{"id":2139283,"date":"2026-10-05T15:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T15:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:56:07","slug":"foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

You live in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore, and your French company \u2014 the SAS (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions simplifi\u00e9e, the flexible French corporation) or SARL (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e, the French limited liability company) you set up to do business in France \u2014 has just received a letter from the DGFiP (direction g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des finances publiques, the French tax administration). The envelope mentions a v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9<\/em> (on-site tax audit) or an examen de comptabilit\u00e9<\/em> (remote, desk-based audit from your accounting files). Your accountant forwards the letter with a worried note, the French tax inspector wants your FEC file (fichier des \u00e9critures comptables, the standardised file of all accounting entries) within days, and you wonder whether you must fly to Paris, whether the inspector can simply rewrite your turnover, and how on earth you challenge a French reassessment \u2014 known as a redressement fiscal<\/em> \u2014 from another country.<\/p>\n

French tax audits look intimidating, but they are among the most procedure-driven controls in French law. Almost every step is locked into statutory deadlines and formal guarantees, and a breach of those guarantees can annul the whole reassessment. That is good news for a foreign director: you do not need to be physically present in France to defend your company, but you do need to react fast, through the right representative, and in the right order. This guide walks you through the two audit procedures, your defensive rights during the control, the penalty scale, and the full challenge path \u2014 administrative claim (r\u00e9clamation<\/em>), tax commission, administrative court \u2014 including the specific Paris and \u00cele-de-France track that applies when your company is registered with the Paris commercial court registry (greffe du tribunal de commerce<\/a> de Paris<\/em>). If you are still hesitating about the right vehicle for your French operations, our overview of choosing between a SAS, a SARL, a branch and a subsidiary in France<\/a> explains the structures whose tax treatment the auditor will be testing.<\/p>\n

I. The DGFiP Wants to Audit My French Company: Which Procedure Applies and What Must I Do First?<\/h2>\n

A. On-Site V\u00e9rification de Comptabilit\u00e9 or Remote Examen de Comptabilit\u00e9: The Notice, the FEC File and the Clock<\/h3>\n

The first thing to understand is that the French administration cannot start digging through your accounts without warning. The rule is stated in Article L.47 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales (the French tax procedure code)<\/a>: “Un examen contradictoire de la situation fiscale personnelle d’une personne physique au regard de l’imp\u00f4t sur le revenu, une v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9 ou un examen de comptabilit\u00e9 ne peut \u00eatre engag\u00e9 sans que le contribuable en ait \u00e9t\u00e9 inform\u00e9 par l’envoi ou la remise d’un avis de v\u00e9rification ou par l’envoi d’un avis d’examen de comptabilit\u00e9.” In plain English, no contradictory audit \u2014 whether of an individual or of a company \u2014 may begin unless the taxpayer has first been informed by an audit notice. That notice must state which years are covered and, crucially, “Cet avis doit pr\u00e9ciser les ann\u00e9es soumises \u00e0 v\u00e9rification et mentionner express\u00e9ment, sous peine de nullit\u00e9 de la proc\u00e9dure, que le contribuable a la facult\u00e9 de se faire assister par un conseil de son choix.” If the notice forgets to tell you that you may be assisted by a professional adviser of your choice, the entire procedure is void. From abroad, your first reflex should therefore be to have the notice itself checked by French counsel: the wrong years, a missing assistance notice, or service on the wrong person can kill the audit before it starts.<\/p>\n

The v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9<\/em> is the classic on-site audit. The inspector comes to the company’s premises \u2014 or, if the director expressly asks, to the offices of the company’s accountant (expert-comptable<\/em>) where the accounting documents are kept \u2014 and examines books and supporting documents there. For small and mid-sized businesses, the on-site phase is strictly time-capped. Article L.52 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> provides: “Sous peine de nullit\u00e9 de l’imposition, la v\u00e9rification sur place des livres ou documents comptables ne peut s’\u00e9tendre sur une dur\u00e9e sup\u00e9rieure \u00e0 trois mois en ce qui concerne : 1\u00b0 Les entreprises industrielles et commerciales ou les contribuables se livrant \u00e0 une activit\u00e9 non commerciale dont le chiffre d’affaires ou le montant annuel des recettes brutes n’exc\u00e8de pas les seuils pr\u00e9vus aux 1\u00b0 et 2\u00b0 de l’article L. 162-4 du code des impositions sur les biens et services”. If your French subsidiary stays under the statutory turnover thresholds, the inspector has three months on site, not a day more, failing which the resulting assessment is void. That deadline is one of the most frequently litigated points in SME audits, and foreign-owned French companies benefit from it exactly like domestic ones.<\/p>\n

The examen de comptabilit\u00e9<\/em>, by contrast, is a remote audit run entirely from the tax office. The DGFiP sends an avis d’examen de comptabilit\u00e9<\/em>, and you then have fifteen days to transmit your FEC files electronically in the normalised format. The obligation to hand over the electronic accounting file is set by Article L.47 A of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a>: “Lorsque la comptabilit\u00e9 est tenue au moyen de syst\u00e8mes informatis\u00e9s, le contribuable qui fait l’objet d’une v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9 satisfait \u00e0 l’obligation de repr\u00e9sentation des documents comptables mentionn\u00e9s au premier alin\u00e9a de l’article 54 du code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts en remettant au d\u00e9but des op\u00e9rations de contr\u00f4le, sous forme d\u00e9mat\u00e9rialis\u00e9e r\u00e9pondant \u00e0 des normes fix\u00e9es par arr\u00eat\u00e9 du ministre charg\u00e9 du budget, une copie des fichiers des \u00e9critures comptables d\u00e9finies aux articles 420-1 et suivants du plan comptable g\u00e9n\u00e9ral.” In practice, as the Ministry of the Economy explains on its official business portal, the administration then has six months to analyse your accounting records, checking their consistency against your tax returns, and the procedure ends either with a proposition de rectification<\/em> (formal notice of reassessment) if discrepancies are found, or with an avis d’absence de rehaussement<\/em> (clearance notice) if nothing is flagged. The same official guidance warns that failure to produce the FEC file, or a non-compliant file, exposes the company to a fine of 5,000 EUR or, where a reassessment follows and the amount is higher, a surcharge of 10% of the additional tax \u2014 and that the administration may then escalate to a full on-site verification. For a foreign director, the lesson is operational: generate a compliant FEC file at every year-end closing, test it with the DGFiP’s Test Compta Demat conformity tool, and keep it ready to transmit, because the fifteen-day clock leaves no room for improvisation across time zones.<\/p>\n

Both procedures share one decisive feature for groups headquartered abroad: the auditor does not only check arithmetic. The inspector tests whether your French presence is correctly characterised \u2014 subsidiary versus undeclared \u00e9tablissement stable<\/em> (permanent establishment), transfer prices with the foreign parent, VAT position of cross-border supplies \u2014 and reconstructs turnover where the accounts are judged unreliable. A striking illustration involved a Portuguese construction company operating in France. In its ruling of 7 October 2020, the Conseil d’\u00c9tat (the supreme administrative court) recorded that “dans le cadre d’une v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9 portant sur la p\u00e9riode du 1er janvier 2009 au 30 septembre 2012, l’administration fiscale a notamment consid\u00e9r\u00e9 que la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Garovito Constru\u00e7\u00f5es LDA, dont le si\u00e8ge se trouve au Portugal, disposait, en France, d’un \u00e9tablissement stable non d\u00e9clar\u00e9 et a proc\u00e9d\u00e9 \u00e0 une reconstitution du chiffre d’affaires r\u00e9alis\u00e9 en France au titre des exercices clos en 2009, 2010 et 2011” (Conseil d’\u00c9tat, 9th and 10th chambers sitting together, 7 October 2020, no. 427220<\/a>). A foreign company working on French building sites without declaring a taxable presence was reassessed to French corporate income tax (imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s<\/em>) and VAT on reconstructed turnover. The message for any foreign founder is direct: if your teams, equipment or decision-making have a stable footprint in France, the audit will find it, and the reassessment will cover both corporate tax and VAT.<\/p>\n

B. My Rights During the Audit From Abroad: Counsel, Adversarial Debate and Escalation<\/h3>\n

Being audited from another country does not reduce your procedural rights by a single line \u2014 but distance makes them harder to exercise, so you must organise them deliberately. The cornerstone guarantee is the d\u00e9bat oral et contradictoire<\/em>, the oral adversarial discussion with the auditor: the inspector must genuinely exchange with you about findings as the control progresses, typically from an opening meeting to a closing synthesis meeting (r\u00e9union de synth\u00e8se<\/em>), and not simply notify you of conclusions at the end. The official charter of the audited taxpayer’s rights (charte des droits et obligations du contribuable v\u00e9rifi\u00e9<\/em>), which the inspector must give you with the audit notice, lists this debate alongside assistance by counsel of your choice, the right to file written observations to which the administration must reply, the right to request an interview with the auditor’s line manager in case of disagreement, and access to the commission of direct taxes and turnover taxes in contradictory proceedings.<\/p>\n

Case law gives this guarantee real teeth, but also sets its limits. In a 2023 ruling concerning a Paris hair salon whose accounts had been rejected as non-probative, the Paris administrative court of appeal restated the governing principle, drawn from Article L.13 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a>: “c’est au contribuable qui all\u00e8gue que les op\u00e9rations de v\u00e9rification ont \u00e9t\u00e9 conduites sans qu’il ait eu la possibilit\u00e9 d’avoir un d\u00e9bat oral et contradictoire avec le v\u00e9rificateur de justifier que ce dernier se serait refus\u00e9 \u00e0 un tel d\u00e9bat” (CAA Paris, 5th chamber, 17 July 2023, nos. 22PA02928 and 22PA02929<\/a>). In other words, the taxpayer who claims to have been deprived of adversarial debate must prove that the auditor refused it. In that case, the court added that “la seule circonstance que Mme B… n’aurait rencontr\u00e9 la v\u00e9rificatrice qu’\u00e0 deux reprises ne serait pas \u00e0 elle seule susceptible d’\u00e9tablir qu’elle aurait \u00e9t\u00e9, ce faisant, priv\u00e9e de la garantie du d\u00e9bat oral et contradictoire attach\u00e9e \u00e0 la v\u00e9rification de comptabilit\u00e9” \u2014 two meetings, an opening session and a synthesis session documented in the reassessment notice, were enough where genuine exchanges had occurred. The practical consequence for a non-resident director is twofold. First, insist that every exchange with the inspector be documented: attend the opening and closing meetings yourself by video link or through a mandated French adviser, keep dated minutes, and confirm understandings in writing. Second, never refuse a meeting or ignore a request, because silence later reads as a waiver of the very guarantee you might need before the court.<\/p>\n

The Garovito case cited above carries a second lesson tailored to foreign groups: designate the right representative for the whole audit, not just for VAT. The Portuguese company argued that the audit notice of 29 October 2012 had been sent only to the person it had appointed as its tax representative (mandataire<\/em>) for VAT purposes, while the control also covered corporate income tax \u2014 and the Conseil d’\u00c9tat held that “En s’abstenant de r\u00e9pondre au moyen de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 tir\u00e9 du d\u00e9faut de qualit\u00e9 de son mandataire d\u00e9sign\u00e9 au regard de la seule taxe sur la valeur ajout\u00e9e, pour recevoir l’avis de v\u00e9rification en ce qui concerne la partie du contr\u00f4le portant sur l’imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s, moyen qui n’\u00e9tait pas inop\u00e9rant, la cour administrative d’appel de Nancy a entach\u00e9 son arr\u00eat d’une insuffisance de motivation.” (Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, 7 October 2020, no. 427220<\/a>, point 5) The Nancy court of appeal had failed to answer a serious argument \u2014 that a VAT-only agent lacked authority to receive an audit notice covering corporate tax \u2014 and the operative part of the judgment followed: “L’arr\u00eat du 20 novembre 2018 de la cour administrative d’appel de Nancy est annul\u00e9 en tant qu’il porte sur les cotisations suppl\u00e9mentaires d’imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s mises \u00e0 la charge de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Garovito Constru\u00e7\u00f5es LDA au titre des exercices clos de 2009 \u00e0 2011.” (Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, 7 October 2020, no. 427220<\/a>, operative part) The reassessment of corporate tax was sent back for retrial and the State ordered to pay 3,000 EUR in costs. If your French operations run through a fiscal representative, a local manager and a foreign parent, align their mandates before the audit starts: one coherent chain of representation, empowered for all taxes under review, receiving every notice and signing every set of minutes.<\/p>\n

Finally, use the escalation ladder while the audit is still open. If dialogue with the field inspector stalls, request the interview with the hierarchical superior (interlocuteur d\u00e9partemental<\/em> or higher) \u2014 it suspends nothing but often narrows the dispute \u2014 and prepare the file as if it will go to the commission and then to court: organised exhibits, reconciliations between accounts and returns, transfer-pricing documentation where a foreign parent is involved. Foreign directors sometimes treat the audit as an accounting errand delegated to the bookkeeper; French courts treat it as the first round of litigation. Staff it accordingly.<\/p>\n

II. The Reassessment Has Arrived: Penalties and How to Challenge It From Abroad<\/h2>\n

A. Answering the Proposition de Rectification Within 30 Days and Reading the Penalty Scale<\/h3>\n

The audit crystallises into a proposition de rectification<\/em>, the reasoned notice by which the administration tells you what it intends to reassess and why. Article L.57 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> requires that “L’administration adresse au contribuable une proposition de rectification qui doit \u00eatre motiv\u00e9e de mani\u00e8re \u00e0 lui permettre de formuler ses observations ou de faire conna\u00eetre son acceptation.” A vague or formulaic notice that does not let you understand and answer the adjustments is challengeable in itself, so read it with counsel line by line: each tax, each year, each legal basis, each figure.<\/p>\n

Your reply deadline is short and strict. Article L.11 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> sets the default rule: “A moins qu’un d\u00e9lai ne soit pr\u00e9vu par le pr\u00e9sent livre, le d\u00e9lai accord\u00e9 aux contribuables pour r\u00e9pondre aux demandes de renseignements, de justifications ou d’\u00e9claircissements et, d’une mani\u00e8re g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, \u00e0 toute notification \u00e9manant d’un agent de l’administration des imp\u00f4ts est fix\u00e9 \u00e0 trente jours \u00e0 compter de la r\u00e9ception de cette notification.” Thirty days from receipt to file observations \u2014 and the same Article L.57<\/a> adds that “Sur demande du contribuable re\u00e7ue par l’administration avant l’expiration du d\u00e9lai mentionn\u00e9 \u00e0 l’article L. 11 , ce d\u00e9lai est prorog\u00e9 de trente jours”, a one-time thirty-day extension available on simple request made before the first deadline expires. From abroad, calendar both dates the day the notice arrives, request the extension systematically to buy analysis time, and never let the deadline pass: an unanswered proposal hardens into an assessment that is far costlier to undo.<\/p>\n

Alongside the tax itself, three layers of financial consequences stack up. First, late-payment interest (int\u00e9r\u00eat de retard<\/em>). Article 1727 of the Code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts (the French tax code)<\/a> states: “Toute cr\u00e9ance de nature fiscale, dont l’\u00e9tablissement ou le recouvrement incombe aux administrations fiscales, qui n’a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 acquitt\u00e9e dans le d\u00e9lai l\u00e9gal donne lieu au versement d’un int\u00e9r\u00eat de retard.” Interest currently accrues at 0.20% per month on the additional tax, and it runs as a matter of law. Second, penalties for inaccurate returns. Article 1729 of the Code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts<\/a> provides that “Les inexactitudes ou les omissions relev\u00e9es dans une d\u00e9claration ou un acte comportant l’indication d’\u00e9l\u00e9ments \u00e0 retenir pour l’assiette ou la liquidation de l’imp\u00f4t ainsi que la restitution d’une cr\u00e9ance de nature fiscale dont le versement a \u00e9t\u00e9 ind\u00fbment obtenu de l’Etat entra\u00eenent l’application d’une majoration de : a. 40 % en cas de manquement d\u00e9lib\u00e9r\u00e9” \u2014 a 40% surcharge where the administration establishes a deliberate failure, rising to 80% in cases of abuse of law (abus de droit<\/em>). Because the 40% rate turns on intent, contesting the penalty is often as important as contesting the principal: force the administration to evidence deliberateness rather than mere error, especially where a foreign group applied a home-country reading of a French rule in good faith. Third, where the dispute persists after your observations, you may take it to the commission. Article L.59 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> provides: “Lorsque le d\u00e9saccord persiste sur les rectifications notifi\u00e9es, l’administration, si le contribuable le demande, soumet le litige \u00e0 l’avis soit de la commission des imp\u00f4ts directs et des taxes sur le chiffre d’affaires pr\u00e9vue \u00e0 l’article 1651 du code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts”, with sister commissions for larger cases and specific sectors. The commission procedure involves no filing fee, is adversarial, and shifts the burden of proof back to the administration in most configurations \u2014 a genuine second hearing before the file goes to court.<\/p>\n

B. Contesting After the Audit: Formal Claim, Time Limits and Courts, Including the Paris Track<\/h3>\n

Once the assessment is issued and put into collection (mise en recouvrement<\/em>), the route to court passes through a mandatory prior claim to the administration itself. Article L.190 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> opens the contentious jurisdiction: “Les r\u00e9clamations relatives aux imp\u00f4ts, contributions, droits, taxes, redevances, soultes et p\u00e9nalit\u00e9s de toute nature, \u00e9tablis ou recouvr\u00e9s par les agents de l’administration, rel\u00e8vent de la juridiction contentieuse lorsqu’elles tendent \u00e0 obtenir soit la r\u00e9paration d’erreurs commises dans l’assiette ou le calcul des impositions, soit le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice d’un droit r\u00e9sultant d’une disposition l\u00e9gislative ou r\u00e9glementaire.” And Article R*.190-1 of the same code<\/a> tells you where to send it: “Le contribuable qui d\u00e9sire contester tout ou partie d’un imp\u00f4t qui le concerne doit d’abord adresser une r\u00e9clamation au service territorial, selon le cas, de la direction g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des finances publiques ou de la direction g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des douanes et droits indirects dont d\u00e9pend le lieu de l’imposition.” For a Paris-registered company, that means the Paris tax office of the place of assessment \u2014 in practice the DDFiP de Paris (direction d\u00e9partementale des finances publiques) or the specialised foreign-company units where applicable \u2014 and the claim must identify the tax, the years, the amount contested and the grounds, with supporting exhibits attached.<\/p>\n

The claim deadline is one of the most unforgiving in French law. Article R*.196-1 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> requires that “Pour \u00eatre recevables, les r\u00e9clamations relatives aux imp\u00f4ts autres que les imp\u00f4ts directs locaux et les taxes annexes \u00e0 ces imp\u00f4ts, doivent \u00eatre pr\u00e9sent\u00e9es \u00e0 l’administration au plus tard le 31 d\u00e9cembre de la deuxi\u00e8me ann\u00e9e suivant celle, selon le cas : a) De la mise en recouvrement du r\u00f4le ou de la notification d’un avis de mise en recouvrement ; b) Du versement de l’imp\u00f4t contest\u00e9 lorsque cet imp\u00f4t n’a pas donn\u00e9 lieu \u00e0 l’\u00e9tablissement d’un r\u00f4le ou \u00e0 la notification d’un avis de mise en recouvrement”. Miss the 31 December of the second year and the claim is inadmissible, whatever its merits. If the administration rejects the claim expressly, or stays silent for six months (which counts as an implied rejection), you have two further months to seize the administrative court (tribunal administratif<\/em>) \u2014 for a Paris company, the tribunal administratif de Paris \u2014 with appeal to the cour administrative d’appel de Paris and, on points of law, to the Conseil d’\u00c9tat. Foreign residence extends none of these deadlines in your favour; it only makes postal delays more dangerous, so file electronically with proof of receipt and keep every acknowledgment.<\/p>\n

Two structural points complete the picture for groups run from abroad. First, watch the administration’s own time limit. Article L.169 of the Livre des proc\u00e9dures fiscales<\/a> sets the standard recovery period: “Pour l’imp\u00f4t sur le revenu et l’imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s, le droit de reprise de l’administration des imp\u00f4ts s’exerce jusqu’\u00e0 la fin de la troisi\u00e8me ann\u00e9e qui suit celle au titre de laquelle l’imposition est due.” Three years from the year the tax was due is the norm \u2014 extended to ten years in cases of undeclared activity, which is exactly the risk where a foreign group operated in France through an undeclared stable establishment of the kind the Conseil d’\u00c9tat examined in the Garovito ruling. Checking the recovery deadline year by year is therefore a mandatory first step before arguing substance: reassessed years outside the period fall away entirely.<\/p>\n

Second, anticipate the substance traps that specifically catch foreign-run companies. The Garovito precedent shows how an undeclared French operating presence converts a routine audit into a double reassessment \u2014 corporate tax plus VAT on reconstructed turnover \u2014 with a ten-year recovery window potentially in play. Transfer pricing with the foreign parent, management fees recharged from abroad, VAT on cross-border services, and the personal tax position of a non-resident director are the four files the auditor opens almost systematically once a foreign shareholding appears. Each has its own documentation duties and its own commission or expert procedure, and each benefits from being prepared during the audit rather than discovered at the claim stage. Companies based in Paris or elsewhere in \u00cele-de-France litigate these questions before the Paris administrative courts, whose case law \u2014 like the 2023 Paris ruling on adversarial debate discussed above \u2014 is particularly developed on audit procedure; the departmental tax commission of Paris (commission d\u00e9partementale des imp\u00f4ts directs et des taxes sur le chiffre d’affaires de Paris<\/em>) hears the commission stage, and the specialised divisions of the DDFiP de Paris handle collection and claims. A Paris address therefore means Paris judges, Paris timelines and Paris interlocutors \u2014 all manageable from abroad, provided a single French representative holds the file from the first notice to the last judgment.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

A French tax audit of a foreign-run company follows a rigid choreography: an audit notice that must name the years and your right to counsel, an on-site phase capped at three months for smaller businesses or a remote file review decided within six months, a reasoned reassessment proposal to answer within thirty days, penalties of 40% or more where intent is established, then a mandatory administrative claim by 31 December of the second year before any court will hear you. At each station, the procedure itself is your best defence \u2014 a defective notice, a missed adversarial debate, an expired recovery period or an incompetent recipient can annul assessments that looked unassailable on the figures, as the Conseil d’\u00c9tat demonstrated by setting aside the corporate-tax reassessment of a Portuguese company operating in France. Run from abroad, the file demands one discipline above all: centralise every notice, every deadline and every meeting record with a single empowered representative in France, answer everything in writing and on time, and build the court file from the first day of the audit. Handled that way, a tax audit is not a verdict \u2014 it is a procedure, and procedures can be won.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your French company received an audit notice while you live abroad. On-site verification or remote file review, 30-day reply, penalties, formal claim deadlines and court challenge, with verified legal sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251031309,"featured_media":16401,"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-2139283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decryptage","category-doing-business-in-france"],"yoast_head":"\nTax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment - 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\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Your French company received an audit notice while you live abroad. On-site verification or remote file review, 30-day reply, penalties, formal claim deadlines and court challenge, with verified legal sources.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-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=\"2026-10-05T13:56:07+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=\"19 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kohen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd\"},\"headline\":\"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3948,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"D\u00e9cryptage\",\"Doing Business in France\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"citation\":\"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment\",\"about\":[{\"@type\":\"Thing\",\"name\":\"D\u00e9cryptage\"},{\"@type\":\"Thing\",\"name\":\"Doing Business in France\"}],\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00\",\"speakable\":{\"@type\":\"SpeakableSpecification\",\"cssSelector\":[\".article-content > p:first-of-type\"]}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment - 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\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp\",\"width\":3507,\"height\":2480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/05\\\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kohenavocats.fr\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment\"}]},{\"@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":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment - 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\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment","og_description":"Your French company received an audit notice while you live abroad. On-site verification or remote file review, 30-day reply, penalties, formal claim deadlines and court challenge, with verified legal sources.","og_url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/","og_site_name":"Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen, Real Estate and Business Law Attorney in Paris","article_published_time":"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00","author":"Kohen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kohen","Est. reading time":"19 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/"},"author":{"name":"Kohen","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6254a643e6239d803134a01c800381bd"},"headline":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment","datePublished":"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/"},"wordCount":3948,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp","articleSection":["D\u00e9cryptage","Doing Business in France"],"inLanguage":"en-US","citation":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment","about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"D\u00e9cryptage"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Doing Business in France"}],"dateModified":"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".article-content > p:first-of-type"]}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/","name":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment - 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\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-10-05T13:56:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/and-machines-W9sXFAZVTMY-unsplash-scaled.webp","width":3507,"height":2480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/05\/foreign-company-france-tax-audit-avis-verification-challenge-abroad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tax Audit on Your French Company While You Live Abroad: On-Site Verification or Remote File Review, 30-Day Reply Rights, Penalties and How to Challenge the Reassessment"}]},{"@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\/2139283","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=2139283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2139283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2139283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2139283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}