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Mandatory B2B E-invoicing in France

Electronic invoicing in the B2B sector is allowed in France, but has never been compulsory. For this reason, the issue was not over-regulated, and the post-audit model allowed checking the compliance of invoices after they were issued.

This is set to change in the near future. Each invoice will be issued in a centralized model commonly known as clearance. Below, you will find the most important information about this.

Also, the get a practical overview of mandatory e‑invoicing & e‑reporting in France, you can get a free copy of our latest white paper.

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Timeline for transition to clearance model

Mandatory B2B E-invoicing in France - timeline

Who will it affect?

1.
Micro companies
with French VAT

A micro-company is a company with fewer than 10 employees and annual sales or a balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million. An SME is a company with fewer than 250 employees and maximum annual sales of EUR 50 million or a balance sheet total of no more than EUR 43 million.

2.
Medium companies
with French VAT

A midsize company (ETI) is a company that does not belong in the SME category, has fewer than 5,000 employees and maximum annual sales of EUR 1,500 million or a balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2,000 million.

3.
Large companies
with French VAT

All other companies with higher numbers than described for medium companies.

Process presentation

Describing the Y model 

Mandatory B2B E-invoicing in France - Infographic

Transmission of the invoice:

  1. The supplier stores their invoice on their PDP
  2. The supplier's PDP transmits the invoice to the buyer's PDP
  3. The supplier's PDP transmits the invoice data to the PPF
  4. The buyer's PDP forwards the updated invoice status to the supplier's PDP
  5. The PPF forwards the invoice data to the tax authority

Marking main differences

The companies will have to choose a platform for e-invoicing:

PDP (Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire) will act as a trusted third party and its role will be to transform, validate and send invoices to the French tax authority.

PPF (the public invoicing portal) will be a new Chorus Pro; small companies should be able to use Chorus Pro as a manual platform for exchanging electronic invoices. Chorus Pro is currently being used for B2G transactions to declare, transmit and receive electronic invoices by public administrations. New characteristics will be added to implement the new system which include the management of B2B invoicing and e-reporting.

PDP (Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire)

What exactly are PDPs? According to Ordinance No. 2021-1190 of 15 September 2021 on the generalization of electronic invoicing in transactions (…)  they are the dematerialization platforms that ensure the transmission of electronic invoices as well as the transmission to the public invoicing portal.

PPF (the public invoicing portal)

Chorus Pro: National B2B2G e-Invoicing Portal

Chorus Pro will become the public invoicing platform (PPF). It is currently being used for B2G transactions to declare, transmit and receive electronic invoices by public administrations. New characteristics will be added to implement the new system which include the management of B2B invoicing and e-reporting.

New Chorus Pro Plataforme Publique de Facturation Electronic (PPF)

  • Centralized tax declaration flows sent by the Certified Private Platforms
  • Update to the new Annuaire (centralized register with the identification data of companies to facilitate the exchange of electronic invoices between private companies and government entities)
  • Small companies can use Chorus Pro as a manual platform for exchanging electronic invoices

What else changes?

  • The PDF image type invoice (scanned invoice or PDF generated from an office tool) sent by email will not be considered as an electronic invoice under the new system. If you still use paper or PDF invoices, it will be accepted at the start of the reform that the invoices may be submitted in this format, on paper or as PDF, on a partner platform or the public platform, to be converted into electronic form and sent to your clients. An electronic invoice necessarily contains a minimum amount of data in a structured format.
  • Suppliers will not be able to impose an electronic invoice exchange format on you. You can choose your reception platform (which may be the same as the platform for issuing invoices) depending on the format(s) that suit you. The partner platforms will all offer a minimum base of formats, common to all the partner platforms and which will guarantee the interoperability of exchanges.
  • Companies subject to the issue obligation will send their invoices to their professional customers ("business to business" or B2B transactions) via a partner dematerialization platform which will take care of the actual sending of electronic invoices to the platform of dematerialization of the customer.
  • The invoices sent to your professional customers ("business to business" or B2B transactions) will necessarily be sent via a partner platform or the public invoicing portal which will take care of the actual sending of the electronic invoices to the platform of your professional client. You will therefore no longer send invoices directly to your customers or via email.

Comarch makes efforts to become a PDP

At Comarch, we wish to participate fully in the implementation of electronic invoicing and have declared ourselves a candidate to be a PDP. We participate in all workshops on an ongoing basis, and stay up to date with all changes. 

We make every effort to ensure that our solutions will be ready for implementation when the obligation clearance model comes mandatory.

Comarch has also joined the national Forum of e-Invoicing in France to be one of the best-informed providers. Read more

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How can we help?

Comarch is constantly proving to be a reliable, well-informed and prepared expert in managing e-invoices. The company is in line with different e-invoicing requirements in many countries, for example Italy (SDI) and Poland (KSeF), where the e-invoicing model is very similar to that planned in France, along with India (GST System), Saudi Arabia (ZATCA), and many others.

Comarch e-Invoicing is a powerful and comprehensive product that enables secure and highly efficient document exchange with all your business partners and customers. Designed to respond to the continuous challenges of digital transformation, the platform is compliant with the latest regulations and standards for data transfer.

Due to our expertise, also with companies operating in France, we can assist your business in exchanging e-invoices easily and securely.

Comarch e-Invoicing will greatly support your business in:

  • Fast and secure data exchange
  • On-time payments
  • Lower costs of manual and paper invoicing processes
  • Reduced number of errors
  • Improving your billing-invoice management
  • Positive environmental impact

Do you want to know more?

If your company is also based or has branches in France and you need to start preparing your billing and tax systems to comply with the new requirements. Click on the button below to get in touch with one of our experts.

CONTACT US 

Join the companies that have already improved their data efficiency with Comarch e-Invoicing!


Comarch has many years of experience in providing innovative IT products and services allowing for efficient document management and automation of various supply chain processes.

Check out some of our success stories to learn what our clients have achieved by using Comarch EDI, MDM, e-Invoicing (also in a Cloud), and Online Distribution.

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Legal regulation changes in France

Characteristics of the e-invoicing in France

Mandatory/not mandatory

Since January 1st 2020, companies have been required to send their invoices to the public sector in electronic format.

Electronic invoicing obligations, in terms of B2B transaction, will be imposed:

  • As of July 1st 2024, on receipt, to all taxable persons.
  • As of July 1st 2024, in transmission, to large companies.
  • As of January 1st 2025, medium-sized enterprises.
  • As of January 1st 2026, small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises.

E-invoice format and platform

The invoices are to be issued in the formats of UBL, CII, or Factur-X.

B2G and B2B e-invoicing are to be performed through the B2G platform Chorus Pro, which is already being used.

E-invoicing process description

Companies may freely choose to use:

  • Either a dematerialization platform partner of the administration
  • Direct access to the public invoicing portal which will rely on the Chorus Pro platform, which already ensures the dematerialized exchange of public sector invoices.

Integrity and authenticity

Qualified Electronic Signature is one of the examples of requirements to ensure the integrity and authenticity of e-invoice. Another example is a local RGS certificate.

Data sealed with a qualified electronic seal enjoy the presumption of integrity and authenticity.

Archiving

Storage period 10+1 years

Acts/government sites

Frequently Asked Questions

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