In France, e-Invoicing through the government’s e-Invoicing platform Chorus Pro for B2G transactions has been mandatory since 1 January 2020. The next step will be the introduction of B2B e-Invoicing and e-Reporting (for B2C transactions) obligations. Currently, the implementation timeline of the mandate is unclear because of the delayed announcement made on 28 July 2023. The implementation was originally planned by the French Tax Authority (DGFIP) for July 1, 2024. The new mandate will introduce continuous transaction controls (CTC) as a model. The mandate will affect all businesses, including buyers and suppliers.

Before the delayed announcement of mandatory B2B e-Invoicing and e-Reporting, the planned implementation had been July 1, 2024. In the last quarter of 2023 a new proposed timeline was revealed at the French National Electronic Forum:

• 2024 – licensing for e-Invoicing agents partner dematerialization platform (PDP) and public invoicing portal (PPF) will be completed
• 2025 – pilot phase will start for large companies
• September 2026 – Phase 1: large companies (more than: €1.5bn turnover or €2bn revenue; and 5,000 employees) and also regardless of the size of the business issued invoices in electronic format must be received.
• September 2027 – Phase 2: companies below the Phase 1 thresholds.

This implementation timeline may shift further in accordance with the upcoming confirmations.

As well as the B2B e-Invoicing obligation, B2C transactions named e-Reporting are covered by the regulation. In e-Reporting, information on transactions that are not covered by mandatory e-Invoicing needs to be reported to the tax authorities. The e-Reporting scope covers B2C transactions, dealing with operators established abroad (exports, intra-community shipments etc.). The implementation calendar is the same as the B2B e-Invoicing implementation timeline.

In France, the e-Invoicing process will be performed following three methods:

Public Invoicing Portal (PPF), which relies on the Chorus Pro platform to consolidate invoices and invoice data.

Registered Private Platform (PDP), which is registered by the tax authority and can act as a trusted third party. While recipients will receive e-Invoices from the PDPs directly, The PDPs also will be able to transform, validate, and send invoices to the tax authority. 

Dematerializing Operators (OD) as non-accredited service providers will offer invoice dematerialization services, but will not be registered by the tax authority. They cannot send e-invoices directly to their recipients but need to be connected either to the PPF or to a registered private platform (PDP).

Furthermore, all domestic B2B invoices need to be transmitted through the PPF or via PDPs. All electronic B2G and B2B invoices can be issued in UBL, CII or Factur-X. Until December 2027 during a transition period, taxpayers will be able to submit their invoices in unstructured PDF format.