France | Employment Tax | URSSAF right to verify and correct the "DSNs"


January 11, 2023

09 January 2023

Employment Tax

France | URSSAF right to verify and correct the “DSNs”

Impact: High

Summary

The authorities/ bodies responsible for collecting social security contributions (URSSAF, MSA funds for the agricultural scheme and CGSS in the overseas territories) have been given extended competences to check (as of 1 January 2023) and correct the DSNs (expected to be in force as of 1 January 2024).

The Detail

The DSN system is a French social security declaration made by electronic means that must be completed and submitted by all employers from the private sector for their employees based on the payroll data every month. In other words, the DSN is the way employers transmit data to declare and pay the French social security contributions to the relevant social security bodies. This unique, monthly and electronic declaration allows employers to simplify, secure and make their social obligations more reliable.

For verification, this extended competence of the URSSAF comes into force on 1 January 2023. For correction, this extension of competence is expressly postponed to 1 January 2024

Verification of the DSN (French social security code art. L 213-1, 8° amended)

The URSSAF are now responsible for verifying the completeness, conformity and consistency of the information declared by employers for all the social security contributions for which they are in charge of collection, even if certain of the contributions reported on the DSNs are collected by the URSSAF on behalf of other social security bodies. The latter bodies are therefore not required to verify the DSN with regards to their contributions initially, however, they could be involved into the verification operations led by the URSSAF in accordance with an agreement entered into between those bodies and the URSSAF, if any (such agreements would have to be concluded in accordance with conditions that would be detailed in an application Decree not yet published)

From a legal point of view, the verification of the DSNs does not constitute a “control/audit” strictly speaking. The rules for preserving the rights of audited contributors are therefore not applicable to them. However, as verifications may result in reassessments/adjustments, certain procedural guarantees are provided for by Articles R 243-43-3, R 243-43-4 and R 243-59-9 of the French social security code.

This extension of URSSAF’s competences accentuates the importance to comply with payroll obligations in France

URSSAF to correct DSNs (French social security code art. L 133-5-3-1, al. 1)

This extended competency should become effective on 1 January 2024.

Declarants are informed of the results of the verification operations related to the exhaustivity, compliance and consistency of the DSNs that will be carried out by the URSSAF. If any anomalies are found, companies are required to make the necessary corrections.

There is also a new amendment provided by this law (which has not yet come into force due to the lack of an application decree) which states that in the absence of a correction by the declarant/ employer, the social security bodies to which the declaration was sent (URSSAF, MSA or CGSS) will correct it by taking into account, if any, the requests for correction flagged by the the other funds receiving the DSN data.

A decree of the “Conseil d’Etat” must determine the conditions and procedures for the application of this DSN correction mechanism, in particular the prior contradictory exchange procedure (French social security code Art. L 133-5-3-1, para. 4 amended)

How we can help

Vialto Partners can assist you in reviewing your payroll processes to ensure that your payroll obligations are satisfied.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

  •  Marie-Claire Delpin, Partner | marie-claire.delpin@avocats.vialto.com
  • Morgane Texier, Director | morgane.texier@avocats.vialto.com
  •  Maxime Lefebvre, Manager | maxime.lefebvre@avocats.vialto.com

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

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