In brief
- The state has officially started the liquidation of HORTICOLA S.A. București, by instituting the special administration procedure provided for by Law No. 137/2002.
- The procedure begins on the date of publication in the Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial), that is 20 August 2026, and runs until liquidation is completed. Through a second order, published in the same issue, the special administrator was appointed as well.
- Those concerned are the employees, the creditors and the commercial partners of the company, who from now on deal with a special administrator mandated by the Authority for the Administration of State Assets.
Published: Official Gazette of Romania No. 689 of 20 August 2026
Issued: 18 August 2026
A company in the state portfolio, with its registered office on Șoseaua Chitilei, is entering liquidation, and from 20 August its decisions no longer belong to the usual management, but to a special administrator appointed by the state. Order No. 142 of 18 August 2026 of the President of the Authority for the Administration of State Assets, published in the Official Gazette of Romania No. 689 of 20 August 2026, institutes the special administration procedure for the purpose of dissolution and liquidation at HORTICOLA S.A. București. It is the second state intervention in a company published in recent days, after the one by which two mining sites were removed from the closure programme.
The legal basis is art. 21 of Law No. 137/2002 on certain measures for accelerating privatisation, the text that allows special administration to be instituted at companies held in the state portfolio. The decision rests on Decision No. 14 of 13 August 2026 of the governing board of the Authority, which approved the note instituting the procedure.
In the same issue of the Official Gazette of Romania, Order No. 143 of 18 August 2026 was also published, appointing the special administrator of the company. The two orders form a package: the first opens the procedure, the second gives it a holder.
What it changes in practice
The first effect is the change of the management regime. From the date of publication, the company enters special administration, and the powers of the special administrator are those established through the management mandate agreement concluded with the Authority for the Administration of State Assets. It is not the order that lists these powers, but the mandate, which means that the concrete limits of the administrator’s power cannot be read in the Official Gazette of Romania.
The second effect is the declared purpose, which leaves no room for interpretation. The procedure is instituted for the purpose of dissolution and liquidation. It is not a recovery measure, but the step that prepares the exit of the company from economic activity.
The third effect is the exact identification of the company concerned. The order indicates the registered office, Șoseaua Chitilei no. 238, sector 1, Bucharest, and the trade register registration number, J1991003841404. For a creditor or a commercial partner, these are the elements against which they check whether the company they work with is the same one.
The fourth effect concerns duration. Special administration runs from the date of publication until the completion of liquidation, without a fixed deadline. It ends either once liquidation is finished, under Law No. 137/2002 and Companies Law No. 31/1990, or earlier, by order of the President of the Authority.
The fifth effect is publicity. Both orders are published in the Official Gazette of Romania, so the moment from which the measure becomes enforceable against third parties is public and can be dated, not one communicated only inside the company.
What has changed compared with the previous situation
Until 20 August 2026, HORTICOLA S.A. București operated under the ordinary regime of a company in the state portfolio. From that day on, a special administrator is layered over its governing bodies, holding a mandate from the Authority for the Administration of State Assets.
The second change is that a person is now identified by name. Through Order No. 143/2026, Mr Zabolotnîi Carol-Alexandru is appointed special administrator of the company. The appointment has no term of its own in the order, but follows the duration of the special administration.
The third change is one of direction. Instituting special administration on the basis of art. 21 of Law No. 137/2002 does not open a restructuring stage with an open ending, but one whose result is written in the very title of the order: dissolution and liquidation.
What does not change is the underlying legal framework. Liquidation follows the rules of Companies Law No. 31/1990 and those of Law No. 137/2002, and the orders do not derogate from them.
Advantages and disadvantages
What it improves
- It makes public, through a dated official act, the entry of the company into a procedure that affects creditors and employees.
- It identifies the company by registered office and registration number, so there is no confusion between firms with similar names.
- It appoints the special administrator in the same issue of the Official Gazette of Romania, with no interval in which the procedure would exist on paper but without a holder.
- It expressly provides how the procedure ends, including the possibility of it being stopped by order, not only through the completion of liquidation.
What remains a problem
- The powers of the special administrator are established through the management mandate agreement, which is not published, so his limits cannot be verified publicly.
- The order gives no indicative deadline for liquidation, which leaves creditors without a calendar reference.
- It does not state what happens to ongoing contracts and to the employees from the date the procedure is instituted.
- The note of the governing board approved through Decision No. 14/2026, which contains the reasons for the decision, is not published together with the order.
Practical advice
- If you have unpaid invoices from the company, check your documents now. From 20 August 2026, the discussion is held with the special administrator, not with the previous management.
- Compare the identification data before taking any step. The order concerns the company with its registered office at Șoseaua Chitilei no. 238, sector 1, Bucharest, registered under no. J1991003841404.
- If you are an employee, follow the publication of the subsequent acts in the Official Gazette of Romania. The special administration procedure precedes dissolution and liquidation, and the steps are announced by the same route.
- Do not confuse special administration with insolvency. It is instituted on the basis of Law No. 137/2002 by the Authority for the Administration of State Assets, not by an insolvency judge.
- If you have an ongoing contract, ask in writing for confirmation that it continues. The order says nothing about the fate of contracts, so the clarification comes from the correspondence with the special administrator.
- Bear in mind that the procedure may also end by order of the President of the Authority, not only through the completion of liquidation. Check the Official Gazette of Romania periodically for such an act.
Frequently asked questions
What does special administration mean?
From when does it apply?
Who runs the company during this period?
Which company is this about?
How does the procedure end?
Is it the same thing as insolvency?
Original text of the legal act
The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.
The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania
Official Gazette of Romania no. 689 of 20 August 2026 16 pages PDF, 108 KB the act starts on page 15
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.