E-billing to affect all business in France
All businesses will be required to register with a private, fee-charging platform to receive electronic invoices
Small businesses will only be required to use the platforms to receive invoices, but after September 1, 2027, they will also be required to use them to issue them
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France’s long-delayed and significantly revised electronic invoicing system is set to take effect on September 1, with a broader scope and higher costs than initially anticipated.
All businesses will be required to register with a private, fee-charging platform to receive electronic invoices, regardless of whether they are liable for TVA (French VAT).
Initially, small businesses will only be required to use the platforms to receive invoices, but after September 1, 2027, they will also be required to use them to issue them.
The government had initially planned to provide a free platform for electronic billing, but these plans were scrapped.
“If you are a micro-entrepreneur who sells one pot of jam a month you have to register for one of the paid-for platforms, by September 1, 2026,” a spokesman for the Fédération Nationale des Autoentrepreneurs & Microentrepreneurs (FNAM) said.
“The cheapest offers are around €10 per month, so effectively it will be an additional tax on everyone who does business, of any sort.”
At one stage it was thought that businesses who deal with individuals – such as a tradesperson who does work on a house – would be exempt from issuing bills through the platforms, but this is not the case.
“These businesses will not have to give the full electronic bill to individuals, but they will still have to register them on the platforms,” the spokesman said.
“So when they deal with clients who do not have computers and do not deal with bills on their smartphones, they will give them a paper print-out, be paid, but then have to add the payment details themselves to the platform.”
France’s finance ministry confirmed to The Connexion: “The reform of electronic billing applies to everyone who is in the TVA system, whether they are over the limit to be registered or not.
“So if businesses have sales figures which mean they benefit from TVA exemption (which has to be mentioned on invoices) and they issue bills to clients who are subject to TVA, then these invoices have to pass by one of the electronic platforms.
“The fact that someone operating in the economy does not have to register for TVA and so not collect and bill TVA, does not mean they are not in the TVA system and so are fully concerned by electronic billing.”
Around 3.5 million micro-entrepreneurs who do not earn sufficient income to be liable for TVA will thus be affected.
TVA exemption thresholds are currently set at €85,000 for running commercial businesses and renting out furnished accommodation, and €37,500 for services and trades.
Ahead of the electronic invoicing change, some 100 e-billing platforms have already been certified by the government.
The FNAM is itself currently seeking certification, which it anticipates will be granted in the summer. This will allow federation members to receive bills free of charge.
FNAM membership starts from €12 a year, rising to €139–€168.50 per year.
E-billing platforms are chiefly being offered by start-ups such as Qonto, a French online bank for SMEs and freelancers, although some established business software firms, including the UK-based Sage, also provide them.
Qonto offers a basic package to micro-entrepreneurs at €9 (before tax) per month, whereas Sage provides starter packages for micro-entrepreneurs from €20 per month (before tax) for those using Windows computers (€25 for those who use Macs). The full list can be found on the Impots site.
Large and mid-sized companies – generally those with 2,000 employees or more – must issue electronic invoices in the accounting formats UBL, CII or FactureX from September 1, 2026. The platform selected for electronic billing and the accounting software in use will determine the format adopted.
From September 1, 2027, the same obligation will apply to all businesses registered for TVA.
In practice, it is anticipated that once firms are registered to receive electronic invoices, they will also begin issuing them, in order to gain the full benefit from their mandatory subscription to e-billing platforms.
To do so will require preparatory work before issuing invoices to ensure that recipients have provided their Siret and Siren numbers, a valid business address, and their TVA intracommunautaire number.
