Overview
BENSAID Avocats is a French and Swiss tax firm founded in 2016, with offices in Paris, Geneva, Marseille, Cannes and Lisbon. Four partners lead four practices, supported by a team of around twenty lawyers, tax specialists and of counsel admitted to the Paris and Geneva bars.
The firm's indirect tax practice is led by partner François Ouairy. It covers French VAT and registration duties in full: VAT on real estate transactions (new buildings under article 257 of the French tax code, the option to tax, the margin scheme applied by dealers in land and buildings), the construction and resale undertakings of articles 1594-0 G and 1115 that reduce transfer duties to a fixed fee, the para-hotel regime applied to short-term rentals, VAT on works of art and collectibles, input VAT recovery, VAT fixed establishments of foreign companies in France, and the audits, assessments and litigation that follow from all of these.
Alongside indirect tax, the firm advises on real estate and private wealth taxation, international relocation (tax residence, exit tax, treaty relief, mutual administrative assistance), the transfer of family businesses under the Dutreil regime, trusts and the French fiducie, art and collection taxation, and structured and secured financing.
François Ouairy has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Tax Law since 2026. The firm is also ranked by Leaders League and Décideurs in private wealth taxation, real estate taxation and tax disputes.
Rankings
Regional
Paris
About Our Clients
The firm deliberately keeps a limited caseload so that a partner stays on every file.
Private clients. International families and entrepreneurs moving to or from France and Switzerland, collectors and holders of art collections, shareholders of family businesses preparing a Dutreil transfer, and individuals facing a French tax audit, an exit tax exposure or a wealth tax (IFI) reassessment.
Corporate and institutional clients. Property developers, property trading companies and real estate investment vehicles exposed to VAT and registration duties, logistics and industrial property owners holding construction undertakings, short-term rental and para-hotel operators, auction houses and art market intermediaries, trading companies exposed to a French VAT fixed establishment, and Swiss and Luxembourg financing structures.
Work comes mainly through private banks, family offices, notaries, wealth managers and other law firms. The firm publishes very few matters: discretion is a condition of the mandate, and most of its work is covered by professional secrecy.
Rankings
Regional
Paris
Practice Areas
- Art LawTaxation of works of art and collections (fiscalité de l'art): VAT on sales and imports (TVA sur les œuvres d'art, importation), the flat rate tax on the disposal of movable property (taxe forfaitaire sur les objets d'art), capital gains (plus-value), dation in payment (dation en paiement), structuring of sales on the international market, and transmission of collections.
- Corporate TaxCorporate income tax (impôt sur les sociétés), parent subsidiary and tax group regimes (régime mère-fille, intégration fiscale), management packages and carried interest, employee share plans (BSPCE, actions gratuites, stock-options), reorganisations (fusions, apports, scissions), holding structures and permanent establishment analysis (établissement stable).
- International TaxTax residence (résidence fiscale), double tax treaties (conventions fiscales internationales), exit tax on unrealised capital gains, inbound and outbound relocation, the French impatriate regime (régime des impatriés), foreign account and trust reporting (comptes détenus à l'étranger, déclaration de trust), mutual administrative assistance and exchange of information (assistance administrative internationale). A strong France and Switzerland practice.
- Real Estate LawAcquisition, development and disposal of French and cross border property assets (acquisition, promotion, cession), including prestige residential, logistics and commercial assets, commercial leases (baux commerciaux) and real estate litigation (contentieux immobilier).
- Real Estate TaxTaxation of French property transactions (fiscalité immobilière): VAT on new buildings and building land (TVA immobilière, terrains à bâtir), registration duties and transfer taxes (droits d'enregistrement, droits de mutation à titre onéreux), the construction undertaking of article 1594-0 G (engagement de construire) and the resale undertaking of article 1115 of the French tax code (engagement de revendre), their extension and their forfeiture (prorogation, déchéance), property wealth tax (IFI) and the 3 percent tax on French real estate held through entities (taxe de 3 %).
- Structured FinanceFiducie-sûreté, portage transactions (opérations de portage), structured and secured refinancings with Swiss and Luxembourg institutions, and the tax treatment of complex financial instruments (instruments financiers complexes).
- Succession PlanningTransfer of family businesses under the Dutreil regime (pacte Dutreil, article 787 B du code général des impôts), gifts with reservation of usufruct (donation avec réserve d'usufruit), holding structures (holding animatrice), family governance, and the audit and repair of defective Dutreil undertakings (engagement collectif, engagement individuel).
- Tax ControversyDefence before the French tax authorities (contrôle fiscal) from the first information request to the final settlement: audits (vérification de comptabilité, examen de situation fiscale personnelle), reassessment proposals (proposition de rectification), hierarchical appeals (recours hiérarchique), departmental and national commissions (commission départementale et nationale), and negotiated outcomes on penalties and late payment interest (pénalités, intérêts de retard, remise gracieuse).
- Tax InvestigationsAssistance during search and seizure operations (visite domiciliaire, article L. 16 B du livre des procédures fiscales), criminal tax proceedings (poursuites pénales fiscales), voluntary disclosure of undeclared foreign accounts and assets (régularisation des avoirs détenus à l'étranger), and coordination with foreign counsel.
- Tax LawFull service French tax practice (fiscalité française) for private investors, family holdings and international groups, from structuring to audit, reassessment and litigation (contrôle fiscal, rectification, contentieux). Partners are admitted to the Paris and Geneva bars and work across France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Gulf.
- Tax LitigationClaims and litigation (réclamation contentieuse) before the administrative courts and the Conseil d'État, before the civil courts for registration duties and wealth tax (tribunal judiciaire, droits d'enregistrement, IFI), and before the criminal courts where tax fraud is alleged (fraude fiscale).
- Trusts and EstatesForeign trusts and the French fiducie, international successions (successions internationales), cross border estate planning, gift and inheritance tax (droits de donation et de succession), and the French reporting obligations of trustees (déclaration de trust).
- VATFrench VAT (TVA) in all its forms: VAT on real estate (TVA immobilière), covering new buildings (immeubles neufs), the option to tax (option à la TVA) and the margin scheme applied by dealers in land and buildings (TVA sur marge, marchands de biens), the para-hotel regime applied to short-term rentals (para-hôtellerie, location meublée de courte durée), VAT on works of art and collectibles (TVA sur les œuvres d'art), input VAT recovery and credit refunds (droit à déduction, remboursement de crédit de TVA), VAT fixed establishments of foreign companies in France (établissement stable TVA), and VAT audits and litigation (contrôle et contentieux TVA).
Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in France™
Firm News
Awards
Offices & Contacts
Significant Matters
The firm acts for a limited number of clients and most of its work is covered by professional secrecy. The matters below have been publicly reported.
- Advised on the acquisition of the La Valentine retail park in Marseille, a transaction reported at EUR 49.1 million.
- Advised on the acquisition of 91 Champs-Élysées in Paris, an asset of approximately EUR 320 million, financed in part through a EUR 33 million bond issue.
Beyond these, the firm acts regularly on the VAT treatment of French property transactions, on registration duties and on the construction and resale undertakings of articles 1594-0 G and 1115 of the French tax code, on the para-hotel regime applied to short-term rentals, on VAT on works of art and collections, on the French VAT permanent establishments of foreign companies, and on the audits and the litigation that follow. Those matters are not published.