France

Technical requirements

• B2B: Issuance, transmission, and receipt exclusively via an Accredited Platform (Plateforme Agréée / PA), registered for a renewable three-year term.

• B2G: Chorus Pro remains the platform for the public sector.

• Central directory (Annuaire central): Maintained by the tax authorities, it routes each invoice to the correct PA and collects data for the DGFiP. No separate registration required: your PA's declaration automatically populates your profile.

• Compatible solution (Solution Compatible / SC): Generates compliant invoices but does not transmit anything to the tax authorities. It must be connected to a PA.

• Formats: Factur-X, UBL 2.1, CII. Sending a PDF via email does not qualify as an electronic invoice.

• Archiving: Mandatory minimum retention period of 10 years.

Penalties

• Amounts revised under Article 123 of the Finance Act for 2026:

• Non-issuance: €50 per invoice, capped at €15,000 per year.

• Non-compliance with e-reporting: €500 per transmission, capped at €15,000 per year.

• Absence of an Accredited Platform: Formal notice with a three-month grace period, followed by a €500 fine, and subsequently €1,000 every three months until compliance is achieved.

Additional risk: Accepting an invoice outside an accredited PA exposes the buyer to the refusal of VAT deduction.