France E-Invoicing - A comprehensive Guide

France e-invoicing is at the forefront of the country’s digital tax transformation, aiming to modernize and streamline how businesses issue, process, and report invoices. Under the new mandate, companies will no longer send invoices directly to customers; instead, they must route them through a government platform (Public Invoicing Portal – PPF) or an approved Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP).

From October 2024, the PPF’s role has been narrowed to serving as a directory and data hub, meaning PDPs are now mandatory for actual invoice exchange. This change is a central part of the France e-invoicing reform, which is designed to enhance tax transparency, improve compliance, and reduce administrative burdens for businesses.

The Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) has released the framework for this model after close collaboration with stakeholders, including businesses, technology providers, and public authorities. France e-invoicing will be mandatory for business-to-business transactions, and companies will also have to transmit transaction data to the tax administration, enabling real-time or near-real-time VAT reporting.

Key Advantages of France E-Invoicing
Enhanced Detection and Prevention of Tax Evasion
Real-time invoice data in the e-invoicing software allows authorities to detect irregularities early, reducing the risk of fraud.

Optimized Tax Oversight with Lower Compliance Costs
Automated data validation reduces the time and expense associated with audits and tax enforcement.

Simplified and Accurate VAT Reporting
With pre-filled or real-time VAT data, France e-invoicing eliminates most manual input, boosting accuracy and easing submissions.

Increased Business Efficiency and Cost Savings
By digitizing invoice workflows, companies cut operational costs and focus resources on value-added tasks.

Real-Time Market Insights
It provides instant visibility into business activity, enabling both companies and the government to track trends.

End-to-End Invoice Lifecycle Optimization
The e-invoicing framework ensures invoices are processed faster, with greater traceability from issuance to payment.

Implementation Timeline for France E-Invoicing
September 2026
All companies in France must be able to receive e-invoices.
Large and medium-sized companies must also start issuing them.
September 2027
Small and micro-sized companies must start sending e-invoices, marking the final stage of e-invoicing adoption.
From these dates, new mandatory invoice data elements — such as the supplier’s SIREN number, delivery address, and transaction type — must be included in all structured e-invoices.

E-Invoice Formats
France e-invoicing allows invoices in UBL, CII, or Factur-X format. Other structured formats like EDIFACT or XML can be exchanged via PDPs if both supplier and customer are registered with them.

Non-structured formats such as plain PDFs will no longer qualify as compliant e-invoices once the mandate is fully in effect.

Digital Signature Requirements
While not mandatory, digital signatures (or qualified electronic seals) are recommended to ensure the integrity and authenticity of documents. PDPs under the France e-invoicing system must verify that invoices are valid, complete, and authentic, including the handling of electronic signatures when provided.

E-Reporting Obligations
Alongside e-invoicing, companies must submit specific electronic tax reports based on transaction type:

Payment-related data
B2C transaction data
B2B international transaction data
The reporting format and frequency depend on the nature of the transactions, ensuring that France e-invoicing and e-reporting work together for full tax visibility.
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