FRANCE (TVA)

France being an EU member state falls under the EU VAT regime. Member states must adopt EU VAT Directives into their own legislation. 

Standard VAT Rate: 20%

Reduced VAT Rate: 2.1%, 5.5% , 10%

Registration Threshold Distance Selling:  35,000 €

EU VAT number format: FRXX 999999999

Registration Threshold

Entities established/incorporated in France may be exempted in 2015 from registration if their turnover of the previous calender year (2014) was less than:

€82,200 - businesses selling goods

€32,900 - Businesses supplying services

VAT Registration

The VAT registration procedure varies depending on whether the business is based in- or outside the European Union. 

VAT Compliance

Detailed rules regulate reporting requirements of French transactions for Value Added Tax purposes. These include: invoice requirements, timeliness for an invoice to be issued, invoice and credit notes corrections rules, foreign currency reporting requirements and exchange rate sources, correction of previously submitted returns and accounting records that must be maintained for VAT purposes. 

VAT Returns

VAT returns have to be filed monthly, unless the yearly amount of VAT due is less than EUR 4,000, in which case returns have to be filed quarterly.

Provided certain conditions are met small undertakings may be taxed, under a simplified arrangement, when their yearly turnover is lower than EUR 763,000 for supplies of goods and EUR 230,000 for supplies of services. VAT is then paid on account on a quarterly basis and accounted for in final in a yearly VAT return.

The deadline for submission is set between the 15th and 24th of the month following the reporting period. The exact filing date is legally determined on the basis of the VAT registration number of the business.

Intrastat and EC Sales Lists

In France, EC sales lists and Intrastats returns are merged into a single document called “Declaration d’échanges de biens” (hereafter DEB). The "DEB" discloses details of movements of goods between Member States which take place for commercial reasons, recording the movement whenever goods enter the territory of France from other Member States or leave it for other Member States.

Intrastat declarations can be submitted in paper format. This document must be submitted on a monthly basis.The filing date is 10 working days following the month during which the VAT became chargeable (for intra-Community supplies and acquisitions) or the month during which the transfer of goods occurred (in other circumstances, e.g. contract work, repairs).