E-Invoicing in France: Then & Now

by | Apr 11, 2024 | E-invoicing

Update of April 11th, 2024

New Calendar of the Law

On July 28th, 2023, the French government issued a press release announcing an adjournment of the implementation of electronic invoicing, without further details. It is only later on that the new calendar has been unveiled with the amendment of October 17th, 2023, with the key dates of September 2026 and September 2027 for a staggered rollout to companies according to their size. This calendar has been voted in December 2023 with the new Fiscal Law.

In 2024, the PPF (Portail Public de Facturation – the State Platform) is due to be delivered, along with the directory, which will enable the various players, in particular the PDPs (official partners) to carry out tests before the launch of the pilot in 2025.

New Calendar: 

  • 2024: Delivery of PPF and directory. Possibility to realize technical tests
  • 2025: Large-scale pilot, lasting one year, enabling in-depth testing
  • 2026: Deployment, starting in September for large companies – Reception of e-invoices mandatory for everyone
  • 2027: Deployment for SMBs and small companies in September

Wondering where your business fits in?

– SMEs are defined as a workforce of fewer than 5,000 people and annual sales of less than €1.5 billion or a balance sheet of less than €2 billion.

– Small businesses are defined as a workforce of fewer than 250 people and annual sales of less than €50 million or a balance sheet of less than €43 million.

The deadlines are rapidly approaching, and it’s never too early to start to prepare, even if your company falls into the small business category. It’s important to note that the e-reporting requirements will follow the same timeline.

We’re continuing to take part in the various discussions to help you make the transition to electronic invoicing, and are planning to be part of the large-scale pilot in 2025. Stay tuned for the latest news on e-invoicing in France and get ready for 2026!

Introduction

Since January of 2020, business-to-government (B2G) e-invoicing has been mandatory. Now, the French government has called for a standardized e-invoicing system for all transactions (B2B, B2C) on both the sales and purchasing side.

Among postponements and deliberations, this long-term work initiated by the government involves many actors, including service providers like SPS Commerce. Interoperability across different e-invoicing platforms has been a high-priority focus of the group. (If you want to read more about our focus on interoperability and open networks, click here.)

With this new initiative, the government is aiming to combat VAT fraud and make transaction processes more efficient.

Context

The European Union and the European Commission want to simplify and facilitate business-to-business (B2B) relations. The extension of the electronic invoicing requirements for domestic transactions between VAT taxpayer companies, as well as non-domestic B2B transactions, have given rise to e-invoicing. In 2022, there will be 4 million French businesses subject to VAT, 96% of which will be small businesses.

There are 4 main objectives:

  • Limited VAT fraud
  • Limited constraints between companies (thanks to real-time transactions between suppliers and customers)
  • Transparency to government authorities
  • Use of new technologies

What to expect

Businesses will be able to send e-invoices in a few different ways. The first way is through an approved third-party commercial partner platform, or “Plateforme de Dematerialization Partenaire” (PDP).

The second way is through the public invoicing platform, or “Portail Public de Facturation” (PPF). Like classic e-invoicing services, the PDP or PPF will receive the invoices first instead of the documents going directly to the customer. Then, the PDP or PPF will send the e-invoice to the customer.

While businesses are free to choose either option, it should be noted that the PPF will only have basic functionality and will only be sufficient for small companies to use.

PDP

A PDP is an intermediary between a supplier and a customer. PDPs are the only platforms that can transmit electronic invoices directly to their recipients AND transmit the data to the Public Billing Portal. They must ensure that data integrity, authenticity and completeness are maintained. PDPs will be registered by the administration and will also play an internal role, such as managing a directory. And yes, SPS Commerce supports both B2G and B2B e-invoicing requirements in France.

PPF

The PPF is the platform that will centralize all billing data, and it will have to systematically receive billing data for all invoices issued. The AIFE (Agence pour l’Informatique Financière de l’Etat/Agency for State Financial Information Technology) has designed this portal (Chorus Pro) where taxable companies will be able to submit their invoices directly. The portal will guarantee the exchange of electronic invoices for taxable persons who do not have a PDP and will transmit the data to the tax authorities.

E-Invoicing Formats

All French e-invoicing providers will need to ensure that UBL, CII, and Factur-X (the three main French e-invoice formats) are supported. Additionally, PDF invoices can be created, but cannot be scans – if you’re at all familiar with e-invoicing, this is nothing new.

Next steps

If you are a company that is subject to VAT in France, these laws concern you. However, you have nothing to worry about if you choose to utilize a service provider that meets all compliancy requirements (like SPS Commerce). And, if you choose to become a customer of SPS Commerce, you can take comfort in knowing that not only are you meeting all regulations, but you can also easily digitalize all your business processes.

Questions? Feel free to reach out. We’re more than happy to help!

SPS Commerce supports both B2G and B2B e-invoicing requirements in France, and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Faustine Tournay
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