold at national level, respectively at local level;
• the location of the lands;
• the use category of the lands;
• the balance of the lands classified depending on the use category;
• the sale price.

Av. dr. Simona CHIRICĂ, Partner
Av. Mădălina Irina MITAN, Senior Associate
SCHOENHERR & ASOCIAȚII