{"id":2111834,"date":"2026-08-28T11:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/08\/28\/challenge-french-corporate-tax-reassessment-foreign-founder-fec-appeal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T11:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:02:50","slug":"challenge-french-corporate-tax-reassessment-foreign-founder-fec-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/28\/challenge-french-corporate-tax-reassessment-foreign-founder-fec-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Challenge a French Corporate Tax Reassessment as a Foreign Founder: FEC, Evidence and Appeal Deadlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Receiving a French corporate tax reassessment is not the same as receiving an ordinary tax bill. The document may be a proposition de rectification<\/em>, the French tax authority\u2019s proposed adjustment, and it starts a procedural timetable in which the company must preserve its objections, identify the evidence relied on and protect its right to challenge the amount. For a foreign founder, the risk is often amplified by distance, time zones, translated accounting records, a French accountant who holds the files, and a parent company whose contracts or payments sit outside France.<\/p>\n

The immediate objective is therefore not to send a general disagreement. It is to determine which tax periods are involved, whether the procedure is a desk review or an accounting audit, how the fichier des \u00e9critures comptables<\/em> (FEC, the French computerized accounting entries file) was used, and whether the proposed French corporate income tax (imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s<\/em>, or IS) has been calculated from the correct facts. The response must also address penalties, interest, transfer pricing and any allegation that the business was actually carried on in France before the founder reported it.<\/p>\n

This guide follows the French Tax Procedure Code, called the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/em> (LPF), the French General Tax Code, called the Code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts<\/em> (CGI), and recent decisions of the Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat. It is designed for a foreign-owned French company and links to the existing French company formation and foreign-founder compliance hub<\/a>. It does not replace a review of the company\u2019s notice, accounts, tax treaty and evidence by counsel.<\/p>\n

I. What should a foreign founder check when a French corporate tax reassessment arrives?<\/h2>\n

A. Is the notice valid, and what does the thirty-day response period cover?<\/h3>\n

A reassessment can follow a control on documents, a verification of accounting at the company\u2019s premises, or an examination of accounting performed remotely from electronic files. The label used by the administration matters because different procedural safeguards may apply. A foreign founder should first photograph or download every page, record the date and method of receipt, and identify the service that signed the letter. The Direction g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des finances publiques<\/em> (DGFiP, the French Directorate General of Public Finances) may correspond with the company through its professional tax account, by post or through an authorised representative. A message seen by the accountant is not automatically the same thing as a notice validly received by the company; the delivery trail should be preserved.<\/p>\n

For a verification of accounting or an examination of accounting, Article L. 47 of the LPF<\/a> requires advance information and identifies the years under review. It also requires the notice to mention the taxpayer\u2019s right to assistance. The wording that must appear is la facult\u00e9 de se faire assister par un conseil de son choix<\/q>. The company should compare the years stated in the notice with the periods actually examined. A mismatch, an unclear notice or a missing reference to the right to counsel may create a procedural issue, but the company should still prepare a substantive response rather than assume that a procedural argument will end the matter.<\/p>\n

The letter that proposes the adjustment is normally the decisive first document. Under Article L. 57 of the LPF<\/a>, the proposal must be reasoned so that the taxpayer can respond. The official text requires a proposal that doit \u00eatre motiv\u00e9e de mani\u00e8re \u00e0 lui permettre de formuler ses observations<\/q>. The proposal should identify the facts, legal provisions, accounting entries, tax years and method that led to each adjustment. It should not be treated as a short summary that can be answered later. If a paragraph simply asserts that a cost is non-deductible, or that a foreign payment is a distribution, ask the administration to identify the factual and legal path from the entry to the proposed tax base.<\/p>\n

Article R*57-1 of the LPF<\/a> adds that the proposal must explain the nature and reasons of the adjustment and invite observations within thirty days. The operative wording is dans un d\u00e9lai de trente jours \u00e0 compter de la r\u00e9ception de la proposition<\/q>. The starting point is receipt, not the date printed on the proposal and not the date on which a director abroad first opens the attachment. If the company needs more time, its written request should be made before the original period expires and should be retained with proof that the tax service received it. Under Article L. 57, the statutory extension is thirty days when the conditions for the request are met.<\/p>\n

The first response should state whether the company disputes the adjustment in full, accepts part of it, or needs documents before it can give a complete answer. It should not use a vague formula such as \u201cwe disagree with the French tax authority.\u201d A workable response identifies each proposed adjustment by page, tax year and amount, then separates the factual objection, the legal objection, the accounting evidence and the requested correction. If a document is held by the foreign parent, send a copy with a short explanation of its date, author, currency and relevance. If a document is not yet available, say what has been requested and ask the administration to take it into account when the complete evidence arrives.<\/p>\n

The financial consequences must also be checked at this stage. Article L. 48 of the LPF<\/a> requires the administration, before the taxpayer responds, to state the amount of the duties, taxes and penalties resulting from the proposed adjustments. The relevant part refers to le montant des droits, taxes et p\u00e9nalit\u00e9s r\u00e9sultant de ces rectifications<\/q>. A missing or materially misleading calculation can affect the company\u2019s ability to decide how to respond. It does not justify silence: the response should ask for a corrected computation and challenge the underlying adjustment and penalties within the same deadline.<\/p>\n

The Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat confirmed the practical importance of that amount in its decision of 24 February 2026, no. 495116. The Court held that the indication of the financial consequences constitue une garantie pour la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 v\u00e9rifi\u00e9e<\/q> in a company audit. The official decision of 24 February 2026, no. 495116<\/a> should be read with the facts of the individual case, including whether the company belonged to a tax-integrated group. For an ordinary foreign-owned company, the absence of a clear amount should be recorded as a specific procedural objection, while the business case against the adjustment is developed in parallel.<\/p>\n

Before the thirty-day period is allowed to run, the founder, director and advisers should hold a short evidence meeting. The meeting should confirm:<\/p>\n