It is well known: France’s upcoming e-invoicing and e-reporting mandates are highly complex. The requirements set out by the DGFiP for companies and certified providers are numerous, and navigating them can be tedious.
Indeed, the French reform combines several obligations:
- Domestic B2B e-invoicing via Peppol
- B2C & cross-border B2B e-reporting
- Invoice lifecycle status exchanges (including with 3rd parties)
- French-specific directory (“Annuaire”) + Peppol public directories
- Special invoicing scenarios (called “use cases”)
So, what are the latest updates that companies and service providers need to know?
French Annuaire in Production
The French Annuaire, hosted on the Portail Public de Facturation (PPF), is now live, with thousands of companies already registered. It is a cornerstone of the mandate, whose purpose is to identify the recipient’s Accredited Platform (PA, ex-PDP) so the seller’s platform knows where to route invoices.
The Annuaire is both publicly accessible for consultation and open to Accredited Platforms for updates and modifications :
- Access to the Annuaire: https://facturation.chorus-pro.gouv.fr/annuaire
- Official announcement: https://www.economie.gouv.fr/actualites/facturation-electronique-ouverture-de-lannuaire-dedie
Definitive Certification of Accredited Platforms
All Accredited Platforms are currently provisionally certified. Starting later this year, they can apply for definitive certification with the AIFE and the DGFiP, which requires passing interoperability tests with both the PPF and other Accredited Platforms.
Once definitively certified, platforms must undergo an annual technical audit, conducted in greater detail. Currently, five companies are self-declared auditors:
Increased Sanctions
While sanctions may be delayed, they have nonetheless been raised:
- Non-transmission of an e-invoice: €50 per invoice (up from €15), capped at €15,000 per year (unchanged)
- Non-transmission of an e-report: €500 per report (up from €250), capped at €15,000 per year (unchanged)
- (New) Failure to designate an Accredited Platform: €500 3 months after the first warning, then €1,000 every subsequent 3 months of non-compliance
Accredited Platforms may also face fines of up to €100,000 for non-compliance of the flows they will transmit.
Formal confirmation was given in a webinar involving both the DGFiP and the AIFE but the official website and various documentations have not been updated yet.
Next Steps
The French reform remains a work in progress. While most requirements are defined, several details (specifically use cases and e-reporting) are still being refined. Some simplifications were also recently introduced, such as removing the need to include line items details in the B2B international e-reporting, or the need to produce a “blank” e-reporting if no transactions were to be reported.
Upcoming milestones include:
- Publication of External Specifications v3.1 (expected October): defining compliance requirements for Accredited Platforms, available in both French and English.
- Update of e-invoicing use cases (AFNOR XP Z12-014): new scenarios and detailed guidance for companies and Accredited Platforms.
- Law vote: recent changes (e.g., PPF scope reduction in October 2024) must be confirmed by law. Due to political uncertainty, the vote’s timing remains unclear, but the DGFiP continues advancing the project.
The Invoicing Hub is also preparing the second edition of the PA (ex-PDP) Benchmark, to be published in October.
This edition will feature 80+ Accredited Platforms, evaluated on 50+ criteria, providing companies with an objective comparison tool for selecting their Accredited Platform. As with the first edition, it will be freely available.
For more details on the French mandate, explore our France country profile.
