B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory in France since 2020, in line with the proliferation of digital invoicing mandates globally. The French tax authority (DGFIP) announced a phased roll-out of its new, hybrid e-invoicing and e-reporting mandate which will go live in 2024. This will add further technological and data reporting requirements for all companies operating in France.
Despite the mandate rollout being over 12 months away, it’s imperative that companies act now to ensure they’re prepared for the complex changes ahead to avoid financial penalties and reputation damage.
This article will provide all of the details you need to know about the upcoming France mandate, and how to prepare effectively.
Why are France imposing new e-invoicing requirements
By introducing mandatory invoicing legislation, France aims to reduce the VAT gap which currently sits at EUR 14 billion. The reporting requirements will keep companies accountable to their tax obligations, prevent fraud, and give the government visibility over business operations.
The digitalisation of invoicing processes will also encourage more businesses to scrap manual paper-based processes for modern and efficient electronic invoicing technology. Not only will this improve the speed and accuracy of payments, but it will also help businesses reduce invoicing costs.
Data provided to the government as part of the e-invoicing process will help to further increase real-time knowledge of business activities, and allow authorities to more accurately predict VAT projections.
What new legislation has been passed?
Meeting French VAT reporting requirements will pose a significant challenge, with a number of complexities to navigate. We’ll break it down for you here.
All businesses that carry out domestic B2B transactions will need to issue and send e-invoices in mandated formats via a dematerialisation platform (PPF or chosen PDP). Each of the mandated invoice formats come with two flows, which require different sets of data. Companies must send the correct invoice flow data according to how they connect to the government portal.
Businesses registered for VAT in France must be ready to receive e-invoices in one of the mandated formats: UBL, CII, or Factura X via a dematerialisation platform. Again, this can be the official government platform (PPF), or an approved 3rd party provider (PDP). All impacted businesses must ensure their ERP system can process the mandated invoice formats in due time.
Any cross-border B2B, and/or B2C transactions will be obligated to transmit their invoice data to the government portal. The French tax authority is yet to publish the deadline and frequency for e-reporting obligations.
Business-to-Government (B2G) e-invoicing has been mandatory in France since 2020. Businesses currently use the Chorus Pro platform to issue e-invoices to public bodies and Government agencies.
What are the timelines in place?
The DGFIP has announced they are mandating countrywide e-invoicing and e-reporting starting 1 July 2024. This mandate will be implemented across a two-year period:
- 1 July 2024: All enterprises established, or headquartered in France, regardless the size, must accept invoices in an electronic format. All large companies employing more than 5,000 people and with an annual turnover exceeding €1.5 billion must send e-invoices and transmit invoice data via a dematerialisation platform.
- 1 January 2025: E-invoicing and e-reporting will become mandatory for medium-sized companies (up to 5,000 people).
- 1 January 2026: This mandate will extend to all remaining small and medium-sized businesses, including micro enterprises employing fewer than 10 people.
Despite the invoicing mandates not coming into effect for over a year, the reporting requirements are very complex. To avoid incurring financial penalties of up to €60,000 per year, and dodge disruption to business operations, French taxpayers should begin taking action today.
Who needs to comply with France’s new regulations?
All VAT registered enterprises that are established, or headquartered in France, will need to issue e-invoices to business customers. As mentioned above, large companies will need to comply first in 2024, medium-sized businesses in 2025, and small businesses by 2026.
The e-invoicing legislation does not currently apply to foreign businesses without an establishment in France. However, some foreign companies that aren’t based in France but are VAT registered there, will need to comply with the new e-reporting obligation where their customer is not a business customer.
How to stay compliant with Tungsten Network
You should not be handling the complexities of the French mandate alone. To make sure you’re meeting all of the requirements, which will only keep changing, you should be working with a global compliance expert like Tungsten Network.
As the world’s largest compliant business network, Tungsten has a very detailed understanding of the current and future e-invoicing and e-reporting mandates in France. We keep up with the changing regulatory landscape, so you can rest easy and focus on other areas of business.
To meet the France mandates, we will be qualifying to become a Partner Dematerialisation Platform (PDP). This will enable us to interoperate with other PDPs or to connect directly to the government portal (PPF) on your behalf.
Tungsten Network enables users to invoice compliantly and access rich data that is not available through government portals, such as purchase order information, to help our users improve internal processes and drive AP efficiency. We also validate invoices prior to submission, to improve data quality and ensure compliance with both fiscal and business requirements.
Schedule a free compliance health check today with our expert compliance team and learn how we can support your business to send 100% compliant e-invoices in 54 countries here.