France e-Invoicing Mandate

Navigate the impact of the France e-Invoicing Mandate with Basware: stay informed, stay compliant.

What you need to know for the France e-invoicing mandate

After the official announcement by the French Government to postpone the mandatory B2B e-invoicing and B2C e-reporting mandates, take note of the updated tentative dates you need to be aware of:

  • Public Platform readiness
    • 2024: Development of the PPF (Public Platform)
    • 2025: Voluntary pilot period for all businesses
  • Obligation to receive electronic invoices
    • From September 1, 2026 for all companies, whatever their size.
  • Obligation to send electronic invoices
    • Large companies : from September 1, 2026
    • Medium-sized companies (ETI): from September 1, 2026
    • SMEs and micro-enterprises: from September 1, 2027
  • Obligation to transmit e-reporting information:
    • Large companies: from September 1, 2026
    • Medium-sized companies (ETI): from September 1, 2026
    • SMEs and micro-enterprises: from September 1, 2027

Since 2022, Basware has been committed to delivering a mandate-compliant e-invoicing solution in France as an accredited Partner on the Dematerialization Platform (PDP), recognized by the French General Directorate of Public Finance. Basware has received confirmation from DGFIP that our PDP application is complete and accepted. The final choices for PDPs will be made and announced soon by DGFIP.

We will keep you updated on key developments related to the mandate, ensuring the delivery of a fully compliant e-invoicing solution for the France e-invoicing mandate. Learn more about Basware as your PDP.

Company size defined:

  • For companies larger than 5.000 employees AND larger than €1.5B revenue or €2B annual balance sheet total.
  • For companies between 5.000 and 250 employees AND below €1.5B revenue or €2B annual balance sheet total AND above €50M revenue or €43M balance sheet total.
  • For companies below 250 employees AND below €50M revenue or €43M balance sheet total. For companies below 10 employees AND below €2M revenue/ balance sheet total.

France mandates e-invoicing and e-reporting to enhance VAT collection efficiency – how do these changes impact your organization?

Over the past decade, the French government has launched strategic initiatives to increase its efficiency in collecting VAT. Technologies designed to achieve this goal are e-invoicing and e-reporting. According to legal order n°2021-1190, VAT-liable business documents, such as e-invoices, must be registered on and reported to the governmental platform Portail public de facturation (PPF) or public billing portal.

As a member of the FNFE, the official French National Forum for Electronic Invoicing, and member of the DGFIP PDP working group, Basware closely monitors mandate developments, ensuring a compliant solution for customers from day one.

  Requirements for receiving e-invoices

Companies subject to VAT in France will need to be able to receive e-invoices in the mandated formats UBL 2.1, UN/CEFACT CII, and Factur-X. Make sure your AP solution can receive and process the permitted formats.

  Requirements for sending e-invoices

The mandate deadlines for B2B to send e-invoices are: September 1, 2026 for large enterprise and mid-sized companies, September 1, 2027 for small and medium-sized businesses.

  Requirements for e-reporting

E-invoicing isn't mandatory for B2C and cross-border transactions. However, French companies must submit e-reporting files for these transactions, including specified data points, to the government platform. The deadline is four days after the week's end for standard reporting scheme companies and within seven days after the month's end for others.

  Options for data transmission

E-invoices and e-reporting data can be submitted directly to the government platform PPF (Portail public de facturation) or through an accredited service provider, known as PDP (plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire). This 'Y-model' means companies no longer send invoices directly to customers but via PPF or PDP.

  Invoice formats

Following the deadlines, only specific e-invoice formats—UBL 2.1, UN/CEFACT CII, and Factur-X—will be accepted. Paper and basic PDF invoices won't be valid in France for domestic B2B e-invoicing. Electronic invoices must be archived electronically, requiring a solution for electronic invoice archiving.

  Invoice lifecycle management 

The mandate includes managing the invoice lifecycle, requiring regular status updates to the government platform PPF. These updates can be sent directly or through a PDP. Mandatory statuses include submitted, refused, rejected, and received, while others like disputed and approved are optional.

How to prepare for the France e-invoicing mandate

basware-preperation-checklist-france-e-invoicing-mandates

1. Audit existing systems

We recommend auditing your existing business processes and applications. Access whether the mandate requires new actions in your role as a supplier or buyer and evaluate how well your existing systems support potential changes. Simultaneously, analyze your customers and suppliers, starting with the most critical ones. Determine if they fall within the mandate scope and understand their invoice volumes.

2. Contact Basware to begin defining your solution

Prioritize a discussion with your Basware Account Manager to define the optimal solution for your organization. Secure pricing for implementation and establish a project schedule to ensure a seamless transition.

3. Begin enriching your Invoice data

The regulations mandate the inclusion of specific data items on all invoices, such as:

  • The delivery or service provision address or
  • The nature of the transaction (delivery of goods or provision of services)

We've observed that some organizations may not consistently collect this data. Therefore, we highly recommend Basware customers assess their readiness to include this information in their invoices.

4. Start Communicating with your key suppliers

The implementation of regulations in a market can significantly impact the customer-supplier relationship. It's crucial to communicate with your strategic/critical customers and suppliers, ensuring they are aware of and preparing alongside your own efforts.

Other helpful assets:

  • France e-Invoicing Mandate Checklist
  • Global e-Invoicing infographicCovers upcoming global e-invoicing mandates that have been announced thus far. Countries where Basware provides e-invoicing compliance or is committed to doing so. For other countries you may need, contact us for further discussion.
  • Why choose Basware as your premier PDP partner? Download our guide to discover the key questions every business should ask when choosing between a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) and Dematerialization Operators (ODs).

Basware's compliance assurance for the France e-invoicing mandate

Stay compliant effortlessly with Basware, leveraging the world's largest globally compliant open business network, the Basware Network, ensuring seamless connectivity to the government portal PPF. Our comprehensive compliance solution addresses the complexity of invoicing and tax compliance, offering a singular, all-encompassing approach. 

Here's how Basware supports your organization in navigating the France e-invoicing mandate:

  • Deep partnership with KPMG Advocacy, continuously evaluating and enhancing compliance in our e-invoicing solutions.
  • Active membership in the French government’s coordination group FNFE.
  • Participation in the PDP working group organized by the French General Directorate of Public Finance.
  • Commitment to building a fully compliant e-invoicing solution for the France e-invoicing mandate, as a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) by the French General Directorate of Public Finance.
  • 30+ years of regulatory and best practice knowledge, providing a deep understanding of global organizations’ unique and complex compliance requirements.

Why Basware? Our experts are ready to discuss how Basware can guide you to compliance with the France e-invoicing mandate, contributing to your business development. For inquiries, email us at francemandate@basware.com.

We're dedicated to keeping you informed throughout our France e-invoicing solution development, testing, and delivery phases. The sooner you start preparing for this mandatory reform, the better positioned you'll be to leverage it for future business development.

Don't wait to start your compliance journey with Basware

To discuss your needs and how to get started, contact our solutions experts today to address the impact of the mandate on your business.

FAQs on the France e-Invoicing Mandate

What is an “electronic invoice” according to the French B2B mandate?

Only structured formats will be considered valid e-invoices for fiscal purposes under the French B2B mandate. This means that paper and simple PDF invoices will no longer be valid in France for B2B e-Invoicing.

The DGFIP(Direction générale des Finances publiques; translates as General Directorate of Public Finance) is planning to regulate the use of a number of formats, as long as they are compatible with the European Norm.The initially permitted three formats are UBL 2.1, UN/CEFACT CII and Factur-X.

What is a Plateformes de dématérialisation partenaires (PDP) and what do they do?

PDP stands for Plateformes de dématérialisation partenaires, which translates to partner digitalization/dematerialization platform. Basware has received confirmation from DGFIP that our PDP application is complete and accepted – as no platform can pretend to be registered or accredited without recognition from the French General Directorate of Public Finance.

PDPs are required to:

  • Transmit electronic invoices, in a structured format, to the platforms of their recipients
  • Receive the invoices and make them available to their recipients
  • Extract and transmit mandatory data from invoices to the administration
  • Receive, control, and transmit to the administration the e-reporting data (transaction status and payment)
  • Perform compliance checks on invoices and transaction data before transmission
  • Manage e-invoice processing statuses
  • Provide the public billing portal with the information needed to update the directory

What is the Portail public de facturation (PPF)?

PPF stands for Portail public de facturation, which translates as public billing portal. The publicly trusted third party offers free services and concentrates on invoicing and billing data for the tax authorities. The public invoicing portal allows companies to submit invoices, created by them in a structured or mixed format:

  • By uploading the file to the portal
  • By file transfer, using one of the available protocols (SFTP, AS2, AS4)
  • By file transfer, using the available API
  • Upon receipt, the public billing portal performs a data check.

The public billing portal also allows you to enter the data online or to upload a PDF file representing the invoice. The data entered (or extracted from the PDF) is then transformed, after validation, into one of the structured formats of the platform.

The corresponding invoice is made available to the recipient without any additional action from the depositor.

What is E-Reporting under the French Mandate?

E-Invoicing will not be mandatory for B2C and cross-border invoices. However, to get a complete overview of all invoice transactions, the government will require companies to send e-reporting files.

E-reporting requires a specific set of data-points in a specific form and will have to be sent on a recurring basis. Companies will have to be able to produce e-Reporting and send them to the government platform, either directly or through a partner platform (PDP) which can produce these files and deliver them to the government platform. These transactions are affected by e-reporting:

  • The transmission of data concerning B2B transactions for non-French customers
  • The transmission of data concerning B2C transactions for taxable transactions in France
  • The transmission of data concerning purchases from foreign operators (excluding imports)
  • The payment status of invoices for services (for services declared on e-invoices as e-reporting)

What is Invoice Lifecycle Management under the French Mandate?

In addition to invoice data, companies will have to transmit the invoice processing statuses to the government platform - directly or via a partner platform.

The invoice lifecycle will guarantee more transparency on the status of operations to the government. Some statuses will be mandatory (invoice submitted, refused, rejected, received) and other will be optional (disputed, approved, etc.).

What impact does the France e-Invoicing Mandate have on the existing B2G e-invoicing regulation and the use of the Chorus Pro platform?

Since 1st January 2020, e-invoicing in France has been mandatory for all transactions with the public sector (B2G, business-to-government) via the Chorus Pro portal.

Following the mandate timeline, the B2G invoice flows will be using the new e-invoicing system, the Portail public de facturation (PPF). This means 800,000 private entities need to anticipate the obligation to issue B2G invoices via the new e-invoicing landscape. To date, there is still no clarity about potential transition periods for existing Chorus Pro flows.

Keep up to date with e-Invoicing in France

Navigating the French E-Invoicing Landscape: Critical...

| Olivier Taligault | September 27, 2024

The recent Forum National de la Facture Électronique (FNFE-MPE) plenary session on September 13, 2024, provided important updates regarding the French...

Read more ->

France’s PDP List Announced: Why Basware Is the Right...

| Olivier Taligault | September 24, 2024

Exciting news in the world of e-invoicing! France has published the official list of Partner Dematerialization Platforms (PDPs) that have received their...

Read more ->

Basware achieves PDP status registration in France again...

| Olivier Taligault | September 3, 2024

With the confirmation of our PDP status registration, Basware is fully equipped to support businesses operating in France with a comprehensive suite of...

Read more ->