Deferral of payment and pledging of real estate investment company (SCI) shares: what’s the catch?

Some taxpayers were issued a tax assessment, which they contested. They then requested a stay of payment and, to secure the tax debt, offered to pledge shares in a real estate investment company (SCI).

The public accountant refused to provide this guarantee. They then challenged that refusal in court.

The Administrative Court of Appeal will then note that the SCI’s articles of incorporation permit the pledging of shares by the partners and that, in the event of such a pledge, there is therefore nothing to prevent the shares from being assigned to the Treasury.

She then noted that there was no reason to doubt that the value of the SCI’s shares was equivalent to that of the real estate it held. The proposed guarantee was therefore indeed sufficient to cover the tax debt.

The Court therefore finds that the guarantee should have been accepted by the public accountant.

CAA Paris, May 19, 2026, No. 26PA02534

This legal watch produced by Mispelon Avocat, a law firm specializing in French tax audit and French tax litigation. You can follow this legal watch subscribing to the newsletter via this link.