Addressee 

You should send your request to the International Dispute Prevention and Resolution Unit (SJCF-4B) of the Public Finances Directorate General. 

If your request is being made in a bilateral context, you must send it to both the relevant States.

How should the application be filed?

Your APA request should be filed by email to: 

bureau.sjcf4b@dgfip.finances.gouv.fr. 

However, prior to filing any request, you should ask for a preliminary meeting with the competent French authority to assess the circumstances in which an arrangement could be requested and examined (mandatory prefiling meeting).

What should it contain? 

As a minimum requirement for validity, the APA request must contain the following information and documents:

General information

- A list of the entities covered by the request for advance arrangement (company name, address and tax identification number);

- The description of the transactions covered by the request;

- The type of request (unilateral, bilateral, multilateral);

- A list of the other States party to the request (if applicable); 

- The desired duration (years) of the agreement and the financial years concerned;

- The organisation chart of the entire group with the capital structure;

On-the-shelf information 

- The group's master file in accordance with Article L. 13 AA of the French Tax Procedures Code (LPF) for the last three tax years;

- The local file of each covered entity in accordance with Article L. 13 AA of the LPF for the last three tax years;

- The parent entity's tax returns for the last three tax years;

Information relating to the transfer pricing method 

- A description of the proposed transfer pricing methodology;

- A justification of the proposed transfer pricing methodology (functional and economic analyses);

Financial data 

- A spreadsheet detailing, by transaction and by financial year covered, the actual or estimated financial implications;

- A spreadsheet presenting the income statement of the entity(ies) tested in the light of the proposed transfer pricing method;

- A spreadsheet presenting the studies of comparables (‘benchmarks’) where applicable;

Other information 

- An indication, for the transactions covered by the agreement, of the functional currency of each party and the currency in which the transactions between the parties are settled;

- An indication of the prior agreements entered into by other group companies or relating to transactions other than those covered by the request for agreement submitted to the French authorities;

- The description of the main financial accounting methods used by the entities established abroad and which have a direct impact on the proposed transfer pricing method;

- The description of any question relating to the transfer pricing method, which has been examined or is still being examined, indicating the position of the taxpayer and that of the administration concerned and the solution eventually adopted. Finally, any other information that may have an impact on the transfer pricing methodology and the underlying data of any party to the request.

What is the deadline for filing requests?

Your request must be sent at least six months prior to the start of the first financial year concerned by the requested arrangement. The complete documentation should be sent at least two months prior to the start of the first financial year.