Analyse
14 juillet 2019

Une nouvelle loi et des décrets augmentent la portée de la répression des infractions fiscales (En anglais)

Bastille Day Newsletter 2019 - Legislative, Regulatory & Policy Updates

 

In the aftermath of the UBS1 and Cahuzac2 scandals, a law established in October 20183 aims at better identifying and sanctioning fraud, with a focus on aggravated tax fraud.

This is reflected in the reinforcement of resources allocated to the fight against fraud, the facilitating of criminal prosecution and the increase of existing tax sanctions and criminal sentences for offenders.

The law on the fight against fraud reinforces the efficiency of tax fraud investigations

The law on the fight against fraud creates a judicial police service within the Budget Ministry, under the supervision of the judiciary4.

This new judicial police service was set up on July 3, 2019 by the Minister of the Budget, Gérald Darmanin5. There are currently 25 investigators and 40 investigators are to be expected by the fall6.

The tax investigators are competent on French soil, investigate tax fraud, aggravated tax fraud and the laundering of the proceeds of such offenses and have police powers – adversely to tax agents in charge of tax inquiries7. They have in particular the powers to put individuals in police custody and can carry a weapon.

Additionally, new investigative powers are introduced for the judicial tax officers in the French criminal procedure code. They now have access to criminal police history files8 and can liaise with police from other EU Member States in order to exchange information9.

Tax agent access to police powers is counterbalanced by the widened access to tax administration files by other people likely to encounter fraud in the course of their investigative missions. This is a breakthrough in the fight against fraud, as a significant amount of information is protected by tax secrecy. Exchange of tax information is thus facilitated between the different French administrations and in fine to the judiciary.

Bercy shares its power to prosecute tax fraud with the judiciary

Initially, for the prosecution of tax offenses under French law, the Prosecutor first had to obtain the approval of French tax authorities, commonly referred to as “Bercy” to initiate criminal proceedings10. The Bercy monopoly was unlike ordinary criminal procedures and suffered a lot of criticism, as considered an obstacle to the prosecution of tax offences.

The law puts a partial end to the Bercy monopoly as it provides for specific situations where the tax administration must automatically refer the case to the Prosecutor. This is the case (i) for major fraud involving duties above 100 000 euro when the tax administration applied a tax penalty (whether 100%, 80% or 40%)11 (ii) when a tax penalty was applied to a person bound to declare his/her patrimony to the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life12. In addition, the Bercy monopoly no longer applies when the investigation uncovers new facts concerning the same individual.

The goal is thus to draw a distinction between minor and major fraud. This is in line with the French Constitutional Council position which considered that it is possible to combine a tax penalty and a criminal sentence for the most serious breaches of tax obligations13.

One thousand cases from Bercy were sent to court last year, and the Budget Ministry believes this number could double pursuant to the enactment of this law.

Plea-bargaining and judicial conventions of public interest extended to tax fraud

Another significant legal development introduced by Sapin II law is that the Prosecution can now use negotiated procedures such as plea-bargaining (comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité) and the French equivalent of the DPA (convention judiciaire d’intérêt public, “CJIP”) for tax offences. This shows an extension of the negotiation from tax administration to prosecution in tax-related matters.

The law against tax fraud also introduced several others mechanisms to enhance the efficiency of the fight against fraud such as the “Name and Shame” (i.e., the publication of tax sanctions imposed on companies in serious breach of their tax obligations), the establishment of a tax sanction for intermediaries who intentionally help a taxpayer commit tax fraud, the broadening of the tax flagrance procedure, and the tightening of the provisions relating to tax-privileged States and non-cooperative territories.

Contenu similaire

Analyse
19 mai 2025
CJIP Paprec : retour sur la répression pénale en cas de violation des règles d’attribution...
Le 10 février 2025, Paprec a signé une Convention judiciaire d’intérêt public (CJIP) afin de mettre fin aux poursuites à...
Événement
4 mars 2025
Paris Arbitration Week 2025 – Red flags et arbitrage : tendances et outils pour lutter contre la corruption
Navacelle organise aux côtés de Forensic Risk Alliance une conférence sur le thème de la conformité et l'arbitrage le 8...
Revue de presse
13 juin 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 9 juin 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la mise en examen de Pascaline Bongo dans une affaire de corruption...
Actualité
13 juin 2025
Navacelle accueille Maxime Desplats en qualité d’associé
Navacelle est heureux d’annoncer l'arrivée et l’association de Maxime Desplats.
Actualité
12 juin 2025
Enquêtes internes : recommandation de 7 garde-fous juridiques pour plus d’efficacité
Le journal Les Echos publie un entretien croisé de Stéphane de Navacelle, Dominique Perben (Simon Associés) et Raphaël Gauvain (Stephenson...
Revue de presse
6 juin 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 2 juin 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la coordination au niveau français des sanctions économiques décidées par l’Union européenne,...
Press review
6 juin 2025
Press review – Week of 2 June 2025
This week’s press review covers the coordination at the French national level of the economic sanctions decided by the European...
5 min
Revue de presse
30 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 26 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la condamnation de la banque Edmond de Rothschild pour des faits de...
Événement
26 mai 2025
[Webinaire] Coopération renforcée contre la corruption : perspectives croisées Royaume-Uni, Suisse et France (en anglais)...
Les co-présidents du comité international de lutte contre la corruption de la section du droit international de l'American Bar Association...
Revue de presse
23 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 19 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur le positionnement d’Emmanuel Macron en faveur de la suppression de la Directive...
Revue de presse
16 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 12 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la prise de position du chancelier allemand Friedrich Merz, qui appelle à...
Revue de presse
9 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 5 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la démission de François Commeinhes de son poste de maire de Sète...
Revue de presse
2 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 28 avril 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur les réquisitions prises à l’encontre de François Fillon dans l’affaire des emplois...