When can French state access your bank account and take money?

Reader Question: In reading your article about new anti-fraud plans, I was shocked to see the government can already access people’s bank accounts to take money out of it. Is this a common occurrence, and are we informed if this is going to happen? 

You are correct that there are plans to crackdown on social security fraud in France, and a bill consisting of several major proposals is set to be discussed this autumn. 

One measure included is the widening of powers related to seizing fraudulently-gained income from the bank accounts of social welfare fraudsters. 

However, the state already has some power in this area.

A process known as Saisie administrative à tiers détenteur (SATD, administrative seizure from third-party holders) allows the government to recoup part of a debtor’s funds. 

The measure allows the government to seize funds held by a third-party – usually a bank – to repay part of a debt amount owed to the state.

It is regulated however, and can only be used to pay back certain debts and for funds from certain sources. 

The full seizure of certain redundancy payments, severance pay and profit-sharing bonuses is possible, as is partial seizure of salaries, pensions, and certain work-related benefits or income support. 

Certain benefits are protected from being seeized, including disability benefits (AAH) and RSA income support.

There are rules behind the process however, and the government cannot use SATDs as a general measure to seize funds from people residing in France who are not in debt to the state.

How do seizures work? 

An SATD can be sent to the bank or other third-party holding funds in cases where an individual or company owes money to the government. 

This can derive from unpaid taxes or fines, unpaid penalties such as damages owed after a court judgement or unpaid fees for state-sector establishments, such as school canteen fees, hospital charges, etc. 

The amount being seized has to be clearly stated on the SATD.

At the same time the SATD is sent out to the bank, the debtor is also informed of the request. 

The bank must send the funds over from the debtor’s account within 30 days. 

All accounts linked to the bank are frozen from the date of the request for at least 15 days, to prevent holders withdrawing funds. 

Banks may also charge a fee to the account holder, reaching up to 10% of the amount debited, with a maximum limit of €100. 

A minimum amount of funds, currently €647, must be kept in the account following the transaction to allow the account holder to be able to pay for essentials after the seizure.

International bank accounts also impacted

Funds in international bank accounts can be subject to SATD requisitions, particularly if France and country that the bank account is located in have information sharing agreements in place.

These exist between France and several countries, including other states in the EU. 

A 2017 rule change made seizure of funds from EU-based banks easier, including for funds held in European neo-banks based outside of France.

A French judge makes the request and passes it onto a counterpart in the other country to approve.

In theory, a French judge can make a request to a UK, US, Australian, etc judge for the same procedure to take place.

French authorities will likely have information about these foreign-based accounts held by a resident, as these must be declared in annual income tax declarations.

A person who receives a SATD notice has two months to contest it, and can make the request to the Directeur départemental des finances publiques of the department that sent the notice out. 

This information can be found online – note the office is not always in the same location as the main tax office.