Tax and customs
administrations
Executive summary
2022 Annual Public Report
2
The Directorate-General of Public Finance (DGFiP) and the Directorate-General of
Customs and Indirect Taxation (DGDDI) constitute the two main directorates with a territorial
network of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, both in terms of their staff
(nearly 100,000 employees for the DGFiP, 17,000 for the DGDDI, 90% of whom work within
the local network) and in terms of their presence throughout national territory.
The resources of these two administrations were much called upon in 2020 to support
the economy, both in respect of their traditional missions and new missions directly linked to
the health crisis, such as the payment of grants to businesses (solidarity fund) and supplying
the country with personal protective equipment (including masks) and with medical equipment.
Departments insufficiently prepared for a crisis of such magnitude
The DGFiP and the DGDDI were insufficiently prepared, both from the point of view of
crisis management tools (lack of an updated business continuity plan) and capability to set a
large number of their staff up to work remotely. In March 2020, only 27% of DGDDI staff
(excluding the surveillance branch) and 17% of staff at the DGFiP were equipped with laptops.
As a result, many staff were unable to work during the first lockdown. Also, the two directorates
experienced a sharp drop in activity during this period (March to May 2020), a bigger drop than
that observed in most countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD).
Changes in the proportion of staff working (in the workplace and from home) at the
DGFiP and the DGDDI, between March and July 2020
Source: Court of Accounts, according to data from the General Secretariat of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and
Recovery, MEFR
Notes: (1) Average of all data available for the days of the month concerned.
(2) Absence of DGDDI data for March 2020.
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The two directorates have been able to gradually increase their workforce, in particular
thanks to the acquisition of laptops (54,000 computers were purchased by the DGFiP between
March 2020 and June 2021, bringing the number of employees with computer equipment to
81%). However, remote working is still being penalised by the insufficient digitisation of
processes, particularly concerning payroll or stamp duty (successions, gifts, articles of
association).
Two departments that have demonstrated significant adaptability
Despite their initial lack of preparation and equipment, the DGDDI and the DGFiP
demonstrated their responsiveness in fulfilling their traditional missions and implementing new
missions linked to the crisis. Thus, 2.6 billion protective masks were cleared through customs
between the end of March and the end of June 2020 at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. In
addition, between April 2020 and December 2021, the DGFiP paid out 10.8 million grants for
an amount of €38.7 billion under the solidarity fund. However, retrospective verifications on
these grants still need to be fully implemented. In fact, more than a year after being identified,
sums unduly received have still not formed the subject of a request for reimbursement.
Grants from the solidarity fund paid out between April 2020 and December 2021
(in €m)
Source: Court of Accounts, according to DGFiP data
The lessons to be learned in order to cope with potential new crises relate mainly to crisis
management tools and culture, remote working capabilities and the verification of new
activities (solidarity fund).
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Recommendations
The Court makes the following recommendations:
1.
update business continuity plans once a year, carry out a crisis simulation exercise
involving operational departments at least every two years within each directorate, and
collect feedback (
DGFiP, DGDDI
);
2.
in order to ensure business continuity, develop remote working capabilities whilst
ensuring an appropriate level of security (
DGFiP, DGDDI
).
The Court also repeats the recommendation it had already made in the 2021 Annual Public
Report and in the report produced at the request of the National Assembly Finance Committee
on public spending during the crisis:
3.
effectively implement retrospective verification plans concerning grants from the solidarity
fund paid out since March 2020; in the event of wrongful payment, initiate measures to
recover undue payments and, where applicable, criminal proceedings (
DGFiP
).