We invite our readers to discover the NEW UPDATE in our dedicated section: Selection of administrative court rulings. This edition incorporates the numerous decisions published during the months of May and June 2025These new features enrich the legal and tax analyses that are essential for professionals.
Key points of this update :
Number of judgments recorded: over 80.
Sources : decisions rendered by the Administrative Tribunals (AT) between January 1er May and June 30, 2025.
Summary: The rulings analyzed highlight the sustained intensity of local tax litigation, characterized by the stability of the fundamental principles of taxation, while revealing a number of noteworthy clarifications in terms of assessment, exemptions and procedural guarantees. The following is a review of the rulings that attracted our particular attention during this period, because of their practical significance or their interest in case law.
Industrial plants
Concrete batching plants and temporary structures
The TA of Lille (June 26, 2025, no. 2409428) considers that a temporary industrial building on a worksite constitutes a construction subject to property tax (CGI, art. 1381). On the other hand, a concrete batching plant, which is directly linked to the production activity, is exempt as specialized capital goods.
- Partially favorable ruling - distinction between building and industrial equipment.
Work and fixed assets
The company challenged the inclusion in its tax base of work to replace deteriorated sections of roadway and riprap around its industrial facilities. The Rennes Administrative Court (May 7, 2025, no. 2300641) considers that this work, which is extensive and has an effect on the useful life and physical characteristics of the facilities, constitutes fixed assets and not an expense. The company cannot therefore exclude them from the tax base, nor can it rely on point 230 of the BOI-IF-TFB-20-20-10-20, which, according to the Court, applies only if the work does not result in any improvement.
- Judgment against the company - questionable interpretation of administrative doctrine.
Exemption for specialized capital goods (CGI, art. 1382, 11°)
Specialized capital goods include fire-fighting systems, compressed air circuits, transformers and power cables (TA Lyon, May 27, 2025, no. 2305218) and automatic high-speed doors (TA Châlons-en-Champagne, June 20, 2025, no. 2200967). On the other hand, wine storage tanks are excluded from the exemption because their main function is storage and not the transformation (TA Montpellier, May 28, 2025, no. 2303293).
- These rulings confirm or clarify the scope of the exemption provided for in article 1382, 11° of the CGI.
Application of article 1499-0 A of the General Tax Code
The Marseille TA (May 15, 2025, no. 2303679) specifies that, for the implementation of article 1499-0 A of the CGI, the rental value of a property destroyed prior to 1er The amount of the property tax levied for January 1 of year N must be excluded from the property tax assessment for that year.
- Favourable ruling, although the Court was mistaken about the rental values to be compared - the rental value calculated on the basis of the purchase price by the lessee should have been compared with the rental value for the year of acquisition (after deduction of the share representing the rental value of the property destroyed).
Notion of valuation unit and floor rental value
The Administrative Court of Nancy (June 16, 2025, no. 2201570) ruled that a company's offices, although located on separate plots of land and separated by a road, were part of the same industrial complex, insofar as they contributed to its operation. It also upheld the application of the floor value set out in article 1518 B of the CGI, as the transfer in question constituted a genuine transfer of an establishment.
- With regard to the notion of valuation unit, it is possible to question the absence of contiguity between the plots in question, the presence of the road being likely to introduce a break (V. rép. min. n° 25915 : JOAN 5 nov. 2013, p. 11615, Zimmermann). As for the notion of transfer of an establishment within the meaning of article 1518 B of the CGI, it appears that the transaction in question also involved movable items enabling the autonomous exercise of an activity.
Burden of proof for restructuring operations
The TA of Nîmes (May 23, 2025, no. 2203017) eases the burden of proof on the taxpayer who becomes the owner of a site that has been the subject of several mutations: the Administration cannot demand «negative» proof that no construction has been added without itself justifying the reality of the situation.
- Favourable ruling - taxpayer's guarantees strengthened.
Applicable valuation method
The Administrative Court of Lyon (June 24, 2025, no. 2308210) considers that the accounting method (CGI, art. 1499) applies when the SCI owner is subject to corporate income tax, even if this regime was not in force at the date of acquisition of the property.
- Favourable ruling in this case - primacy of actual situation for tax years.
Business premises
Procedural guarantee: ICID consultation
The Montreuil TA (May 12, 2025, no. 2204212) ruled that, in the absence of regular consultation of the Intercommunal Direct Tax Commission in 2017, the rental value retained by the Administration should be set aside. It therefore retains the 2016 rental value, adjusted by the annual coefficient, for the calculation of taxes for 2019 to 2021 and grants the company a reduction in property tax.
- Favourable judgment - reminder to respect procedural guarantees.
Changes in use or consistency and mitigating mechanisms
The Limoges Administrative Court (May 12, 2025, no. 2400595) considers that a change of use (service station transformed into a depot) puts an end to the "planchonnement" and "lissage" mechanisms.
- Unfavorable ruling in this case - application of articles 1518 A quinquies and 1518 E of the CGI.
For its part, the TA of Lille (June 5, 2025, no. 2200503) accepts that the addition of parking spaces does not constitute a change in consistency justifying the exclusion of these mechanisms.
- Favourable ruling in this case - solution to be confirmed, however.
Fractions of property normally assessed separately
The Administrative Court of Cergy-Pontoise (May 27, 2025, no. 2300805) notes that a covered building and its outdoor area, although adjacent, can be used separately and therefore constitute two distinct fractions of property. Consequently, they must be assessed separately: the building is classified as DEP2, and the outdoor area as DEP1, in accordance with articles 1498 of the CGI and 310 Q of Appendix II to this Code.
- In the case of assets other than industrial establishments, it is irrelevant whether or not the fractional ownership is the subject of an independent commercial operation.
Contesting the rental value 1970
The Nice TA (May 15, 2025, no. 2201839) rules inadmissible a taxpayer's claim contesting the 1970 rental value and planchonnement of his taxes, submitted after December 31, 2018.
- This ruling, which establishes the principle of the intangibility of bases prior to the reform that came into force in 2017, is in complete contradiction with the case law of the Conseil d'Etat.
Work and maintenance of liability
The Bordeaux TA (May 28, 2025, no. 2302990) and Paris (June 2, 2025, no. 2310345) confirm that even major works do not result in the disappearance of the building's character, as long as the shell remains intact.
- Unfavorable rulings - stability of case law on article 1380 CGI.
Valuation of land for photovoltaic power plants
The TA of Pau (June 16, 2025, no. 2303265) accepts that the rental value of a plot of land supporting a photovoltaic power plant can be determined on the basis of the emphyteutic lease fee, taking into account the specific use.
- Favourable ruling in this case - pragmatic approach taking into account the specific nature of the operation (See CE, May 21, 2025, no. 476 026, Société Centrale Photovoltaïque de Boissières).
Residential premises
Rental vacancy and article 1389, I of the CGI (General Tax Code)
According to the TA de Nice (May 15, 2025, no. 2302036), the absence of rentals due to economic factors (post-COVID, international tensions) does not characterize a vacancy beyond the owner's control.
- Strict interpretation of rental vacancy - for a similar approach to the non-use of a commercial property, see V. TA Lille, May 19, 2025, no. 2205301.
How to evaluate a student residence
The Administrative Court of Cergy-Pontoise (June 12, 2025, no. 2302255) noted that the premises in question housed a student residence made up of furnished apartments rented exclusively for residential use, with ancillary services such as internet, cleaning and laundry. The students have free use of their accommodation, which constitutes their principal residence. The building must therefore be considered as mainly used as a dwelling within the meaning of article 1496, I of the CGI, and the Administration has therefore rightly assessed its rental value according to this system.
- It should be noted that, for the application of article 1389 of the CGI, furnished studios rented by a company within its student residences must be considered, notwithstanding the fact that these residences offer, as ancillary services, access to a laundry and the presence of a janitor, as houses normally intended for rental (CE, July 26, 2018, n° 404 237, Somabir Company).
Change of use and temporary exemption
The Administrative Court of Châlons-en-Champagne (June 26, 2025, no. 2300298) considers that the conversion of business premises into housing does not constitute a new construction, addition or reconstruction, thus excluding the two-year exemption provided for under article 1383 of the CGI.
- Ruling in line with administrative doctrine - only certain changes of use are eligible for temporary exemption (V. CGI, art. 1383, III).
Would you like to discuss this point with one of our local tax experts?
Article written by:
Aymeric GIVORD - Expert in local taxation
A consultant since 2002, Aymeric has worked with renowned experts to develop case law in favor of taxpayers. With his teams, he is notably at the origin of the Plénière fiscale ruling SA GKN Driveline (CE, December 11, 2020, no. 422 418). He analyzes the taxation of industrial establishments, business premises and certain residential premises, proposing optimizations and assisting his clients with the necessary procedures, including litigation.
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