Judgment of the Paris Administrative Court regarding tax audits
The Paris Administrative Court has ruled that delegations of authority for tax audits are unlawful when granted to DNEF officials who are neither the director nor the deputy director.
Indeed, in an order dated July 3, 2024 (No. 22/20409), the delegate of the First President of the Paris Court of Appeal had ruled that the delegations of authority granted to individuals within the DNEF other than its director or deputy director were irregular. Since the tax searches were conducted in part by agents who had been authorized to carry out these searches by individuals who did not hold the rank of director, the procedure was invalid.
The representative of the Chief Judge of the Versailles Court of Appeal took a more cautious approach and, in an order dated March 26, 2024, invited the parties to seek a ruling from the administrative court on the legality of these delegations of authority.
In a ruling dated October 10, 2024 (No. 2412680), the Paris Administrative Court upheld the position adopted by the judicial court. The judicial judge and the administrative judge therefore share the same position at this stage.