DGCCRF notice of intended fine: how to respond
Received a DGCCRF or DDPP notice of intended fine? One month or 60 days to reply: access to the file, written observations, hearing, settlement.
A notice of intended fine is the letter by which the DGCCRF, a DDPP or a DREETS tells a business which sanction it plans to impose and invites it to answer before any decision is taken. For a fine under the French Consumer Code, you have one month to submit written and, where appropriate, oral observations (Article R. 522-2). For a fine under the French Commercial Code, including fines for late payment of suppliers, you have sixty days (Article L. 470-2, IV), and in both cases the authority cannot decide before that period has expired.
Updated: November 2026. Key provisions: Articles L. 521-1, L. 522-4, L. 522-5, L. 522-6, L. 522-8, L. 522-9-1, R. 522-1 and R. 522-2 of the French Consumer Code; Articles L. 441-16, L. 470-2 and R. 470-2 of the French Commercial Code; Articles L. 121-1, L. 121-2 and L. 122-1 of the French Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration (CRPA).
The DGCCRF (the French authority for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control) is the central administration. The DDPP (departmental directorate for the protection of the population) is its local level and inspects businesses in each département. The DREETS (regional directorate for the economy, employment, labour and solidarity) handles business-to-business matters, in particular supplier payment terms. Any of them may send the letter discussed here, after an inspection, a request for documents or an online check. In French practice, it is often called a lettre de pré-sanction or lettre d'intention.
This guide covers the stage between the inspection and the decision: the notice itself, access to the file, written observations, the hearing and the administrative settlement. It is written for companies established in France or abroad that sell to French customers, and for their managers. What happens once the fine has been imposed and the payment order arrives is covered in our guide on the titre de perception for a French fine. For an overview of how we assist companies, see our page: lawyer for DGCCRF and DDPP inspections.
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The legal framework of the adversarial phase
A general rule of French administrative law
Under French administrative law, a decision that imposes a sanction must state its reasons (Article L. 211-2 of the CRPA), in writing, with the legal and factual grounds on which it rests (Article L. 211-5). Such a decision can only be taken after the person concerned has been able to submit written observations and, on request, oral observations, with the assistance of counsel (Articles L. 121-1 and L. 122-1). This general rule gives way where a statute organises its own adversarial procedure (Article L. 121-2, 3°). That is the case for DGCCRF fines: the Consumer Code and the Commercial Code each set their own procedure and time limit.
Fines under the Consumer Code: one month
Before any decision, the authority must inform the company in writing of the sanction it intends to impose, tell it that it may be assisted by counsel of its choice, and invite it to submit written observations and, where appropriate, oral observations (Article L. 522-5 of the Consumer Code). The period is one month (Article R. 522-2). Once it has expired, the authority may impose the fine by a reasoned decision.
Two other provisions complete the picture. A copy of the inspection report recording the breaches must be sent to the company (Article L. 522-4). If the authority intends to publish its decision, the company must be told of the nature and terms of that publication during this phase (Article L. 522-6), so that it can answer on that point too. The decision is taken by one of the authorities listed in Article R. 522-1: the Director General of the DGCCRF, the head of its national investigation service, the regional director of the DREETS or the director of the DDPP, each of whom may delegate signature to senior civil servants under their authority.
Fines under the Commercial Code: sixty days
For breaches of Title IV of Book IV of the Commercial Code, which covers supplier payment terms, invoicing and several other business-to-business rules, Article L. 470-2, IV sets a longer period. The authority informs the company in writing of the intended sanction, tells it that it may consult the documents in the file and be assisted by counsel, and invites it to submit written and, where appropriate, oral observations within sixty days. Only then may it impose the fine by a reasoned decision. According to the DGCCRF's FAQ on payment terms inspections (25 October 2024), the letter states the breaches found, the amount of the intended fine and how the decision will be published.
For late payment, the stakes are set by Article L. 441-16: up to €75,000 for an individual and €2 million for a company, raised to €150,000 and €4 million for a repeated breach within two years of a first final decision. Publication of a late payment fine is mandatory, on the authority's website and, at the company's expense, in a legal notices publication (Article L. 470-2, V). The rules on payment terms themselves are explained in our guide to payment terms between businesses in France.
Injunctions: an adversarial phase without a fixed period
The authority may also order a business to comply with its obligations, stop an unlawful practice or remove an unlawful clause, within a reasonable period that it sets (Article L. 521-1 of the Consumer Code). The order may carry a daily penalty of up to €3,000. Such an injunction can only be issued "after an adversarial procedure", but the Consumer Code does not set the time allowed for observations: the letter does. If the injunction is not complied with, the authority can impose a fine or liquidate the daily penalty under the procedure of Article L. 522-5, with its one-month period.
Reading the notice
What the notice should contain
- the breaches found and the facts relied on, with the inspection report;
- the sanction envisaged: injunction or fine and, in practice, its amount;
- your right to be assisted by counsel of your choice;
- the time limit for written observations and the possibility of oral observations;
- for Commercial Code fines, your right to consult the documents in the file;
- where publication is envisaged, its nature and terms.
A missing element does not end the procedure by itself, but it should be recorded at once: it may affect the validity of the decision that follows.
The first questions to ask
Three questions shape everything else. Which text does the authority rely on: the Consumer Code, the Commercial Code or another code? The answer determines the time limit, access to the file and the maximum amount. Which authority will decide, and is the signatory one of those listed in Article R. 522-1 or Article R. 470-2? What exactly is alleged: a missing document, a statement on a website, a practice repeated over months, or a calculation over thousands of invoices?
Check the dates as well. The authority's right to impose an administrative fine is time-barred three years after the breach if no step to investigate, record or sanction it has been taken in that time (Article L. 522-2 of the Consumer Code; Article L. 470-2, II of the Commercial Code). Under the Consumer Code, the period is one year for breaches punishable by a fine of no more than €3,000 for an individual or €15,000 for a company (Article L. 522-3).
The first days after receipt
Asking for the file
You cannot answer allegations you have not read. For Commercial Code fines, the right to consult the documents in the file is written into Article L. 470-2, IV. For Consumer Code fines, the inspection report must be sent to you (Article L. 522-4), and the documents collected or drawn up to find and record the breach can be communicated to the company concerned or its representative, and only to them (Article L. 522-8; Article L. 470-2, VIII for the Commercial Code).
Make the request in writing as soon as the notice arrives, and list what you need: the full report with its appendices, the documents the authority relied on, the method used to calculate any amount, and how each finding was made. The general right of access to administrative documents (Article L. 311-1 of the CRPA) is slower: the administration has one month to answer, its silence counts as a refusal, and you then have two months to refer the matter to the CADA, the commission for access to administrative documents (Articles R. 311-12, R. 311-13 and R. 343-1). Those time limits do not fit a one-month observation period, which is why the request is usually based on the sanction provisions themselves.
Asking for more time
The texts fix the period, one month or sixty days, but provide no extension procedure. Nothing prevents the authority from waiting longer before deciding, and a reasoned request made early is sometimes granted. It is not a right. Until you receive a written answer, work on the basis that the original deadline still applies.
Asking to be heard
Both codes provide for oral observations "where appropriate", in addition to written ones (Articles L. 522-5 and L. 470-2, IV). The general rule of the CRPA speaks of oral observations "on request" (Article L. 122-1). In practice, you ask for a meeting in writing, within the time limit. A hearing is useful when the file has a technical side that is easier to explain than to write, or when corrective measures are easier to show with the documents on the table. It does not replace written observations, which remain the reference document.
Written observations: how they are usually organised
Observations that persuade an authority are rarely long. They are organised, they answer each allegation separately, and each statement is backed by a document. Most follow four parts.
- Procedure. Competence of the signatory, regularity of the inspection report, content of the notice, access to the file, respect of the time limit, limitation period.
- Facts and legal qualification. What the authority found, what the text actually requires, and where the two do not match. For a misleading practice, whether the statement was likely to mislead; for payment terms, which period applied to which supplier.
- Corrective measures. What has changed since the inspection, with dates and evidence: new terms and conditions, corrected web pages, new payment runs, instructions to staff.
- Amount and publication. Size of the company, share of the business concerned, first breach or not, financial situation, and whether publication is proportionate.
For late payment fines, the DGCCRF's FAQ states that a company invoking real and current financial difficulties may provide evidence of them, and that the fine may then be reduced. Which of these points to develop, and how far, depends on the file. It is a decision to take with counsel before the deadline.
Arguments that rarely work
"No customer has complained"
DGCCRF inspections do not depend on a complaint. They follow national programmes, targeted campaigns or reports. The absence of complaints says nothing about whether the breach exists. At most, it may weigh on the amount.
"We never intended to mislead anyone"
Administrative breaches are defined by objective facts: a price display, a missing statement, an invoice paid late. The texts that set these fines do not require intent. Good faith may weigh on the amount, not on the existence of the breach. Intent matters in criminal proceedings, which is one more reason to keep the two levels apart.
General economic arguments
A difficult market or tight margins do not change the legal qualification. They may support a request for a lower amount if they are quantified and backed by accounts.
Administrative settlement under Article L. 522-9-1
For Consumer Code fines, the authority may, when it sends the notice of intended fine, propose an administrative settlement (transaction administrative) (Article L. 522-9-1 of the Consumer Code, in its version in force since 2 July 2025). The proposal states the sum to be paid to the French Treasury, which must be lower than the maximum fine, and may include obligations to stop the breaches, prevent their repetition and compensate consumers. The proposal suspends the one-month period. The agreement may be published. If there is no agreement, or if the sum is not paid or the obligations are not met, the sanction procedure resumes.
Article L. 470-2 of the Commercial Code, which governs Commercial Code fines, contains no equivalent. Whether to accept, negotiate or refuse a proposal depends on the amount, the commitments requested and the strength of the file. The commitments are binding and may be made public: they must be realistic for your business.
The hearing with the authority
Not the same as a criminal interview
The hearing discussed here is the oral part of the administrative adversarial phase. It should not be confused with a voluntary interview (audition libre), which is a step in a criminal procedure, with the right to remain silent and to be assisted by a lawyer. If you have also been summoned for an interview, read our guide on why a DGCCRF, DDPP or DREETS summons is not a formality.
Preparing and conducting the hearing
Prepare it like a court hearing: a short note following the four parts of the written observations, a set of numbered documents, the questions the officials are likely to ask, and a clear division of roles between the manager and counsel. During the meeting, do not concede a breach that has not been shown, do not commit to a compliance date you have not checked internally, keep the discussion on the texts and the facts, and ask for a copy of any document mentioned orally. Then confirm in writing what was said.
Mistakes to avoid
Starting too late
One month passes quickly once the file has been obtained, translated for a foreign parent company and discussed internally. Start on the day the notice arrives.
Arguing only about the amount
Observations that only ask for a lower fine read as an admission of the breach. If the facts or their qualification can be discussed, discuss them first.
Forgetting the criminal side
Some breaches are both administrative and criminal. What you write to the DDPP may later be read by a prosecutor, so avoid admissions you do not need to make. Our article on mistakes that make a DGCCRF case worse explains how this happens.
Underestimating the written record
The observations become part of the file. The authority decides on that file, and a court reviewing the decision will read it too. Write them on the assumption that a judge will read them.
After the decision
The decision must state its reasons (Articles L. 211-2 and L. 211-5 of the CRPA). It can be challenged before the administrative court within two months of notification (Article R. 421-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice), a period extended by two months for persons residing abroad (Article R. 421-7). A request for review to the authority, or a hierarchical appeal, made within that period interrupts it (Article L. 411-2 of the CRPA); for Commercial Code fines, the hierarchical appeal lies with the Minister for the Economy only (Article R. 470-2, II). An appeal does not suspend payment (Article L. 4 of the Code of Administrative Justice). What follows, from the payment order to enforcement, is explained in our guide on the titre de perception.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to respond to a DGCCRF notice of intended fine?
One month for a fine under the Consumer Code (Article R. 522-2) and sixty days for a fine under the Commercial Code, including late payment fines (Article L. 470-2, IV). For an injunction, the letter sets the period. The authority cannot decide before the period has expired.
What happens if we do not reply to the DGCCRF letter?
Once the period has expired, the authority may impose the fine on the basis of the file as it stands. The inspection report then remains unanswered, including on the amount and on publication. Even a short reply can raise procedural points and ask for the file.
Can we see the evidence the DGCCRF relies on?
Yes. For Commercial Code fines, the notice must tell you that you may consult the documents in the file (Article L. 470-2, IV). For Consumer Code fines, the inspection report must be sent to you (Article L. 522-4), and the documents collected to find and record the breach can be communicated to you (Article L. 522-8). Ask in writing, as soon as the notice arrives.
Can the deadline to submit observations be extended?
No text provides for an extension. The authority may agree to wait longer before deciding, but it does not have to. Ask early, give reasons, and work to the original date until you have a written answer.
Does the notice have to be sent by registered mail?
The texts require a written notice but do not prescribe registered mail. What matters is the date you received it. Note that date, keep the envelope or the email, and if in doubt count from the earliest possible date.
Can we settle with the DGCCRF instead of being fined?
For Consumer Code fines, the authority may propose an administrative settlement together with the notice (Article L. 522-9-1). The sum is lower than the maximum fine, commitments may be attached, and the agreement may be published. The Commercial Code procedure has no equivalent.
Will the fine be published?
For late payment fines, publication is mandatory (Article L. 470-2, V of the Commercial Code). For other fines, it is possible, and the company must be told of its nature and terms during the adversarial phase (Article L. 522-6 of the Consumer Code; Article L. 470-2, V of the Commercial Code). This is the time to discuss it.
Can our observations be written in English?
The procedure is conducted in French, and observations should be filed in French. Documents in another language should come with a translation. We work with clients in English and file in French.
What if the authority decides before the deadline?
The texts allow a decision only once the period has expired (Articles L. 522-5 and L. 470-2, IV). A decision taken earlier is exposed to annulment.
Conclusion
The adversarial phase is the last moment when the legal qualification, the amount and the publication of a DGCCRF fine can be discussed before a decision exists. Its rules are short: a written notice, one month or sixty days, access to the file, written observations, a hearing and, for Consumer Code fines, a possible settlement. What makes the difference is the use made of that time. If you have received a notice of intended fine, Victoris can review it with you, in English, and identify the deadlines and documents that matter in your file.
Article written by Guillaume Leclerc, lawyer at the Paris Bar, 34 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris. Working languages: French and English.
