By Decision no. 51 of March 23, 2026, of the High Court of Cassation and Justice – Panel for the resolution of legal issues, published in the Official Gazette no. 434 of May 22, 2026, the Court established the unitary method for calculating the fine for violating the prohibition on carrying out cash lending operations between companies and natural persons.
What does it stipulate?
The HCCJ Decision clarifies two essential aspects regarding the sanctioning of companies that grant or receive cash loans from natural persons, a practice prohibited by Law no. 70/2015. Until this decision, there was an unclarity as to whether each cash payment or collection (e.g., each installment of a loan) represents a separate contravention or if all operations carried out under the same loan agreement constitute a single continuous act.
The High Court established that when multiple cash collection and payment operations (lending installments, partial repayments) are carried out based on the same resolution (for example, a single lending agreement of the company by an associate), these constitute a single continuous contravention. The practical consequence is that the 25% fine is not applied individually to each installment, but is calculated by reference to the total sum of all operations carried out in cash based on that agreement. Thus, both the amounts collected by the company and those paid by it as repayment are cumulated.
The second important clarification is that the sanctioning regime provided by Law no. 70/2015 is a special one, which derogates from the general rules of Government Ordinance no. 2/2001 regarding the cumulation of fines. Normally, upon the ascertainment of several contraventions, the total sanction cannot exceed double the maximum provided for the most serious act. The HCCJ decided that this limitation does not apply in the case of cash loans. Therefore, the 25% fine is applied to the total value of the transactions, without an upper ceiling, which can lead to very large financial sanctions, directly proportional to the cash turnover.
To whom does it apply?
The Decision targets all entities falling under the incidence of Law no. 70/2015, namely:
- Legal entities (S.R.L., S.A. etc.);
- Authorized natural persons (PFA), individual enterprises (II) and family enterprises (IF);
- Liberal professionals (lawyers, notaries, consultants, doctors);
- Associations and other entities with or without legal personality.
The obligation refers to the operations of receiving or repaying loans and other financing, in cash, carried out between these entities and any natural person, regardless of whether this is a third party, an employee, an administrator, or an associate/shareholder.
What should you do?
- Immediately cease any cash collection or payment operation related to loans or other financing from/to natural persons. All such transactions must be carried out exclusively through non-cash payment instruments (bank transfer).
- Review all lending agreements concluded with natural persons (especially with associates, shareholders, or administrators) and ensure that all financial flows related thereto have been or will be carried out through bank accounts.
- Audit accounting records to identify any non-compliant cash transaction carried out in the past and evaluate the risk of a potential sanction in the event of a tax audit.
Source: Official Gazette, Part I, no. 434 of May 22, 2026.
Note: This material is strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or business advice. As the interpretation and application of legal provisions may vary significantly depending on the specific circumstances of each entity, we recommend seeking specialized legal assistance before adopting any operational decisions based on these changes.