In a prespective of a digital transition and a fight against fraud, the French government will impose, from July 1, 2024, on private companies liable in France, new methods for the transmission of invoices in BtoB “e-invoicing” and transaction data e-reporting.
The process of invoices under this dual mechanism (“e-invoicing” / “e-reporting”) will depend on the place of establishment of the parties, the rules of territoriality making it possible to determine whether the operation falls within the scope of French VAT, as well as the invoicing rules in force.
According to the French tax authorities, electronic invoicing has many advantages:
- Time saving;
- Mistakes avoiding;
- Data centralization;
- A maximum of security exchanges;
- Facilitation of VAT declarations with the tax authorities (with, in the long term, a possible pre-filling of CA3).
Entry into force of electronic invoicing in France
Electronic invoicing will concern both invoicing flows (incoming invoices and outgoing invoices).
- Receipt of incoming invoices
From July 1, 2024, all companies established in France, whatever their size, must be able to receive electronic invoices via the dematerialization platform of their choice.
- Issue of outgoing invoices
For the sales invoices, the new measures will come into force according to a timetable established for the size of the issuing company: from July 1, 2024 for large companies, from January 1, 2025 for medium-sized companies (ETI) and from 1 January 2026 for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and microenterprises.
Intermediate companies and small and medium-sized enterprises can nevertheless, from July 2024, choose to comply with the new terms and conditions for issuing invoices.
E-INVOICING
According to Ordinance No. 2021-1190 of September 15, 2021 related to the generalization of electronic invoicing, the new methods of transmission of invoices concern companies established in France for the sale of goods and services provided to their taxable customers (B2B) established in France when these sales fall within the scope of French VAT and/or fall under the invoicing rules applicable in France. The terms of e-invoicing therefore only concern situations where the supplier liable for VAT in France and the customer are both taxable persons established in France. Conversely, taxable transactions in another EU Member State in which a French company would be identified for VAT, do not fall within the scope of e-invoicing.
It also should be noted that the French authorities have announced the establishment of a directory which will make it possible to list the French companies subject to the e-invoicing obligation, indicating, for each of them, the choice of partner platforms.
E-REPORTING
Certain transactions, although not falling within the scope of the e-invoicing system, will nevertheless be subject to the e-reporting obligation. This is the case, for example, of sales to individuals (B2C), sales to companies or individuals not established in France, sales by suppliers not established in France but liable for French VAT…Companies will be in the obligation to transmit some data relating to these operations (e-reporting) to the tax services, according to the same methods as those applicable to electronic invoicing.
Companies established in France addressing a company established outside France will also have e-reporting obligations with regard to their intra-Community acquisitions of goods and services, excluding imports from countries outside the EU.
Companies not established in France will also be subject to e-reporting obligations according to specific rules. Do not hesitate to contact Eurotax if you have any questions regarding your indirect taxation in France or in Europe.
Note: The information contained in this article is subject to modifications according to the updates of the related texts and laws.
