The deadlines for implementing compulsory eInvoicing in France are approaching!
As impots.gouv.fr states:
“Taxable businesses will have to use the services of a dematerialization platform to transmit and receive their electronic invoices and to send transaction and payment data to the administration. They will be free to choose one (or more) partner dematerialization platforms, or the public invoicing portal directly”.
With effect from 2024, the dematerialisation of invoices will become mandatory with new:
- obligations
- parties
- services
- flows to the administration
Partner Dematerialization Platforms (Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire, PDPs) will play a key role in the eInvoicing reform at the level of the Public Invoicing Portal (or Portail Public de Facturation, PPF).
Partner Dematerialization Platforms
The implementation specifications have been published for Article 153 of the Finance Act 2020 and Article 195 of the Finance Act 2021.
It will be mandatory to only exchange invoices in electronic format and to send a copy to the Public Invoicing Portal, or Portail Public de Facturation (PPF). The PPF will only offer businesses a minimum set of services and, above all, formats.
For instance, it will no longer be possible to send invoices via EDI directly to customers or to the Public Invoicing Portal. Instead, it will be necessary to use a Partner Dematerialization Platform or Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire (PDP).
Electronic invoicing in France
Article 153 of the Finance Act of 2020 states:
“Invoices relating to transactions between taxpayers that are subject to value added tax shall be issued in electronic form and the data contained therein shall be transmitted to the administration for their use for the purposes, in particular, of modernizing the methods of collecting and controlling value added tax”.
- By 1 July 2024: all businesses must accept electronic invoices.
- In July 2024: large enterprises must issue electronic invoices.
- In January 2025: medium-sized enterprises must issue eInvoices.
- In January 2026: small and medium-sized enterprises and micro enterprises must issue eInvoices.
To achieve the administration’s goal of collecting all transaction data from companies, eInvoicing has to be complemented by an e-reporting obligation.
E-reporting involves transmitting the following information to tax authorities:
- B2B export transactions;
- B2C sales, or sales to persons not paying VAT;
- Payment information for electronic invoices received (date and amount of payment).
New electronic flows
The recipients of electronic invoices must be identified on a list by means of their SIREN (9-digit code) or SIRET (14-digit code) number.
It is also possible to use a routing code (i.e. a global location number or GLN code) to deliver invoices directly to the department responsible for processing them.
All transactions in France relating to the purchase or sale of goods and services between companies established in France and subject to VAT have to comply with this flow.
The electronic reporting obligation also concerns companies subject to French VAT for sales to non-taxable persons (including private individuals) and to companies not established in France.
There are therefore three new players involved in electronic invoicing in France:
1.The Dematerialization Operator, or DO, is a private service provider that offers companies dematerialisation services for the transmission and reception of invoices.
2.The Dematerialization Platform Partner, or PDP, is a private service provider and dematerialisation operator authorized to transmit invoices directly to recipients and to the Public Invoicing Platform (e-reporting).
PDPs are required to:
- Verify the conformity of invoices and data before transmission;
- Transmit eInvoices in an approved structured format to the recipients’ platforms;
- Receive eInvoices and make them available to recipients;
- Extract invoice data from the invoices issued and transmit it to the tax authorities;
- Manage the processing status of electronic invoices;
- Transmit directory information updates to the public portal.
3.The Public Invoicing Portal, or Portail Public de Facturation – PPF (managed by the Agency for State Financial Information or AIFE, Agence pour l’Informatique Financière de l’Etat) offers a minimum set of services to private companies to exchange their electronic invoices. Its main purpose is to collect electronic invoicing and reporting data for tax authorities.
Preparing for the changes with the right solution
The deadline of 1 July 2024 is rapidly approaching. By this date, all companies will have to have chosen a dematerialization platform partner capable of receiving and issuing eInvoices and transmitting the e-reporting data.
The transformation of the invoicing cycle and the implementation of the new information flows entail significant changes. Therefore, a preparation and testing phase is essential.
Comply offers the services you need so that you don’t have to worry about regulatory compliance.
We also provide up-to-date information on the status of eInvoicing in France (and other European countries) and can help you implement your B2B or B2G eInvoicing process.
Contact us to learn more about the available solutions and details of the current status of eInvoicing in France
