In an effort to help businesses prepare for the launch of the electronic invoicing regime in July 2024, France’s General Directorate of Public Finance has written a new set of e-invoicing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). This follows the technical guidance it released back in August and includes further detail on when the invoices must be transmitted and the data fields that must be shown on the invoices.
France will introduce a new mandatory real-time invoice-reporting regime for resident businesses, which will apply to all its domestic B2B transactions in the country. The deadline for the introduction of the regime will be staggered depending on the size of the business as per the below:
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From 1 July 2024 – Large enterprises (enterprises with more than 5,000 employees and either a 12-month turnover exceeding EUR 1.5 billion or a balance sheet exceeding €2 billion)
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From 1 January 2025 – Intermediate enterprises
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From 1 January 2026 – Small and medium enterprises (enterprises with less than 250 employees and either a 12-month turnover not exceeding €50 million or a balance sheet not exceeding €43 million)
This new regime will impact resident businesses that sell to other VAT-registered businesses in the country and will force them to declare their sales to the French tax authorities via a new e-invoicing platform. This is instead of sending invoices to their customers themselves.
The French tax authorities will then check these invoices and if correct, it will approve them by applying a digital stamp. It will then send the invoice directly to the customer on behalf of the supplier via the new system.
It’s hoped this new invoice-reporting regime will prevent common errors on these types of invoices and will also help prevent VAT fraud in the country.
The above information was kindly provided by Fiscal Solutions (UK), www.fiscalsolutions.co.uk; contact: [email protected].
