Statute of limitations for bringing tax cases before a court clarified

In a decision issued on 21 October 2020, the French Administrative Supreme court (Conseil d’Etat) clarified the statute of limitations for bringing tax cases before a court. According to French law, taxpayers wishing to dispute a tax position must file a claim with the tax authorities before being allowed to present their case to a court of law. If the tax authorities reject the claim (explicit rejection decision) or fail to respond within six months (implied rejection decision), the taxpayer may bring the case before the administrative court of first instance or the civil court of first instance.

Generally, a taxpayer has two months to bring the case before the competent court if the claim is explicitly rejected by the tax authorities. In its ruling, the Administrative Supreme Court clarified when cases may be brought to a court in situations involving (i) irregular explicit rejection decisions and (ii) implicit rejection decisions.

Source Deloitte

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