The French government is taking a further step towards the digitisation of commercial exchanges with the generalisation of electronic invoicing. This will improve the competitiveness of businesses by optimising payment deadlines and streamlining invoicing circuits. Furthermore, this measure will facilitate relations between businesses and the tax administration.
In a press release issued on 15 October, the DGFiP announced its intention to implement B2B e-invoicing in France through a 5-corner model. This means that companies will have to use a PDP (Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires) to issue, send and receive electronic invoices. For its part, the administration will accompany this transition in constant cooperation with platforms, associations and software developers, thus confirming its commitment to the digitalisation of business relations.
The role of the PPF (Portail Public de Facturacion) will therefore be limited to managing a directory and collecting data from PDPs.
Currently, more than 70 dematerialisation platforms have been approved by the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP). Although the initial idea was to create a public platform for issuing and receiving invoices, accessible to all users, its operation will be limited. Each company will be identified by its SIREN/SIRET number. In addition, identification and interoperability between companies will be ensured by an associated digitisation platform (PDP).
The State is confident that these platforms will ensure secure and quality services and will continue to make progress in the creation of a directory of beneficiaries and a centralised system for the transmission of data to the public administration. This includes flow management1 and electronic tax reporting, which brings together the data needed to fulfil tax obligations.
According to the 2024 Finance Act, the implementation of mandatory e-invoicing in France will be gradual. From 1 September 2026, all businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices and both large and medium-sized businesses will be obliged to issue them. One year later, on 1 September 2027, this obligation will be extended to small and micro businesses..
When will B2B e-invoicing be implemented in France?
In accordance with the regulations, all companies with a tax domicile in the country are required to utilise electronic invoicing.
However, the ordinance stipulates that all taxpayers who are exempt from VAT are exempt from the obligation to submit invoices in electronic format. In accordance with Article 261 of the General Tax Code, the entities include those engaged in the provision of health services, educational services, and non-profit organisations, among others.
In order to facilitate the implementation of electronic invoicing in companies as much as possible, and as has occurred in other countries, a schedule of obligations has been designed for this purpose in France.
In the month of November 2024, a selection of beta candidates will be chosen to participate in the PDPs (Partner Dematerialisation Platforms). This refers to the aforementioned accredited e-invoicing service providers. Concurrently, the pilot testing of the PPF (Public Billing Portal) will commence, and the specific conditions will be reviewed in December.
The pilot phase of the PDPs will commence in January 2025, and by March, all PDPs will be eligible to participate in the test. Interoperability tests will be conducted in October and December, and all PDPs must be registered. One year later, the full testing of the PDP functionalities with the API sandbox will be executed.
In September 2026, the obligation for business-to-business (B2B) e-invoicing and e-reporting will commence for large companies (those with over 5,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding €1.5 billion, or a balance sheet total exceeding €2 billion) and also for medium-sized companies. Nevertheless, there is a possibility of extending it by three months, until December 2026.
Furthermore, in September 2027, the obligatory B2B e-invoicing and digital reporting will be extended to encompass small and micro enterprises (i.e. those with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €50 million or €43 million, respectively). Furthermore, there is the possibility of extending the deadline by a further three months.
B2G e-invoice in France
The implementation of e-invoicing in the French public sector commenced in 2017 and was concluded within a three-year timeframe. As of 1 January 2020, French companies were required to issue electronic invoices to public administrations.
Conversely, in September 2021, the government enacted Ordinance no. 2021-1190, extending the mandatory use of e-invoicing to private companies.
How is the electronic tax reporting project in France?
In line with the mass adoption of electronic invoicing in France, and in compliance with the Finance Act of 2022, the government has also chosen to introduce an electronic tax reporting initiative:
- Transactions between companies subject to VAT and private individuals.
- Transactions between French companies and international companies.
- Transactions in France involving parties not resident in the country for tax purposes.
The timetable for implementing electronic reporting will be the same as for electronic invoicing.
SERES, an ideal partner for multi-country projects
For companies operating in multiple countries, compliance with international obligations can be achieved through a global e-invoicing solution that is certified in all relevant countries.
The SERES multi-country e-invoicing solution offers several benefits, including:
- Adhere to legal and technical requirements in each country, ensuring compliance.
- Streamline workflows between subsidiaries or companies in different countries, making it easier to share information.
- Real-time visibility of subsidiary information, enabling efficient management of treasury, receivables and payables.
Access to a global operator, eliminating the need for each subsidiary to adapt to different providers and providing support throughout the activation process.
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