{"id":2126638,"date":"2026-09-21T10:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T08:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T10:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T08:59:34","slug":"foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You formed your French company from London, New York or Dubai, the <a href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/03\/setting-up-company-france-foreign-founder-bank-account-kbis-vat-first-hire\/\">Kbis arrived<\/a>, business started, and then the first year-end quietly passed. In France, closing the financial year is only the beginning: every year, the shareholders must formally approve the annual accounts within six months of year-end, then file them with the court clerk within one month of that vote. Miss either deadline from abroad and the machinery starts moving without you \u2014 a reminder from the registry, a court order backed by a daily fine, a criminal penalty, and in the worst cases a personal ban on managing any company. The good news is that every step of this calendar can be handled remotely if you know the exact procedure, and even a late filing can be regularised before the penalties become final. This guide walks you through the two acts no foreign owner can delegate to memory: voting the accounts on time from abroad, and filing them at the <em>greffe<\/em> \u2014 the clerk&#8217;s office of the commercial court \u2014 before the sanctions escalate.<\/p>\n<h2>I. Approving Your French Company&#8217;s Annual Accounts on Time When You Live Abroad<\/h2>\n<p>Approval is the shareholders&#8217; vote that closes the financial year legally. In a French <em>SARL<\/em> (limited liability company with intuitu personae features) or <em>SAS<\/em> (the flexible simplified joint-stock company most foreign founders choose), no dividend can be paid, no loss carried forward safely and no filing made until that vote has happened. French courts treat the vote as binding on every shareholder from the day it is adopted. After recalling the applicable texts, the commercial chamber of the Cour de cassation held on 12 February 2025: \u00ab Il r\u00e9sulte de la combinaison de ces textes que les d\u00e9lib\u00e9rations d&#8217;une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 commerciale s&#8217;imposent aux associ\u00e9s tant que la nullit\u00e9 n&#8217;en a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 prononc\u00e9e \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/67ac552f91acc6fabdb2cf1b\">Cass. com., 12 Feb. 2025, No. 23-11.410, published in the Bulletin<\/a>). Living abroad changes none of this \u2014 but it changes how you organise the vote.<\/p>\n<h3>A. How a Foreign Shareholder Validly Votes the Accounts From Abroad Within Six Months<\/h3>\n<p>The starting rule is identical for almost every company: the shareholders must vote within six months of the financial year-end. For a SARL, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000048535091\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000048535091\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 223-26 of the Commercial Code<\/a> states: \u00ab Le rapport de gestion, l&#8217;inventaire et les comptes annuels \u00e9tablis par les g\u00e9rants, sont soumis \u00e0 l&#8217;approbation des associ\u00e9s r\u00e9unis en assembl\u00e9e, dans le d\u00e9lai de six mois \u00e0 compter de la cl\u00f4ture de l&#8217;exercice sous r\u00e9serve de prolongation de ce d\u00e9lai par d\u00e9cision de justice. \u00bb For a company whose year ends on 31 December, that means a vote before 30 June. The same article adds a weapon your co-shareholders or even the public prosecutor can use against a passive manager: \u00ab Si l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e des associ\u00e9s n&#8217;a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 r\u00e9unie dans ce d\u00e9lai, le minist\u00e8re public ou toute personne int\u00e9ress\u00e9e peut saisir le pr\u00e9sident du tribunal comp\u00e9tent statuant en r\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9 afin d&#8217;enjoindre, le cas \u00e9ch\u00e9ant sous astreinte, aux g\u00e9rants de convoquer cette assembl\u00e9e ou de d\u00e9signer un mandataire pour y proc\u00e9der. \u00bb In plain English, anyone with an interest \u2014 a minority shareholder, a creditor, the prosecutor \u2014 can ask the court to order the meeting under penalty. A foreign majority owner who ignores the calendar can therefore be forced into a meeting organised by a court-appointed agent.<\/p>\n<p>In a SAS, the articles of association (<em>statuts<\/em>) decide which decisions the shareholders take collectively and how. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000051322706\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000051322706\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 227-9 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Les statuts d\u00e9terminent les d\u00e9cisions qui doivent \u00eatre prises collectivement par les associ\u00e9s dans les formes et conditions qu&#8217;ils pr\u00e9voient. \u00bb But approval of the annual accounts is one of the decisions the law reserves to the shareholders collectively no matter what the articles say. And where there is only one shareholder \u2014 the classic foreign founder with a SASU (single-member SAS) \u2014 the same article sets the procedure: \u00ab L&#8217;associ\u00e9 unique approuve les comptes, apr\u00e8s rapport du commissaire aux comptes s&#8217;il en existe un, dans le d\u00e9lai de six mois \u00e0 compter de la cl\u00f4ture de l&#8217;exercice. \u00bb In practice, that means a written sole-shareholder decision recorded in the company&#8217;s register (<em>registre des d\u00e9cisions<\/em>), signed and dated before 30 June. Where the sole shareholder is a natural person who is also the president, filing the signed inventory and accounts at the trade and companies register (<em>RCS<\/em>, the public company register kept by each commercial court) within the same six months counts as approval without a separate decision \u2014 a useful shortcut for a founder-president living abroad, but one that still requires the papers to reach the <em>greffe<\/em> on time.<\/p>\n<p>Distance is not an excuse, but the law gives you three practical tools. First, vote remotely. SARL articles can allow videoconference or written consultation for ordinary decisions, and SAS articles are entirely free to organise remote votes, electronic signatures and decisions by written consultation \u2014 check what your <em>statuts<\/em> allow and use it, keeping proof of dispatch and receipt for every shareholder. Second, give a proxy. A shareholder living in Singapore can appoint another shareholder, a lawyer in Paris or any person the articles accept to vote in their place at the annual meeting (<em>AGO<\/em>, the yearly ordinary general meeting). Third, ask the court for more time before the deadline expires. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006261101\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006261101\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article R. 225-64 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Le d\u00e9lai de six mois pr\u00e9vu pour la r\u00e9union de l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e g\u00e9n\u00e9rale ordinaire par l&#8217;article L. 225-100 peut \u00eatre prolong\u00e9, \u00e0 la demande du conseil d&#8217;administration ou du directoire, selon le cas, par ordonnance du pr\u00e9sident du tribunal de commerce, statuant sur requ\u00eate. \u00bb The Lyon Court of Appeal applied exactly this mechanism to a SAS on 7 May 2025: after three extensions granted to the single-member company Gifrer Barbezat, the court recalled that \u00ab En application de l&#8217;article L.227-9 alin\u00e9a 3 du code de commerce, les comptes annuels de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Gifrer Barbozat, qui ne comprend qu&#8217;un associ\u00e9 unique, doivent \u00eatre arr\u00eat\u00e9s par le pr\u00e9sident, l&#8217;associ\u00e9 unique approuvant les comptes apr\u00e8s rapport du commissaire aux comptes, s&#8217;il en existe un, dans le d\u00e9lai de six mois \u00e0 compter de la cl\u00f4ture de l&#8217;exercice \u00bb, accepted that a disorganised accounting department and a statutory auditor (<em>commissaire aux comptes<\/em>, the independent auditor who certifies the accounts) waiting on supplier negotiations were genuine obstacles, noted the auditor had finally certified that the accounts \u00ab sont, au regard des r\u00e8gles et principes comptables fran\u00e7ais r\u00e9guliers et sinc\u00e8res et donnent une image fid\u00e8le du r\u00e9sultat des op\u00e9rations de l&#8217;exercice \u00e9coul\u00e9 ainsi que de la situation financi\u00e8re et du patrimoine de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 la fin de cet exercice \u00bb, and ruled: \u00ab Il convient d\u00e8s lors de proroger le d\u00e9lai d&#8217;approbation des comptes au 4 avril 2025 \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/681c3f8dcb2b34d34a8957d8\">CA Lyon, 3rd chamber A, 7 May 2025, No. 25\/01024<\/a>). The lesson for a foreign owner is direct: file the extension request (<em>requ\u00eate<\/em>) with the president of the commercial court before the six months run out, explain the concrete blockage \u2014 missing auditor report, accounting team rebuilt from abroad, documents stuck between two countries \u2014 and keep every receipt. Courts grant extensions for documented difficulties; they punish silence.<\/p>\n<p>One warning from that same Lyon case: extensions are exceptional and the request must reach the court in time. The first judge had rejected the company&#8217;s fourth request, and only the appeal saved the approval. Do not let 30 June pass hoping nobody will notice. If your financial year ended on 31 December and your auditor&#8217;s report is not ready by May, instruct counsel to file the <em>requ\u00eate<\/em> immediately \u2014 it is a short, low-cost procedure, and it freezes the clock while the court decides.<\/p>\n<h3>B. Late, Refused or Blocked Approval: Dividends on Hold and the Court&#8217;s Fixes<\/h3>\n<p>When the vote does not happen on time, three consequences hit at once, and each of them matters more to a foreign owner counting on the French subsidiary&#8217;s cash. First, no lawful dividend without approved accounts. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006229031\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006229031\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 232-12 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Apr\u00e8s approbation des comptes annuels et constatation de l&#8217;existence de sommes distribuables, l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e g\u00e9n\u00e9rale d\u00e9termine la part attribu\u00e9e aux associ\u00e9s sous forme de dividendes. \u00bb Any payment made in breach of these rules is caught by the final sentence of the same article: \u00ab Tout dividende distribu\u00e9 en violation des r\u00e8gles ci-dessus \u00e9nonc\u00e9es est un dividende fictif. \u00bb Fictitious dividends must be repaid, and the managers who arranged them face civil and criminal liability. The only lawful early payment is the interim dividend (<em>acompte sur dividendes<\/em>): where a balance sheet drawn up during the year and certified by the statutory auditor shows a profit after depreciation, provisions, prior losses and legal reserves, interim payments can be distributed before the annual approval, capped at that certified profit. For a foreign parent waiting for cash upstream, the realistic planning is therefore binary \u2014 either push the approval through on time, or have the auditor certify an interim balance sheet and document the <em>acompte<\/em> properly.<\/p>\n<p>Second, profits cannot simply wait in limbo. The Cour de cassation held on 12 February 2025 that the combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006229026\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006229026\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Articles L. 232-11, paragraph 1<\/a> and L. 232-12, paragraph 1 is mandatory: \u00ab Il r\u00e9sulte de la combinaison de ces textes, lesquels sont imp\u00e9ratifs, que le report b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaire d&#8217;un exercice est inclus dans le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice distribuable de l&#8217;exercice suivant et que, par voie de cons\u00e9quence, seule l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e approuvant les comptes de cet exercice pourra d\u00e9cider son affectation et, le cas \u00e9ch\u00e9ant, sa distribution \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/67ac552f91acc6fabdb2cf1b\">Cass. com., 12 Feb. 2025, No. 23-11.410<\/a>). In practice: retained earnings (<em>report b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaire<\/em>) roll into next year&#8217;s distributable profit as defined by Article L. 232-11 \u2014 \u00ab Le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice distribuable est constitu\u00e9 par le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice de l&#8217;exercice, diminu\u00e9 des pertes ant\u00e9rieures, ainsi que des sommes \u00e0 porter en r\u00e9serve en application de la loi ou des statuts, et augment\u00e9 du report b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaire \u00bb \u2014 but only the meeting that approves next year&#8217;s accounts can allocate them. Skipping a year does not destroy the profit; it locks it until a valid vote releases it. That is cold comfort if you needed the dividend this quarter, and it is why diary control from abroad matters.<\/p>\n<p>Third, a refusal to approve is itself a legal event with a paper trail. Where the meeting refuses the accounts, the company must still file a copy of that refusal with the <em>greffe<\/em> within the same deadline \u2014 hiding a failed vote is worse than recording it. A minority shareholder who believes the majority refused the accounts abusively, or approved false ones, can challenge the resolution in court, but remember the starting point set by the Cour de cassation: resolutions bind everyone until a judge annuls them. For a foreign owner in conflict with a French partner, the practical sequence is therefore: attend or be represented at the meeting, have your objections recorded in the minutes (<em>proc\u00e8s-verbal<\/em>), vote against, file the refusal-derived papers, then sue for annulment if the grounds exist \u2014 never simply boycott the meeting and assume the vote did not happen.<\/p>\n<p>Where losses have eaten more than half of the share capital, the approval meeting carries an extra duty that foreign owners often discover too late: within four months of approving such loss-making accounts, the shareholders must vote whether to dissolve the company early or continue it and recapitalise. Our companion guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/20\/foreign-owner-france-equity-half-capital-recapitalise-dissolve-abroad\/\">recapitalising or dissolving when equity falls below half the capital<\/a> details that four-month vote and how to fix the Kbis from abroad. Read it together with this guide: the annual approval is the moment the alarm bell rings, and the four-month procedure is what follows.<\/p>\n<h2>II. Filing the Approved Accounts at the Greffe and Stopping the Penalties From Abroad<\/h2>\n<p>Approval is a private vote; filing (<em>d\u00e9p\u00f4t des comptes<\/em>) is the public act that makes the accounts enforceable against third parties and closes the year&#8217;s compliance. The filing goes to the <em>greffe<\/em> \u2014 the registry office of the commercial court (now the tribunal for economic activities) where the company&#8217;s RCS file lives \u2014 increasingly through the INPI single portal (<em>Guichet unique<\/em>, the national online one-stop shop for company formalities). The deadline runs from the approval, not from year-end: one month after the vote on paper, two months for an electronic filing. For a 31 December year-end approved on 20 June, the paper deadline is 20 July and the online deadline 20 August. Everything in this section can be done from abroad through a French accountant (<em>expert-comptable<\/em>), auditor or lawyer with a filing mandate \u2014 but the liability for missing it stays with the legal representative.<\/p>\n<h3>A. The One-Month Filing With the Court Clerk: What to File, Where and With What Confidentiality<\/h3>\n<p>The filing duty covers every SARL and every company limited by shares. For SARLs, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000048535223\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000048535223\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 232-22 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Toute soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e est tenue de d\u00e9poser au greffe du tribunal, pour \u00eatre annex\u00e9s au registre du commerce et des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s, dans le mois suivant l&#8217;approbation des comptes annuels par l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e ordinaire des associ\u00e9s ou par l&#8217;associ\u00e9 unique ou dans les deux mois suivant cette approbation lorsque ce d\u00e9p\u00f4t est effectu\u00e9 par voie \u00e9lectronique \u00bb. The Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal recalled the mirror rule for companies limited by shares on 21 May 2026: \u00ab En application de l&#8217;article L.232-23 du code de commerce, toute soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions est tenue de d\u00e9poser au greffe du tribunal, pour \u00eatre annex\u00e9s au registre du commerce et des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s, dans le mois suivant l&#8217;approbation des comptes annuels par l&#8217;assembl\u00e9e g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des actionnaires ou dans les deux mois suivant cette approbation lorsque ce d\u00e9p\u00f4t est effectu\u00e9 par voie \u00e9lectronique, ses comptes annuels \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/6a0ff9ffcdc6046d478a5481\">CA Aix-en-Provence, chamber 3-2, 21 May 2026, No. 25\/04414<\/a>). The full text of that duty is at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000051559583\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000051559583\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 232-23 of the Commercial Code<\/a>. The package to file is standard: the annual accounts (balance sheet, profit-and-loss account, notes), the management report where one is required, the auditor&#8217;s report where one exists, the proposed and voted allocation of the result (<em>affectation du r\u00e9sultat<\/em>). Small companies can ask for the profit-and-loss account to stay confidential and micro-companies for the accounts not to be made public at all \u2014 the <em>d\u00e9claration de confidentialit\u00e9<\/em> filed with the accounts \u2014 which foreign owners of discreet holding structures use routinely. Filing is electronic through the INPI portal with strong authentication; your French adviser files under mandate and the <em>r\u00e9c\u00e9piss\u00e9 de d\u00e9p\u00f4t<\/em> (filing receipt issued by the registry) is your proof.<\/p>\n<p>Two traps catch foreign owners here. The first is believing the accountant takes care of it without checking the receipt. French accountants prepare the accounts; unless your engagement letter expressly includes the RCS filing, nobody files. Ask for the <em>r\u00e9c\u00e9piss\u00e9<\/em> every year and diary the two-month electronic deadline yourself. The second trap is the year nothing happened. A dormant subsidiary with no turnover must still approve and file \u2014 or formally record the refusal \u2014 every single year. Courts see a lack of activity as no excuse at all, as the Aix case below shows: the manager filed eventually, paid anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Keep this filing distinct from the other yearly duties of your French company \u2014 VAT returns, payroll slips, corporate tax instalments and the local business tax. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/20\/foreign-company-france-first-year-legal-calendar-accounts-vat-payroll-cfe-abroad\/\">first-year legal calendar guide<\/a> maps all of them month by month so the accounts vote never collides with a forgotten VAT deadline. The accounts filing is the only one punished by a judge&#8217;s daily fine; the others are punished by the tax office. Both hurt.<\/p>\n<h3>B. Injunction, Daily Fine, Criminal Penalty and Management Ban: the Escalation Ladder and How to Climb Down<\/h3>\n<p>When the filing deadline passes, the response is graduated \u2014 and each rung has been tested in court. Rung one is the registry&#8217;s reminder letter. It is not a judgment, but it opens active monitoring of your file, and ignoring it leads to rung two. Rung two is the court injunction with a daily penalty (<em>astreinte<\/em>, a fine that grows each day until you comply). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000044052535\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000044052535\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 611-2, II of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Lorsque les dirigeants d&#8217;une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 commerciale ne proc\u00e8dent pas au d\u00e9p\u00f4t des comptes annuels dans les d\u00e9lais pr\u00e9vus par les textes applicables, le pr\u00e9sident du tribunal peut \u00bb \u2014 the Aix court completing the sentence from the same article \u2014 \u00ab leur adresser une injonction de le faire \u00e0 bref d\u00e9lai sous astreinte. \u00bb The procedure is fast and one-sided at first: \u00ab Pour l&#8217;application du II de l&#8217;article L. 611-2 , le pr\u00e9sident du tribunal rend une ordonnance faisant injonction au repr\u00e9sentant l\u00e9gal de la personne morale de d\u00e9poser les comptes annuels ou \u00e0 l&#8217;entrepreneur individuel \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e de d\u00e9poser les documents mentionn\u00e9s au premier alin\u00e9a de l&#8217;article L. 526-14 dans un d\u00e9lai d&#8217;un mois \u00e0 compter de la notification ou de la signification de l&#8217;ordonnance, sous peine d&#8217;astreinte \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000029175091\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000029175091\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article R. 611-13 of the Commercial Code<\/a>). The order sets the daily rate \u2014 commonly 50 to 100 euros a day \u2014 and summons the manager to a hearing. In the Aix case of 21 May 2026, the president of the Manosque commercial court had ordered a manager to file the 2023 accounts \u00ab dans le d\u00e9lai d&#8217;un mois \u00e0 compter de la r\u00e9ception de la notification par lettre recommand\u00e9e avec demande d&#8217;avis de r\u00e9ception, sous astreinte de 100 euros par jour de retard \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/6a0ff9ffcdc6046d478a5481\">CA Aix-en-Provence, chamber 3-2, 21 May 2026, No. 25\/04414<\/a>), then, faced with continued silence, \u00ab liquid\u00e9 l&#8217;astreinte \u00e0 hauteur de la somme de 5 200 euros (p\u00e9riode du 21 janvier 2025 au 13 mars 2025) \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/6a0ff9ffcdc6046d478a5481\">ibid.<\/a>). The manager argued good faith, ignorance of the hearing date and a filing finally made on 5 March 2025 with registry receipt of 20 March 2025 \u2014 and still paid. The court stressed that the final amount reflects the manager&#8217;s behaviour and the difficulties encountered: good behaviour reduces the bill; it never cancels the principle.<\/p>\n<p>Rung three is the personal sting the Cour de cassation confirmed on 7 May 2019: the daily fine lands on the manager personally, not on the company. \u00ab Attendu qu&#8217;il r\u00e9sulte des articles L. 611-2, II, R. 611-13, R. 611-14 et R. 611-16 du code de commerce que lorsque le pr\u00e9sident d&#8217;un tribunal de commerce, ayant enjoint sous astreinte au repr\u00e9sentant l\u00e9gal d&#8217;une personne morale de d\u00e9poser les comptes annuels, constate le d\u00e9faut d&#8217;ex\u00e9cution et liquide l&#8217;astreinte, le repr\u00e9sentant l\u00e9gal est condamn\u00e9 \u00e0 titre personnel \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/5fca7091c468a05c4aab5ec7\">Cass. com., 7 May 2019, No. 17-21.047, published in the Bulletin<\/a>). Note the liquidation rule in the same line of cases: \u00ab En cas d&#8217;inex\u00e9cution de l&#8217;injonction de faire qu&#8217;il a d\u00e9livr\u00e9e, le pr\u00e9sident du tribunal statue sur la liquidation de l&#8217;astreinte \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000035371479\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000035371479\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article R. 611-16 of the Commercial Code<\/a>), and \u00ab Le montant de la condamnation prononc\u00e9e est vers\u00e9 au Tr\u00e9sor public et recouvr\u00e9 comme en mati\u00e8re de cr\u00e9ances \u00e9trang\u00e8res \u00e0 l&#8217;imp\u00f4t \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000035371479\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000035371479\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ibid.<\/a>) \u2014 it goes to the Treasury, not to a creditor, so settling privately with a creditor never stops it. For a foreign president or manager (<em>g\u00e9rant<\/em> of a SARL, <em>pr\u00e9sident<\/em> of a SAS) living outside France, this means a French court order can create a personal, enforceable debt against you even though the company is the one that failed to file. If you resigned, keep the proof: in a Versailles ruling of 7 July 2026 the court discharged a former manager for the years after his departure \u2014 \u00ab Il ne peut donc \u00eatre fait grief \u00e0 M. [H] de ne pas avoir d\u00e9pos\u00e9 les comptes de l&#8217;exercice 2019 et 2020, d\u00e8s lors que ces d\u00e9p\u00f4ts incombaient au nouveau g\u00e9rant, M. [O] \u00bb \u2014 but confirmed a one-year management ban against him for the earlier years he had neglected: \u00ab C&#8217;est par une juste appr\u00e9ciation de la gravit\u00e9 de la faute que le tribunal a prononc\u00e9 une mesure d&#8217;interdiction de g\u00e9rer d&#8217;un an \u00e0 l&#8217;encontre de M. [H] \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/6a4e0b6593c619cd1f875e94\">CA Versailles, commercial chamber 3-2, 7 July 2026, No. 25\/04705<\/a>). The published resignation at the RCS is what draws the line between your years and your successor&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>Rung four is criminal. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006265627\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006265627\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article R. 247-3 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides: \u00ab Le fait de ne pas satisfaire aux obligations de d\u00e9p\u00f4t pr\u00e9vues aux articles L. 232-21 \u00e0 L. 232-23 est puni de l&#8217;amende pr\u00e9vue par le 5e de l&#8217;article 131-13 du code p\u00e9nal pour les contraventions de la cinqui\u00e8me classe. En cas de r\u00e9cidive, la peine applicable est celle pr\u00e9vue par le 5e de l&#8217;article 131-13 du code p\u00e9nal pour les contraventions de la cinqui\u00e8me classe commises en r\u00e9cidive. \u00bb That is a 1,500-euro fifth-class fine, doubled on repeat offending \u2014 modest on paper, but a criminal conviction of the manager that shows up whenever a bank, a public tender or a future directorship requires a clean record.<\/p>\n<p>Rung five is the professional death penalty for a company officer: personal bankruptcy (<em>faillite personnelle<\/em>) or a management ban (<em>interdiction de g\u00e9rer<\/em>) when the company later collapses and the missing accounts look like concealment. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000028724310\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000028724310\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 653-5, 6\u00b0 of the Commercial Code<\/a> targets managers who \u00ab ne pas avoir tenu de comptabilit\u00e9 lorsque les textes applicables en font obligation, ou avoir tenu une comptabilit\u00e9 fictive, manifestement incompl\u00e8te ou irr\u00e9guli\u00e8re au regard des dispositions applicables \u00bb, and Article L. 653-8 allows the court to order instead \u00ab l&#8217;interdiction de diriger, g\u00e9rer, administrer ou contr\u00f4ler, directement ou indirectement, soit toute entreprise commerciale ou artisanale, toute exploitation agricole et toute personne morale, soit une ou plusieurs de celles-ci \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000031013446\" class=\"kohen-legifrance-popup-link\" data-kohen-legifrance-url=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000031013446\" data-kohen-legifrance-title=\"Texte officiel Legifrance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article L. 653-8 of the Commercial Code<\/a>). The Versailles case above is the live illustration: years of accounts prepared but never approved or filed, followed by liquidation, ended with a one-year ban for the ex-manager. Foreign owners sometimes assume a French ban does not touch them; in practice it is published, banks consult it, and it destroys the credibility of any new French venture.<\/p>\n<p>How to climb down, concretely, from abroad. If you received only the registry reminder: file immediately through the INPI portal under your adviser&#8217;s mandate and keep the receipt \u2014 late filing after a reminder usually stops the escalation. If you received the injunction order: calendar the one-month court deadline, file within it, then appear (through counsel \u2014 personal appearance is not required) at the hearing with the filing receipt and documented explanations; the judge then liquidates the <em>astreinte<\/em> taking your behaviour into account, and prompt compliance is the strongest reducer. The method is fixed by law: \u00ab Le montant de l&#8217;astreinte provisoire est liquid\u00e9 en tenant compte du comportement de celui \u00e0 qui l&#8217;injonction a \u00e9t\u00e9 adress\u00e9e et des difficult\u00e9s qu&#8217;il a rencontr\u00e9es pour l&#8217;ex\u00e9cuter \u00bb (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courdecassation.fr\/decision\/6a0ff9ffcdc6046d478a5481\">CA Aix-en-Provence, chamber 3-2, 21 May 2026, No. 25\/04414<\/a>). If the <em>astreinte<\/em> has already been liquidated against you: pay, file, and appeal only on solid grounds such as wrong recipient (you had resigned and published it) or miscalculated period \u2014 re-arguing good faith alone failed in Aix. If the company is already in insolvency proceedings: disclose the full accounting history to the insolvency practitioner immediately, because reconstructed books handed over late look like concealment, while books delivered spontaneously look like negligence \u2014 and judges punish the two very differently. At every rung, the foreign owner&#8217;s reflex should be the same: mandate, file, keep receipts, answer the court. Distance explains; only paper excuses.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The annual accounts cycle of a French company is a two-act obligation \u2014 a shareholder vote within six months, then a public filing within one month of that vote \u2014 and both acts survive distance. A foreign owner who organises remote votes in compliant articles, diaries 30 June and the filing deadline, demands the registry receipt every year and files a court extension at the first sign of delay will never meet the injunction judge. One who lets the deadlines slide meets, in order, the reminder, the daily fine that strikes personally, the criminal penalty and, if the company fails, the management ban. The courts reward documented effort and punish silence: the Lyon extension, granted after genuine accounting chaos, and the Aix fine, maintained despite eventual filing, are the two faces of the same rule. Approve on time, file on time, keep every receipt \u2014 from anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<h2>Need a quick opinion on your case<\/h2>\n<p>Our firm offers a telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer of the firm for foreign owners of French companies facing an accounts deadline, a registry reminder or a court injunction. Call <a href=\"tel:+33646605822\">+33 6 46 60 58 22<\/a> or contact us via our <a href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/formulaire-de-contact\/\">contact page<\/a>. We assist clients in Paris and across \u00cele-de-France, entirely in English, and act before the commercial courts to request extensions, defend against daily fines and regularise late filings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign owner of a French SARL or SAS? Approve the annual accounts within six months, file them at the greffe within one month, and fix a late filing before the daily fine, criminal penalty or management ban hits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251031309,"featured_media":16350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kj_source_type":"","_kj_official_id":"","_kj_official_url":"","_kj_judilibre_id":"","_kj_jur":"","_kj_lieu":"","_kj_chambre":"","_kj_rg":"","_kj_date":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":""},"categories":[80314,80313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2126638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decryptage","category-doing-business-in-france"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing - Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Foreign owner of a French SARL or SAS? Approve the annual accounts within six months, file them at the greffe within one month, and fix a late filing before the daily fine, criminal penalty or management ban hits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kohen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"21 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kohen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd\"},\"headline\":\"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":4225,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"D\u00e9cryptage\",\"Doing Business in France\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"citation\":\"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing\",\"about\":[{\"@type\":\"Thing\",\"name\":\"D\u00e9cryptage\"},{\"@type\":\"Thing\",\"name\":\"Doing Business in France\"}],\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00\",\"speakable\":{\"@type\":\"SpeakableSpecification\",\"cssSelector\":[\".article-content > p:first-of-type\"]}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/\",\"name\":\"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing - Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp\",\"width\":3456,\"height\":5184},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/21\\\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kohen Avocats\",\"description\":\"Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, attorney specialized in real estate and business law in Paris, advises and assists companies and individuals in their real estate, commercial and contractual transactions. He also handles real estate litigation and the resolution of complex commercial disputes.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kohen Avocats\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/Logo-2-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/Logo-2-1.webp\",\"width\":2114,\"height\":1253,\"caption\":\"Kohen Avocats\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd\",\"name\":\"Kohen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kohen\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/author\\\/kohenmlk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing - Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing","og_description":"Foreign owner of a French SARL or SAS? Approve the annual accounts within six months, file them at the greffe within one month, and fix a late filing before the daily fine, criminal penalty or management ban hits.","og_url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/","og_site_name":"Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris","article_published_time":"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00","author":"Kohen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kohen","Est. reading time":"21 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/"},"author":{"name":"Kohen","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd"},"headline":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing","datePublished":"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/"},"wordCount":4225,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp","articleSection":["D\u00e9cryptage","Doing Business in France"],"inLanguage":"en-US","citation":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing","about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"D\u00e9cryptage"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Doing Business in France"}],"dateModified":"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".article-content > p:first-of-type"]}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/","name":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing - Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-21T08:59:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/andrew-petrischev-rEgt1jzRHeU-unsplash.webp","width":3456,"height":5184},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/foreign-company-france-approve-annual-accounts-ago-greffe-penalties-abroad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your French Company Must Approve Its Annual Accounts While You Live Abroad: the 6-Month Vote, the Greffe Filing and How to Fix a Late Filing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/","name":"Kohen Avocats","description":"Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, attorney specialized in real estate and business law in Paris, advises and assists companies and individuals in their real estate, commercial and contractual transactions. He also handles real estate litigation and the resolution of complex commercial disputes.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#organization","name":"Kohen Avocats","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Logo-2-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Logo-2-1.webp","width":2114,"height":1253,"caption":"Kohen Avocats"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd","name":"Kohen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c5e76ef76bbbfdd2b4da984e2bf2fa4056fd51a27d25ce2c332047f1dfd6e00?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Kohen"},"url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/author\/kohenmlk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2126638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251031309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2126638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2126638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2126638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2126638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2126638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}