This tax email is not a scam: it is a proper tax audit

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The recent decision of the administrative court of & The Paris appeal of June 28, 2024 marks a turning point in the practices of the French tax administration. This jurisprudence now authorizes the notification of tax adjustments electronically and opens the way to a modernization of tax procedures while raising questions about the guarantees offered to taxpayers.

Tax adjustment by email

The case in question, taken up by our colleagues at Capital, concerns a couple who benefited from undue tax reductions between 2013 and 2015. On October 20, 2016, they were informed of their tax adjustment by a simple email containing a link to the Escale platform where they were able to access the proposed rectification.

This unusual method of notification was contested by the couple who considered that such information should have been sent to them by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

However, the Melun administrative court, in its decision of October 21, 2022, ruled in favor of the tax authorities. The judges interpreted Article L. 57 of the Book of Tax Procedures broadly, considering that it does not impose a specific method of notification. According to them, the main thing is that the administration can prove that the taxpayer actually received the document.

The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed this position and added an important nuance: it specified that if the administration is not required to use exclusively the registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, it must nevertheless, in the event of using other means, prove notification by means of proof offering equivalent guarantees.

Justify the notification

In this case, the Escale platform played a crucial role in providing proof that the couple had downloaded the rectification proposal on 20 October 2016 at 8:52 p.m.: it was this digital traceability that was decisive in establishing the validity of the notification.

This case law decision is part of a broader context of the digitalisation of administrative procedures: it also reflects the tax administration's desire to adapt to new technologies while maintaining an acceptable level of legal certainty. However, it also raises questions about the protection of taxpayers' rights in an increasingly dematerialised environment.

Indeed, while electronic notification can offer advantages in terms of speed and efficiency, it raises the question of accessibility for all taxpayers, particularly those less familiar with digital tools. Furthermore, the security of personal data and the reliability of IT systems are becoming crucial issues in this new paradigm.

This development could have significant repercussions on tax administration practices and on relations between the tax authorities and taxpayers. It could encourage more systematic use of electronic notifications while encouraging the implementation of reinforced guarantees to ensure the proper reception and understanding of information by taxpayers.

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