Section 4: Duty to comply

The authorisation provided for in the first paragraph of Article L. 752-23 is granted to any legal entity meeting the following conditions: 1° Neither it nor any of its legal representatives, members or employees has been convicted of a criminal offence by a French or foreign court for an offence relating to corruption or trading in influence, embezzlement, fraud or extortion within the meaning of the code pénal; 2° Justify…

The authorisation application form conforms to a model set by order of the Minister responsible for the economy. It shall be submitted, dated and signed by the legal representative of the applicant organisation and accompanied by documents proving compliance with the conditions laid down in article R. 752-44-2.

The application for authorisation is sent electronically to the Prefect, with an electronic acknowledgement of receipt sent immediately. The Prefect has one month from receipt of the authorisation application to check that it is complete and to request any additional information or details. Once this one-month period has elapsed, the application for authorisation is deemed to be complete. The investigation period is three months. The investigation period is three months….

The authorisation is granted for a period of five years, with no tacit renewal possible. It is valid throughout the department. The prefectoral order authorising an organisation pursuant to the first paragraph of article L. 752-23 is published in the prefecture’s recueil des actes administratifs. It bears an identification number, to which the date of issue of the authorisation is added, and the full identity and address of the authorised…

The authorisation may be withdrawn by the prefect if the body no longer meets the conditions for obtaining, updating or practising, mentioned in article R. 752-44-2. The organisation to which the authorisation has been granted is informed in advance of the grounds for withdrawal, and given the opportunity to submit written observations. It may be given formal notice to regularise its situation within a maximum period of two months or…

If it is shown to be impossible to appoint an authorised body in the department where the business is located, the prefect of that department, on receipt of an express detailed request, may exceptionally authorise the beneficiary of the commercial operating authorisation to choose a body from the list drawn up in a neighbouring department belonging to the same administrative region.