Tax litigation · Procedure

The tax reassessment procedure, step by step

A reassessment is not decided overnight: the tax authorities follow a procedure framed by the French Book of Tax Procedures, which grants the taxpayer specific safeguards and time limits. Well understood and well used, the adversarial phase is the moment when the essentials are decided. The firm assists you at every step, from the audit notice through to the available appeals.

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— In brief
Framework
French Book of Tax Procedures (LPF)
Standard procedure
Adversarial reassessment (LPF art. L. 55)
Reply period
30 days from the notice, extendable by 30 days (LPF art. L. 57)
Statute of limitations
In principle 3 years (LPF art. L. 169)
Late-payment interest
0.20% per month, i.e. 2.4% per year (French Tax Code art. 1727)
01

How the audit is triggered

A reassessment stems from an audit: a desk review from the tax office, an accounts audit for a business, or a personal tax-situation review (ESFP) for an individual. When an on-site audit is opened, it is preceded by an audit notice (LPF art. L. 47), which sets your safeguards in motion.

This notice must state the years audited, the taxes concerned and your right to be assisted by the adviser of your choice, and must be accompanied by the charter of the rights and obligations of the audited taxpayer, the provisions of which are enforceable against the tax authorities.

02

The adjustment notice

At the end of the audit, the tax authorities issue an adjustment notice. In the standard procedure, known as adversarial reassessment (LPF art. L. 55), this document must be reasoned (LPF art. L. 57): it sets out the legal and factual grounds, the amounts and the tax concerned, so as to allow you to submit meaningful observations.

The adjustment notice interrupts the statute of limitations and starts the reply period. It is not the final reassessment: it is the opening of the dialogue.

03

The adversarial dialogue, the decisive moment

You have 30 days to reply, extendable by 30 days on request (LPF art. L. 57). This is the stage where the defence is built:

  • A reply reasoned in law and in fact, item by item;
  • A reply from the tax authorities to your observations, itself reasoned;
  • Recourse to the hierarchical superior and then to the departmental interlocutor;
  • Referral, depending on the nature of the dispute, to the competent commission (LPF art. L. 59 to L. 59 C).

Covered by lawyer professional secrecy, this work allows you to challenge the reassessment before any sums are placed in collection, and often to reduce its base or its penalties significantly.

04

Collection, interest and surcharges

If the disagreement persists, the tax authorities place the sums in collection. To the principal are added late-payment interest of 0.20% per month, i.e. 2.4% per year (French Tax Code art. 1727), and, where applicable, surcharges: 10% for late or missing filing (French Tax Code art. 1728), 40% in the event of a deliberate breach, 80% in the event of fraudulent manoeuvres or a concealed activity (French Tax Code art. 1729).

Challenging the surcharges is a distinct issue: their application requires the tax authorities to prove and to reason them.

05

The available appeals

Once the sums have been placed in collection, the challenge goes through a prior administrative claim addressed to the tax authorities (LPF art. L. 190), accompanied where appropriate by a request for a payment deferral (LPF art. L. 277). In the event of rejection, the dispute is brought before the tax judge: the administrative court for income tax, corporate tax and VAT, the judicial court for registration duties and the real-estate wealth tax (IFI).

The firm assists you across the whole chain, from the adversarial phase to the hearing, favouring at each step the solution that best protects your interests.

Frequently asked questions

The reassessment procedure: your questions

How long do I have to reply to an adjustment notice?

Thirty days from receipt, extendable by a further thirty days on simple request (LPF art. L. 57). This period is essential: a reasoned reply filed in time shapes the rest of the defence.

How many years can the tax authorities go back?

In principle three years for income tax, corporate tax and VAT (reassessment period, LPF art. L. 169). This period is extended in certain situations, notably in the event of a concealed activity or of undeclared assets held abroad.

Can I challenge the penalties separately?

Yes. The surcharges (French Tax Code art. 1728 and 1729) must be reasoned and their merits proven by the tax authorities. Challenging them is a line of defence distinct from the discussion on the taxable base.

Must I pay the disputed reassessment immediately?

The claim may be accompanied by a request for a payment deferral (LPF art. L. 277), which suspends collection of the disputed sums, where appropriate against guarantees above a certain amount.

Why be assisted by a lawyer rather than handle it alone?

Exchanges with the lawyer are covered by professional secrecy and cannot be seized. The lawyer structures the reply, mobilises the procedural safeguards and carries the litigation before the tax judge if necessary.

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This page presents the standard procedure for information purposes; each case calls for a specific analysis. References to the French Book of Tax Procedures and the French Tax Code in force at the date of writing.