An optical company was subject to a tax audit, following which the taxadministration ation determined that it had improperly deducted diving equipment and a trip to Egypt—both of which had been invoiced by a diving school—from its taxable income.
It therefore issued a tax assessment, which the company challenged in court.
The company believed it was entitled to deduct these expenses because they had been incurred in its own interest once it had launched a business aimed at offering diving masks tailored to its customers’ vision, and because the trip to Egypt was a training program intended to recruit staff.
The Administrative Court of Appeals, to which the dispute was referred, ruled that the company failed to provide evidence that the purchase of the equipment was made in its own interest by submitting“invoices for the purchase of masks from specialized suppliers—some of which mention corrective lenses—exchanges of messages with those suppliers, and a document intended for its customers dated 2023.”
Regarding the trip to Egypt, she notes that the company now claims the expense was actually related to diving training, but that the company has not provided any supporting documentation to that effect.
The tax assessment is therefore confirmed.
CAA Marseille, Oct. 15, 2026, No. 25MA00020
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