ANAF verifies the transformation of employees into collaborators

The pressure on the business environment in Romania determines many companies to seek ways to reduce salary costs. An increasingly common approach is the transformation of employment contracts into collaboration contracts. Although it seems a short -term economic solution, this practice brings significant fiscal and legal risks.

ANAF controls and financial risks

According to an analysis carried out by the law firm Buju Stanciu & Asociaţii, the fiscal authorities have intensified the controls regarding the wage income, and the companies risk significant fines and the obligation to pay retroactively the social contributions and the taxes related to the salaries. In addition, ANAF may order the recapture of collaborators as employees, which involves the full recalculation of fiscal obligations. The sanctions can reach up to 200,000 lei, and the companies can be obliged to pay additional amounts of up to 40% of the value of the payments to the collaborators.

In this context, Marius Staciu, a lawyer specialized in fiscal law and partner in Buju Stanciu & Asociaţii, emphasizes that « undeclared work », that is, transforming employees into collaborators without respecting the legislation, can attract drastic sanctions. ANAF collaborates actively with the Labor Inspection, using advanced control instruments, such as SAF-T cross analysis, to detect any form of masked employment. Recently, the tax authorities discovered a fraud of over 1 million lei at an IT company, where the outsourcing of services to collaborators, in fact, hidden clear work relationships.

Optimization attempt can lead to high financial losses

As the tax authorities become more vigilant, the « creative » solutions for optimizing costs through external collaborations can have long -term negative effects. According to the fiscal regulations, the collaborators who work under the subordination, using the resources and work schedule of the company, can be considered employees. In this case, the employer will be obliged to pay the taxes and social contributions related to salaries, which can generate high historical debts.

« Today’s saving can lead to a financial nightmare of tomorrow. Companies resorting to this type of strategy risk being severely penalized in an ANAF control, and the consequences can be devastating, » says Marius Staciu. According to him, the retraining of collaborators in employees can attract retroactive tax obligations for the last 5 years, which can mean substantial payments for companies.

Prevention by specialized consultancy

In order to avoid these risks, fiscal law and labor specialists recommend to companies to call in time to legal consultancy. The preventive checks of the status of collaborators and employment contracts can identify any problems of employment before the tax authorities intervene. In this way, entrepreneurs can avoid unpleasant surprises in the case of unexpected control and adjust the collaboration models to comply with the law.

« It is much more effective to prevent than to heal, » adds Marius Staciu. A proactive legal audit can help companies identify legal solutions to transform employees into collaborators, without violating the law, and thus reducing wage costs, avoiding fines and penalties.

Therefore, transforming employees into collaborators may seem an attractive strategy for reducing expenses, but the risks associated with this practice can be considerable. In the face of increasingly stricter tax controls and long -term sanctions, compliance with tax legislation and workers’ employment rules is essential. Specialized consulting represents the optimal solution for companies that want to successfully navigate in this complicated context, protecting such major financial losses.