Contributions, Affiliation, Declarations and Collection Procedures
This domain is procedural: what an employer must do, when, on which base, at which rate, and what happens when he does not. It rewards precise sequencing rather than general knowledge.
Affiliation and immatriculation
- The employer registers with the CNAS agency of the place of business and receives an affiliation number.
- Each hiring is declared within ten days; the worker is immatriculated and receives a social security number.
- Non-salaried persons register with CASNOS at the start of activity; farmers, artisans and liberal professions are covered.
Declarations and payment
- The annual wage declaration (DAS) is filed by 31 January for the previous year; it feeds pension entitlements, so an error here shows up years later.
- Contributions are declared and paid monthly on the gross wage in cash and in kind, capped by the plafond.
- Headline rate: 34.5% of the base - 26% employer, 8.5% employee; the employee share is withheld at source. The AT/MP element is rated by activity class.
- Large employers must use electronic télé-déclaration.
Recovery and control
- Late payment triggers majorations de retard per month of delay, then a mise en demeure, then a contrainte issued by the fund's director, enforceable like a court decision.
- Undeclared work is established by sworn control agents through a procès-verbal; the legal representative is personally liable for arrears.
- The worker keeps his cover even when the employer defaults: the fund pays and recovers afterwards.
Worked example
Payroll of 400,000 DZD (four workers at 100,000). Contributions: 400,000 × 34.5% = 138,000 DZD, of which 104,000 employer (26%) and 34,000 withheld from wages (8.5%). Workers receive 400,000 − 34,000 = 366,000; the employer's total cost is 400,000 + 104,000 = 504,000. If the base were capped, only the part under the ceiling would enter the calculation.
Traps that cost marks
Calculating on net pay; forgetting the ceiling; confusing the hiring declaration with the annual DAS; charging late-payment surcharges to the employee; assuming a worker loses cover when the employer defaults.
Key points
- Hiring declared within ten days; DAS filed by 31 January.
- Total contribution 34.5% = 26% employer + 8.5% employee, on gross pay within the ceiling.
- Employee share withheld at source; AT/MP rate depends on activity.
- Late payment: majorations, mise en demeure, contrainte.
- Sworn agents record undeclared work; the legal representative is liable.
- The insured keeps his rights even if the employer fails to pay.