Entrepreneurship - Business

Timber transport in Romania - A practical guide for professionals

Timber transportation in Romania is a complex subject, regulated by a series of laws and rules aimed at ensuring the traceability and legality of timber materials. In order to facilitate the understanding of these provisions by all the actors involved - foresters, forestry offices, transportation companies, carpenters and others - we will go through the main aspects of the legislation in a clear and accessible manner. At the end we have prepared the information below in a clearer, more structured form for your future use.

What the law says about transporting timber on public roads

Under the Rules on the origin, movement and marketing of timber (GD 497/2020 amended by GD 512/2022), during transportation, the origin of the timber must be proven by an accompanying document issued in the SUMAL 2.0 application. This notice can be either electronic - for professional transporters - or letter/PDF (in the listed version) for non-professional transporters. There are several types of notices, depending on the place of loading (warehouse, place of harvest, etc.) and destination.

The issuers of the permits are the economic operators who exploit the timber, those who store, hold, transport, commercialize or process timber, as well as the forestry offices, in various situations specified in the rules. Upon issuance, data on the issuer, loading point, consignee, unloading point, means of transportation and details of the timber transported: species, assortment, volume, are filled in SUMAL.

During transportation, professional drivers have additional obligations, such as taking photos of the cargo and ensuring GPS connectivity. At destination, the consignee accepts or rejects the materials in the application. Any differences from the notice are reported to the forestry authorities. Wood without a valid permit is considered as not of legal provenance and is confiscated.

The entry into force of the new provisions in 2022 has highlighted the central role of SUMAL 2.0 - Integrated Timber Tracking Information System. Its use is mandatory for a wide range of actors: forestry offices, timber traders, professional transporters, exporters/importers, control authorities, etc. The aim is to ensure full traceability of timber from the point of harvesting to its final destination.

In conclusion, although complex, the legislation on timber transportation in Romania pursues important objectives - combating illegal logging, theft and illicit trade in timber. Strict compliance by all those involved is essential to achieve these goals. Ongoing consultation on the rules, correct use of SUMAL and dialog with forest authorities are some of the keys to success in this area.

Below, the structured information I told you about at the beginning.

1. Legal framework

Timber transportation in Romania is mainly regulated by the following normative acts:

  • Forestry Code (Law 46/2008)
  • HG 497/2020 - Rules on the origin, circulation and marketing of timber, amended and supplemented by GD 512/2022
  • Law 171/2010 on establishing and sanctioning forest offences

The role of SUMAL 2.0

SUMAL 2.0 (Integrated Information System for the Tracking of Timber) is the electronic tool to ensure timber traceability.

The use of SUMAL is mandatory for:

  • forestry scouts
  • economic operators storing, processing, sorting, sorting, marketing timber
  • professional transporters (more than 20 m3/year)
  • timber exporters/importers
  • forestry control authorities

The application has dedicated modules for planning, approvals, control, reporting, etc. Its purpose is to provide a clear record of the origin and circulation of timber.

3. Provenance documents

In order to be transported legally, the wood must be documented:

  1.  APV (act de mise en valeur) for the timber from the authorized parts,
  2.  Electronic register (SUMAL 2.0 Agent) for timber in warehouses,
  3.  Accompanying notice for timber being transported,
  4.  Customs Import Declaration (CDI) or FLEGT license for timber imported from third countries,
  5.  Intra-EU documents (invoice, CMR, etc.) for timber imported from the EU,
  6.  Various minutes of surrender, inventory, confiscation for other specific situations.

 4. Accompanying notice

The accompanying notice is the document issued in SUMAL 2.0 that must accompany any shipment of timber. It can be:

  • electronically on the professional carrier's device
  • PDF/printed, when the carrier is not a professional
  • letric, in some cases (max 20 cubic meters from the place of harvest)

Types of opinions:

  • from the place of harvest
  • from storage/temporary storage
  • for imported timber
  • for transhipment
  • for purchases (wood purchased from individuals)
  • for technological transport

Opinion issuers can be:

  • economic operators legally exploiting timber
  • warehouses selling timber
  • forest offices (in situations specified in the rules)

When issuing the opinion, data on:

  • issuer,
  • loading point,
  • recipient and the point of unloading,
  • means of transport,
  • timber transported (species, species, volumes).

5. Obligations of the carrier

During transportation, professional drivers have specific obligations:

  • take 4 photos of the load (front, back, side),
  • keep the data connection and GPS receiver turned on,
  • update its position regularly,
  • report any incidents or malfunctions.

At destination, the consignee accepts or rejects the goods in the application. If they refuse, the notice issuer must request a new notice for the return of the goods.

In the case of non-professional shipments (max. 20mc), the consignment note shall be handed over to the consignee as proof of origin.

6. Wood of no legal provenance

Timber transported without a valid permit is considered as not of legal provenance and is confiscated. Other situations in which transported timber is confiscated:

  • expired notice
  • transportation without authorization
  • opinion without correspondent in SUMAL
  • higher volume than in the notice (over tolerances)
  • transportation of timber not included in the notice
  • transportation with loading/unloading point different from the notice

Penalties for illegal transportation are set by Law 171/2010 and include fines and confiscation.

7. Volume of timber transported

  1. The volume can be determined by individual stacking (thick wood), measurement in figures (thin wood, firewood) or weighing (for sawn timber, wood chips). Methods and tolerances are laid down in standards.
  2. It is obligatory to enter the volume data in the accompanying notice. For thick round wood (>24cm), the number of pieces, length and diameter of each piece must be entered. For thin wood, the number of geometrical figures and their dimensions shall be entered. Non-cut timbers may be cubed into figures.

8. Felling and deforestation

  1. The clearing of fruit trees and shrubs (over certain areas) or the felling of edible nuts and chestnuts is only authorized by the county agricultural directorates.
  2. The authorization is issued on the basis of a documentation documenting the decline/ageing of the plantation, disease infestation or its location in an area where constructions of local/national interest are to be built.
  3. Cutting/felling without authorization is punishable by a fine.

9. Further information

  1. For case-by-case interpretations or complex cases, professionals should turn to the legal texts or specialized advice.
  2. SUMAL 2.0 has a helpdesk module where you can ask questions. Forest offices and forest directorates also provide information and support.
  3. In view of the damage caused by illegal logging, professionals need to pay the utmost attention to forest law enforcement. Compliance with the legal framework brings long-term benefits for both the environment and the wood processing industry.

I hope this article provides a useful overview of timber transportation regulations in Romania. For updates and further details, check the official websites of the forestry authorities regularly.

About the author

Mihaela Radu

Mihaela Radu is a chemical engineer but has a great passion for wood. She has been working in the field for more than 20 years, wood finishing being what defined her during this period. She gained experience working in a research institute, in her own company, as well as in a multinational. She wants to continuously share her experience with those who have the same passion - and more.

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