Under the proposed mechanism, taxpayers will first be notified and invited to a hearing; if no tax return is filed, ANAF will be able to determine the amount of the tax liability on its own, notes StartupCafe.
A draft of the relevant ANAF regulation was released for public comment on August 24. It concerns social security contributions—CAS and CASS—for the 2025 tax year.
The publication notes that, starting with income for 2025, the amount of social contributions due will be determined and reported by taxpayers for all categories of income received during the tax year. To do so, taxpayers must file the Unified Return (Form 212) for income tax and social contributions payable by individuals by May 25 of the year following the year in which the income was earned. The changes were adopted by Government Emergency Ordinance No. 128/2024.
What Types of Income Will Be Subject to ANAF Review
The proposed procedure applies to several categories of individual income. These include:
– income from self-employment;
– income from intellectual property;
– income from participation in partnerships with legal entities in cases provided for by law;
– income from leasing property;
– income from agriculture, fisheries, and forestry;
– investment income;
– other sources of income;
– income treated as wages for activities carried out abroad.
A separate provision applies to pensions received from abroad. For these, the CASS is calculated and reported by the individual in the cases provided for by tax legislation. Specifically, starting in 2025, this obligation applies to the portion of a foreign pension exceeding 3,000 lei per month.
However, the mere fact of having such income does not automatically trigger the assessment of the contribution, StartupCafe clarifies. ANAF will send a notification to those taxpayers for whom the tax authority has data on income that creates an obligation to pay CAS and/or CASS, but for whom the corresponding obligations have not been declared.
First the notification and hearing, then the assessment
The mechanism proposed by ANAF involves several stages.
The taxpayer receives a notice stating that income for which they were required to report social contributions has been recorded in the tax records. Specifically, this refers to income exceeding the threshold of 12 minimum gross wages for CAS obligations and the threshold of 6 minimum wages for CASS, as well as certain categories of foreign income.
At the same time, the individual is given 20 days from the date of receipt of the notification to file a single tax return. If the return is not filed, ANAF may proceed to determine the amount of the liability on its own.
In addition, the taxpayer is summoned to a hearing. The initial notice specifies a seven-day period from the date of receipt to appear before the tax authority. If the individual fails to appear and has not explicitly declined to participate, ANAF will issue an additional invitation for a second hearing—to allow the taxpayer to exercise their right to present their position.
Thus, the proposed procedure does not involve the immediate assessment of taxes, but rather a sequence of steps: identification of an undeclared liability, notification, the opportunity to file a tax return and present one’s position, and only then—calculation of the liability by the tax authority.
ANAF documents cited by StartupCafe state that an administrative fine ranging from 50 to 500 lei is imposed for failure to meet the filing deadline.
What’s Changing for Taxpayers
The practical significance of the new procedure is that the tax authority now has a formalized mechanism for dealing with individuals for whom its records indicate an obligation to pay social contributions.
This is particularly relevant for people with multiple sources of income, entrepreneurs, and individuals receiving income from abroad. At the same time, ANAF already has procedures in place for determining individuals’ tax obligations “in-house”: for example, the tax authority’s official website publishes a form for a decision on such personal income tax assessments.
The new procedure specifies this approach specifically for CAS and CASS and, at the same time, formalizes the notification stage and the taxpayer’s right to be heard.
For businesses and professionals working with individuals, this means the need to monitor more closely not only the payment of taxes themselves but also the timely filing of the Unified Tax Return. This is especially true for income for which information may be reported to the tax authority from other sources.
For now, the draft has been submitted by ANAF for public comment. The final version of the procedure and the rules for its application will be announced after the document is finally adopted.
