PM sacks Customs Head and national tax office chief

The Romanian government announced on Tuesday morning, in a message on Facebook, that Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă dismissed the head of the National Customs Authority, Bogdan-Lari Mihei.

At the same time, the prime minister took note of the resignations of ANAF (The National Agency for Fiscal Administration) chief, Lucian Heiuș (PNL) and of the one of the National Agency for Mineral Resources, Sorin Gal.

The wave of dismissals and resignations comes after Heiuș, head of ANAF, announced on Monday evening in his resignation letter that ANAF collected in the first five months of the year 8.9 billion lei less than the schedule established by the Ministry of Finance.

“The economic growth we achieved must be felt by the people, and in order to achieve this, state institutions must be more efficient. After a year in which the GDP of the country increased by 49 billion euros, we must find the same dynamics in the receipts from the budget. We need a more efficient collection system, through which the budget has the necessary resources for the public policies expected by citizens.

Today, I dismissed the head of the National Customs Authority and took note of the resignations of the heads of ANAF and the National Agency for Mineral Resources. The reform of these institutions must be accelerated, through digitization, the professionalization of employees and the efficiency of work procedures. Only in this way will we be able to capitalize on the good results of the economy in the public interest and respond to social needs. By continuing the massive investment programs, correct collection of budget revenues and the exploitation of our natural resources, Romania will enter a new stage of modernization, for the benefit of all its citizens“, the government’s press release states.

Bogdan-Lari Mihei was appointed in December 2021 by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă as president of the Romanian Customs Authority, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette. According to his CV, Bogdan-Lari Mihei was between April 2018 and January 2019 vice president of ANAF, coordinator of customs structures. He has a bachelor’s degree in civil construction at the Bucharest Technical University of Construction – Faculty of Civil, Agricultural and Industrial Construction, a law degree at Biotera University, a master’s degree at SNSPA in the management of political and civil organizations and various qualifications “development of professional skills in the customs field at the National Institute of Administration – MAI or in anti-corruption measures for the Border and Customs Police.