Electronic Invoicing

Everything you need to know about

Summary

I – Objectives of the reform
II – The obligation of electronic invoicing
II.1 - Who is concerned?
II.2 - From when?
III – The transmission of the electronic invoice
III.1 - The form of the invoice
III.2 – The content of the invoice
III.3 – The mode of transmission of the invoice
III.4 – PFF and PA
III.5 – The directory
IV – The tax administration
IV.1 - Foundations
IV.2 – Transmission deadlines
Summary

I – Objectives of the reform

1. Strengthen the fight against VAT fraud
2. Reduce reporting costs and facilitate declarations
3. Lessen the administrative burden and reduce costs and payment times
4. Improve business management and knowledge of their activity

For the State:

• Fair competition for compliant businesses vs. businesses committing VAT fraud

For businesses:

• Time savings and reduction of invoice processing costs
  => Thanks to reduced data entry errors, automatic integration, lower printing and storage costs, elimination of routing errors, etc.
• Improved management of activity and cash flow
  => Thanks to the dashboard and real-time cash monitoring
• Improved invoice tracking
  => Thanks to better traceability of invoices and monitoring of invoice status
• Reduction and improvement of dispute handling regarding payment deadlines
  => Thanks to prior invoice validation and possible payment automation

II – The obligation of electronic invoicing

II.1 - Who is concerned?

Principle: In France, the reform concerns all VAT payers (liable and non-liable).

II.2 - From when?

From September 1, 2026, all companies – regardless of size – must be able to receive and process an electronic invoice.
Only large companies and mid-sized enterprises will be required to issue this type of invoice, while small and medium-sized enterprises have an additional year – until September 1, 2027 – to prepare for issuing electronic invoices.

• €50 per invoice up to a limit of €15,000 per year (art.1737-III of the CGI)
• €500 per transmission up to a limit of €15,000 per year (art.1788 D I of the CGI)

WARNING
Failure to comply with this new regulation may lead to penalties.

III – The transmission of the electronic invoice

III.1 - The form of the invoice

Principle: not all formats are valid for constituting an electronic invoice.

Particularity: the FACTUR-X, mixed invoice, is an invoice that includes both a .pdf part visible to users and a .xml part visible to invoice processing software.

III.2 – The content of the invoice

List of mandatory data for the invoice transmitted to the tax administration:

• Number (SIREN) – taxpayer
• Individual identification number (VAT number) – taxpayer or unique taxpayer
• Individual identification number (VAT number) – assigned to the member of the unique taxpayer
• Individual identification number (VAT number) – tax representative of the taxpayer
• Country – taxpayer
• Identification number (SIREN) – client
• Individual identification number (VAT number) – client (in case of intra-community sale or VAT self-assessment)
• Country – client
• Mention operation category: delivery of goods (LB) / provision of services (PS) / dual (LBPS)
• Invoice issue date
• Unique invoice number
• Number of the corrected invoice in case of issuing a corrective invoice
• Option for tax payment based on debits
• Total excluding tax by tax rate
• Amount of the corresponding tax by tax rate
• Applicable VAT rate (to differentiate if multiple)
• Total amount to be paid excluding tax
• Amount of tax to be paid
• In case of exemption, reference to the legal provision
• Code/designation currency of the invoice
• Mention