Artists' social security fund; payment of a warning fee in the event of a breach of obligations

If you violate certain obligations of the Artists' Social Insurance Act, you may be required to pay a warning fee.

Street address

Gökerstraße 14
26384 Wilhelmshaven

Postal address

26380 Wilhelmshaven

Mehr zur Behörde

As an artistically or journalistically self-employed person who is insured under the Artists' Social Insurance Act, you must fulfill certain obligations. The same applies to companies that are subject to the levy obligation under the Artists' Social Insurance Act. The Künstlersozialkasse (KSK) checks whether you have fulfilled these obligations or whether you have behaved in an irregular manner.
The KSK can impose a warning fine for a minor administrative offense.
The warning fine notice includes, among other things:

the breach of duty, i.e. the administrative offense
the amount of the fine
the requirements for an effective warning
information about your right to comment on the charges in writing

The amount of a warning fine depends on the individual case. It can range from EUR 5.00 to EUR 55.00 per violation.
You are not entitled to have KSK punish a minor administrative offense with a warning fine. The KSK can also pursue a fine procedure and impose a fine.

The Künstlersozialkasse can impose a warning fine on you under the following conditions:

You are liable to the KSK
- insured or
- operate a business subject to the levy.
You have acted in a slightly irregular manner in accordance with the Artists' Social Insurance Act.

As an insured person, you are acting irregularly under the Artists' Social Insurance Act if you intentionally or negligently:

fail to provide information, or provide incorrect or incomplete information, when requested to do so,
do not, incorrectly or incompletely comply with the obligation to provide information or to submit documents when requested to do so, or
fail to comply with the reporting obligation in a timely, correct or complete manner.

As a company liable to pay the levy, you are acting in breach of regulations under the Artists' Social Insurance Act if you intentionally or negligently:

fail to report the assessment basis for the artists' social security levy on time or correctly,
fail to keep records, or fail to keep them correctly or completely, or
do not, not correctly or not completely comply with the obligation to provide information or to submit documents when requested to do so.

Required Documents

You do not need to submit any documentation.

You will receive a notice of the warning fine without prior notification:

You will find out what kind of irregular behavior the KSK is accusing you of and the amount of the fine.
- If you pay the warning fine, you thereby agree to the warning.
- If you do not agree with the warning fee and do not pay it, you can comment on the charges in writing.
- If you do not pay the warning fine, the KSK can issue a penalty notice without further notification. This also applies if you have made a written statement.