A taxpayer owned two companies that were subject to a tax audit, following which he was notified of a significant tax assessment. This assessment was overturned by the Administrative Court of Appeals in a ruling dated November 17, 2014. That ruling was overturned by the Conseil d'Etat , and the Court subsequently upheld the taxpayer’s assessment in a ruling dated January 8, 2018.
Theadministration, which had granted a tax relief in 2015, then resumed collection of these taxes and attempted to seize assets held by third parties. The taxpayer contested these seizures, arguing in particular that he had undergone a personal rehabilitation procedure without judicial liquidation, which had resulted in the discharge of all his debts, including the tax debt in question.
The dispute was brought before the Administrative Court of Appeals, which noted that the taxpayer had filed a petition with the debt relief commission on November 21, 2014. The commission had recommended that a personal rehabilitation order be issued. The Judicial Court subsequently upheld this recommendation and made it enforceable in 2015.
The Court will note that the event giving rise to the tax debt was indeed covered by the debt relief proceedings, since the judgment of the Administrative Court of Appeals was not final at the time the matter was referred to the commission.
Thus, she believes that this debt was included in the pool of debts covered by these proceedings.
The Court finds that the failure to report this debt to the commission and the date of the decision by the “ Conseil d'Etat ” are irrelevant. It notes that the “administration ” could have challenged the opinion of the debt counseling commission, as was its right, but did not file a third-party appeal against the court order that rendered the opinion enforceable.
She therefore believes that the tax debt no longer exists and that theadministration e had no right to seize assets held by third parties.
CAA Bordeaux, Oct. 7, 2026, No. 24BX01193
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