France

Launch of the pilot phase and a call for applications The French tax authorities have announced an experimental phase - the pilot phase - from January 3 to 30 June 2024 in anticipation of the mandatory e-invoicing and e-reporting obligation in France (July 2024).  To participate in the pilot and respond to the call for applications, taxpayers can register on the following website: https://www.impots.gouv.fr/je-participe-la-phase-pilote. Participants must submit their application files by June 26, 2023.   The official press release provides more details about the application: https://presse.economie.gouv.fr/19042023-cp-facturation-electronique-lancement-dun-pilote-et-dun-appel-a-candidatures/ 

Pilot for B2B e-invoicing & B2C e-reporting starts from 3 January to 30 June 2024  At the fnfe-mpe's La Journéee de la Facture Électronique 2023 last week, more details have been revealed about the pilot program for the mandatory B2B e-invoicing & e-reporting system. The pilot will take place from 3 January 2024 until 30 June 2024.   Following are the timelines for the preparation phase of the pilot program:  

• 15 April 2023: application forms will be published on the official website (impots.gouv.fr) 
• April-May 2023: applications for taxpayers that are interested in participating in the pilot will open 
• June 2023: applicants are notified whether they have been selected 
• September 2023: SME (PME) and very small businesses (TPE) will be added to the pilot  
• Candidates for the pilot phase under PDP will be required to demonstrate their ability to obtain registration within time frame 

Changes on version 2.2 of external specifications for e-invoicing A new version 2.2 of the Guidelines for mandatory electronic invoicing and reporting has been published by the French authorities.  The updated version 2.2 includes changes: 

• Addition of 2 compulsory mentions (single taxable persons) 

• Detailed review of the factoring management case 
• Corrections / clarifications in the management cases 
• Some new business cases (transparent intermediary and Author's notes) 
• Clarifications on the management of corrective / rectifying e-reporting flows  
• Clarifications/further details on the use of APIs  

• Update of some annexes and in particular the description of the Extensions and their UBL and UN/CEFACT CII mapping (thus also Factur-x).  

The updated version 2.2 is available for download here.  

France- Version 2.2 of External B2B E-invoicing Specification released  A new version of the technical specifications and annexes on e-invoicing has been released by the French tax authorities on 31/02/2023. This new version is in French and can be downloaded here: https://www.impots.gouv.fr/specifications-externes-b2b  

Updated technical requirements – version 2.1 A new version of the technical specifications and annexes on e-invoicing has been released by the French tax authorities. The new version can be downloaded via the following link: https://www.impots.gouv.fr/specifications-externes-b2b

Updated FAQs on e-invoicing published

The French Tax Authorities have issued an updated version of the FAQs on electronic invoicing.

The latest version of the FAQs is available here.

Amendment of goods and services tax code Several countries have adopted EU legislations into their own respective domestic tax codes and regulations. Such integrations serve a dual purpose: not only are domestic tax regulations aligned with EU regulations, but these allow the opportunity to provide greater harmonisation with the wider EU community. The French Senate has adopted a draft bill 559 to this effect. Amongst the provisions in this bill include the proposal for additional consumption taxes on electricity and energy. Crucially, France also intends to implement the requirements relating to the EU’s shared VAT system into its own domestic tax legislation.

B2B Technical specifications – Version 1.2 The French Tax Authorities have published an updated version of the external specifications on their website. These specifications include new use cases and the service mode of the public billing portal is developed. It is expected that further work will be undertaken on the specifications, to be completed in the summer. Further information can be found here.

Potential free archiving service It is proposed that the French tax authorities will offer a free archiving service to all taxable persons using the French National Portal (PPF) for the issuance / receipt of invoices following the first-phase introduction of the e-invoicing and e-reporting obligations in July 2024. It is expected that the Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery will provide a definitive steer on this in due course.

VAT reduced rate application for certain products In line with what we are seeing in many other European countries, France is implementing further fiscal measures as a direct response to the Covid pandemic. Further to the 2022 French Finance Law, the reduced rate of 5.5% will continue to apply to specific products such as gels and face masks, until 31 December 2022. The French Finance Law also stipulates that the reduced 5.5% VAT rate will apply to the following products: • Certain foodstuffs • Products intended to be used in the preparation of these foodstuffs • Products intended to supplement or replace these foodstuffs.

Permission to mandate e-invoicing granted through derogation

We’ve seen in other countries such as Poland that the European Commission derogation is imperative to keep upcoming e-invoicing mandates on track.
On 17 January 2022, the European Commission granted France permission to mandate e-invoicing, through derogating from Articles 218 and 232 of Directive 2006/112/EC.
The Directive states that paper invoices must be used unless both the seller and customer agree to use e-invoicing- so the derogation is a requirement for any e-invoicing mandate implementation plans.

Updated version of the FAQs on e-invoicing implementation published

Further to the updated technical specifications being released in France, the French government has also published associated updated FAQs on its website.

Technical requirements published for upcoming B2B e-invoicing mandate

Following the publication of the ordinance on 15 September 2021 and the first version of the technical specifications regarding the upcoming B2B e-invoicing mandate in France, a new version was published on 30 December 2021. The updated version included the following new elements:
• Addition of e-reporting formats
• Addition of supplements on specific use cases
• Feedback from publishers / companies following the first version of the technical specifications.
The updated version of the technical specifications also includes the following annexes:
• Annexe 1 – Format sémantique B2B e-invoicing – Flux 1&2 (.xls)
• Annexe 2 – Format sémantique B2B CDV (.xls)
• Annexe 3 – Format sémantique B2B annuaire (.xls)
• Annexe 4 – Format sémantique B2B ereporting flux 8 (.xls)
• Annexe 5 – Format sémantique B2B ereporting flux 9 (.xls)
• Annexe 6 – Format sémantique B2B ereporting flux 10 (.xls)
• Annexe 7 – Règles de gestion (.xls)
The updated technical specifications also include further information in relation to the date of assessment for the size of a company. These documents can be obtained via the following here.

Request to impose mandatory e-invoicing

France has requested authorisation from the EU commission to derogate from Articles 218 and 232 of the VAT Directive to be able to impose mandatory electronic invoicing to all taxable persons established in France. The authorisation to derogate would apply from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026.

This proposal is currently under review with the European Commission. Please refer to this document.

Delay to e-invoicing mandate

The French e-invoicing mandate has been delayed, in line with the following: 

1. General obligation to receive e-invoices: July 2024 
2. Obligation for large enterprises to send e-invoices: July 2024 
3. Obligation to send e-invoices for mid-sized suppliers: January 2025 
4. SME obligation: January 2026 

France delays implementation of Continuous Tax Controls by 18 months

The French Council of Ministers announced on September 15th, 2021 that the introduction of the e-invoicing and e-reporting mandate has been postponed by 18 months. Please click here for the official announcement. While France was making good progress with the preparation for the mandate, the implementation time was deemed to be too short given the significant impact of the new obligations on businesses (originally the first phase of the mandate would have kicked in on January 1, 2023).

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Still on track for mandatory e-invoicing and VAT e-reporting

Last November 24, the French DGFiP presented its report to external stakeholders that details the road to widespread use and adoption of electronic invoicing in France and the obligation to report VAT electronically as of 2023.

At the beginning of 2021, a “Project Department” will be set up within the DGFiP. This department will lead the next steps. In collaboration with the AIFE, further consultations, organised in “Working Groups”, with stakeholders, will be happening during 2021 to further detail requirements, best practices, and support structure alignment with the needs of companies.

France implements EU VAT Directive 55

The European Union (EU) VAT Directive 55 obliges all EU public authorities to receive invoices electronically, or at least to have a defined for how they will do so, by 27 November 2018.

France mandates B2G e-invoicing

The European Union (EU) VAT Directive 55 obliges all EU public authorities to receive invoices electronically by 27 November 2018.