Hennessy has lost its appeal to have its cellars taxed as farm structures rather than industrial buildings. A characterization of Hennessy’s cognac-located cellars as farm structures would have resulted in the cognac giant paying a lower rate of taxes on its cellars than a ruling that would have deemed them to be industrial buildings.

Because the production of cognac is big business and a major contributor to the local economy, the taxing authority, the Administrative Tribunal of Poitiers, the Administrative Court of the Poitou-Charentes region, probably had no difficulty ruling that Hennessy’s cellars should be deemed industrial buildings rather than farm structures. Since cognac cellars must be located in the Cognac delimited area and must be approved by the Bureau Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), Hennessy the world’s largest producer of cognac, has no real option other to maintain their cellars and to pay the higher tax rate.

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