Maybe you are refrring to “Quitus Fiscal” to prove VAT on private vehicles (e.g. car, boat and aircraft) in France?
The process is painful: the only form available is for cars not for private boats or aircraft, you have to be French resident as it’s only done in your nearby service des impôts des entreprises du centre des finances publiques
Quitus Fiscal is useful if you want to put your aircraft on F-reg with private title on DGAC register 
I doubt it’s connected in any way to the ‘service’ or ‘hit-list’ in OP question…
Peter wrote:
However, it doesn’t look as if anybody knows, or has come across that option to submit aircraft docs in advance.IF such a system exists, it may be something operated by French airport police, but with no access to Joe Public.
According to https://www.douane.gouv.fr/demarche/vous-souhaitez-obtenir-une-carte-de-libre-circulation-des-marchandises, you can do that at any douane office or entry point into the country, presenting the goods (the aircraft) along with the proof of VAT payment (e.g. an invoice) / import processing (copy of the import declaration?). You get a card that you can use to get out further controls. In case of change of ownership, the new owner can show the card of the old owner to get his own card.
Since you will have difficulties to bring the aircraft to “any” douane office, I suggest you do it at a douane office situated at an airport, or by prior arrangement with the douane office in charge of entry/exit checks at that airport (cf AIP).
List of Douane offices: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=15NzqQ3i4s8r4CPiMMT8ZPLD4iMA&ll=-3.81666561775622e-14%2C-69.13444850000002&z=1
Bonus points if you do it in St-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Mayotte, La Réunion, Guadeloupe or Martinique ;-) Or maybe even French Polynesia?
Thanks – I’ve updated this thread. This is very relevant to UK based N-regs, or actually UK based planes of any reg because they no longer need to have a Cert of Free Circulation for EU VAT. Many people never got this bit of paper, which was very hard to get after about 2005.
Peter wrote:
Post-brexit, they can get them only under the “non temporary import” provision (staying in the EU for too long) and then VAT becomes due regardless of whether you have a Certificate of Free Circulation for EU VAT. Have I got that right?
Peter, I believe that to be the case.
D
@chflyer
It was a Customs only check.
They have the full right to do that.
They were friendly.
They had specifically travelled to the airfield I landed onto to check on the VAT status of my N-reg and wondered why I have an N-reg.
My paperwork was correct.
They left on a friendly basis.
I believe this to be significant enough to resurrect an old thread.
That’s an excellent point – for UK based planes!
Post-brexit, they can get them only under the “non temporary import” provision (staying in the EU for too long) and then VAT becomes due regardless of whether you have a Certificate of Free Circulation for EU VAT. Have I got that right?
I expect that the motivation has gone after Brexit. The game was to find an aircraft that had been in the EU for more than six months but not formally customs-cleared. That meant they could declare the last movement as a taxable import and demand the VAT. I don’t think they can now do that any more for N-registered aircraft based in the UK.
I have been ramp checked at Lognes after a flight in from Avignon – while we were still in the EU. Three officers with guns turned up. They were clearly disappointed that I had a C88 – I have heard that there were significant incentives for officers that managed to effect a righteous bust.
D
It is in post #1.
However, it doesn’t look as if anybody knows, or has come across that option to submit aircraft docs in advance.
IF such a system exists, it may be something operated by French airport police, but with no access to Joe Public.
What exactly is being discussed here? What is meant by “hitting” an N-reg owner who lands in France?
A ramp check is usually a term used for an aircraft and pilot control by a national CAA, and has nothing to do with customs. Customs interest is goods “smuggling” which essentially means declaration and payment of VAT, either for the aircraft itself or contents.
I know there are lots of anecdotes of N-reg owners being persecuted by some national official who has a bee in his bonnet about non-EU registration aircraft flying in European airspace. I tend to write those off as individual idiosyncrasies and I suspect anything else is just being paranoid. One should remember that French customs can (and do) check anyone anywhere. Cars also get stopped by customs on the highway.
In over 40 years of flying into and around France, as far as I can recall I’ve only ever had customs take a look in the aircraft twice, at La Rochelle and Blois. But they were friendly, and the experience was about the same as a similar check in Germany at Coburg. Customs were quite rude once at Venice Lido (said we were in Italy and should speak Italian…. as if they expected all tourists to speak Italian), and another time there they went through the luggage in the terminal building, not the aircraft. In all those cases the aircraft registration was never mentioned, which doesn’t mean that it didn’t play a role in their decision to look a bit more closely. But I never felt persecuted because they were just doing their job.
The Customs officer asked why I have a N-reg. I said because I legally can.
