(Special Issue) France’s 2024 E-Invoicing Mandate: What You Need to Know

Welcome to our special issue of Esker Buzz! This time, we’re putting the spotlight on France’s e-invoicing mandate. With this new regulation soon to be in effect, it’s crucial for businesses to understand what’s required of them to be fully compliant and how to adapt accordingly. In this issue, we’re handing out insights into what the mandate entails, how it will impact businesses, and what steps (if any) you need to take to comply.

What is France’s 2024 e-invoicing mandate?

The mandate requires businesses to submit all domestic B2B invoices to the French Tax authority electronically via Chorus Pro or use a privately registered third party like Esker (called Partner Dematerialization Platform or PDP).

This mandate is not solely about delivering invoices electronically, it is also a requirement to provide payment data and e-reporting data (international B2B and B2C transactions) to the government. In plain English, it is a condensed file with invoice header data/certain fields that the tax authority requires.

This applies to companies that have a registered business in France. If you don’t have a subsidiary in France, you will not be impacted by this requirement at this time. If the French entity is sending or receiving invoices from other countries that must be reported.

When is the mandate going into effect?

The mandate will be phased in gradually. Businesses will be required to issue e-invoices according to the following schedule:

• July 1, 2024: large companies
• January 1, 2025: mid-sized companies
• January 1, 2026: smaller companies

All business entities will be required to accept electronic invoices starting July 1, 2024, regardless of their size. The French government introduced this mandate to fight VAT fraud, strengthen competitiveness, improve company efficiency and facilitate VAT tax returns.

How will this mandate affect organizations in France? How will it affect organizations outside of France hoping to do business in the country?

For French-registered companies, the mandate will require changes to their invoicing and reporting processes. Here are some examples of impacts on organizations:

• Shift towards real-time or near-real-time invoicing and reporting, which may require changes to their internal processes and systems
• Choose between the Chorus Pro platform or a registered third-party provider (connected to Chorus Pro)
• New costs for companies, as they may need to invest in new software, or personnel to comply with the mandate. However, the shift towards electronic invoicing may result in long-term cost savings for these organizations
• Impacts on ERP system change (e.g., support of mandatory fields, connected to their private registered third party)
• Training for users on these new tools and processes
• Collection of all mandatory information for e-invoicing and e-reporting that will be required by the tax authority.

Organizations outside of France are not impacted by the mandate if they have no VAT-registered company in France.

Now is the time to start looking for a solution that can ensure full compliance with the new mandate. If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We look forward to keeping you up to date on the latest news regarding the France e-invoicing mandate.

Stay tuned for our next newsletter or visit our website for more information.