Section VII: Obligations of legal persons

Articles in this section · 10

Article 223

French General Tax CodeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

1. Legal entities and associations liable to corporation tax are required to file the declarations provided for the basis of assessment of income tax in respect of industrial and commercial profits (regime of taxation based on actual profit or based on the simplified regime.

It specifies the sums that legal entities request to be deducted from the amount of their contribution under 1 of article 220.

2. The legal entities and associations referred to in 1 are required to provide, at the same time as their profit or loss declaration, in addition to the documents provided for in article 38 of Annex III to this code:

1° The minutes and extracts of the deliberations of the boards of directors or shareholders. Insurance or reinsurance, capitalisation or savings companies, as well as the supplementary occupational pension funds mentioned in Article L. 381-1 of the Insurance Code, the supplementary professional retirement mutuals or unions referred to in Article L. 214-1 du code de la mutualité et les institutions de retraite professionnelle supplémentaire mentionnées à l'article L. 942-1 of the Social Security Code shall, in addition, submit a duplicate of the detailed report and annexed tables that they provide to the Insurance Directorate ;

2° A statement indicating, in a form to be specified by ministerial order, the profits distributed to members, shareholders or unit-holders, as well as the sums or securities made available to them during the period used for the assessment of corporation tax and having the character of distributed income within the meaning of VII of the 1st sub-section of Section II of Chapter I above.

3. Legal entities and associations liable for corporation tax are subject to the same obligations as those set out in articles 54 bisand 54 quater.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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