Claim periods and the statute of limitations : a map of the deadlines

Definition

What this covers

The statute of limitations is the outer limit of the administration's power to reassess. It may correct the shortfalls, errors and omissions found in the determination of the tax bases and the computation of the tax, omissions in respect of undeclared taxes, and understatements of price expressed in deeds, up to 31 December of the fourth following year art. 232-I GTC.

The claim period is a different matter : the time open to the taxpayer to contest the amount assessed against them art. 235 GTC. To these are added the procedural periods — reply to a notice, application to the court — whose expiry closes off a route. The code sets them article by article, without ever bringing them together.

Scope

Who is concerned

• The taxpayer who has filed a return and considers themselves assessed beyond what is due.
• The taxpayer who has never filed a return for one or more years, and assumes those years to be beyond reach.
• The taxpayer who has received a notice of adjustment and must reply within a period that does not reopen.
• The seller of a property, whose reassessment period runs from the year in which the disposal was disclosed to the administration.
• The landlord whose rents have gone unpaid, or the farmer who has suffered a loss of crops : the code opens periods of their own to them.

The starting point, more than the duration, separates admissible files from time-barred ones.

Applicable rules

One ordinary rule, two corrective mechanisms, one derogation

The ordinary rule is counted in calendar years, not from date to date. The period expires on 31 December of the fourth year following that of the close of the financial year or of the acquisition of the taxable income ; in property matters, following the year in which the disposal was disclosed to the administration by the registration of a deed or the filing of the return art. 232-I GTC.

Two mechanisms alter its course. The limitation period is interrupted by the notices the code lists, including the notice of adjustment in respect of property capital gains, and by the sending of requests for information art. 232-V GTC. It is suspended between the lodging of an appeal before an assessment or tax appeal commission and the expiry of the three-month period following notification of its decision, as it is between the bringing of court proceedings and the expiry of the same period following notification of the decision having the force of res judicata, "subject to the provisions of paragraph VI of article 220" art. 232-VI GTC.

One derogation applies specifically to the taxpayer who has filed nothing. The duties due, the penalty and the surcharges "payable by taxpayers who have not filed their return are due in full for all years not covered by a return, even where the limitation period has expired. That period may not, however, exceed ten (10) years" art. 232-VIII-15° GTC. The absence of a return therefore opens not a shorter limitation period, but a longer one, capped at ten years.

Two periods specific to income tax are added to this architecture : the claim for crop losses, within thirty days of the date of the loss art. 238 GTC, and the request for "the reduction or discharge of the tax relating to the rents not collected", addressed to the Director General of Taxation before expiry of the limitation period of article 232 art. 239 GTC.

Deadlines and limitation

The timetable

1. 30 / 60 days, valid 6 months

   Prior notice in respect of property capital gains : request within thirty days of the preliminary sale agreement, reply within sixty days, certificate valid for six months art. 234 quinquies GTC.

2. 90 days, then 30 days

   Notification of the adjusted base in respect of property capital gains, then the taxpayer's reply art. 224 GTC. Failing that, the assessment is established.

3. 30 days, then 30 days

   Assessment on an ex officio basis : letter inviting the taxpayer to file the return, then letter notifying the assessed bases art. 228 GTC.

4. 30 days — loss of crops

   Claim submitted to the tax inspector responsible for the holdings, within thirty days of the date of the loss art. 238 GTC.

5. Limitation period — loss of rents

   Request for reduction or discharge, before expiry of the limitation period of article 232 ; in the event of refusal, the judicial remedy is exercised under the conditions of article 243 art. 239 GTC.

6. 6 months — claim

   Where payment was made spontaneously, within the six months following expiry of the prescribed periods ; by tax roll or collection order, within the six months following the month in which it was placed in collection art. 235 GTC.

7. 3 months

   The period within which the administration issues its decision. Its silence produces the same effects as a refusal.

8. 30 days — judicial route

   Application to the competent court following a claim, running from notification of the decision or from expiry of the three-month period art. 243 GTC.

9. 60 days — judicial route

   Challenge to the decisions of the commissions, including decisions declining jurisdiction art. 242 GTC.

10. 31 December of the 4^th year

    Ordinary term of the power to reassess art. 232-I GTC.

11. 10 years

    Cap applicable to years never covered by a return art. 232-VIII-15° GTC.

The periods relating to the procedures provided for by the code are clear days : the first day of the period and the day of expiry are left out of account, and a deadline falling on a public holiday or statutory non-working day is postponed to the first following business day art. 245 GTC.

Documents and supporting evidence

The elements of the file

The file rests on the following elements :

• The elements fixing the starting point : collection instruments, evidence of spontaneous payment and of its due date, acknowledgements of receipt of notices.
• The substantive elements for the years at issue : returns filed or proof of their absence, correspondence exchanged with the administration, supporting evidence specific to the taxable matter.
• The elements relating to earlier appeals : applications before the commissions, decisions issued and their notification, which determine the suspension.

The code does not fix the composition of a file ; it states only that a loss of rents is established "by any means of proof" art. 239 GTC. This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.

Points to watch

What can cause a file to fail