France has published Decree no. 2021-25 of 13 January 2021, which provides for the introduction of a new voluntary tax compliance audit procedure meant to improve certainty for taxpayers. The procedure is generally available for all natural or legal persons, regardless of their tax regime or their turnover.

With the new procedure, taxpayers are allowed to have a voluntary tax audit performed by an external private audit service provider to examine whether the taxpayer is compliant with relevant tax legislation. Where the audit is performed in accordance with the prescribed rules, the resulting audit report may be submitted by the taxpayer along with the annual tax return. In the event that any reassessment is made by the tax authority, the taxpayer will be entitled to a refund of the fees paid to the external auditor.

The voluntary tax compliance audit procedure is available for tax years ending on or after 31 December 2020.