Learn more about France’s E-invoicing Mandate, and if you’d like to learn more about how Esker can help your organisation to be compliant, get in touch today!
There is a lot to be understood and navigated by businesses about the soon-to-be enforced mandatory transition to e-invoicing in France. In addition to “7 Things You Should Know about France’s E-invoicing Mandate”, here are a few more in-depth questions and answers to help you round out your e-invoicing knowledge before the big shift on July 1, 2024.
What other mandates has France put in place previously?
In France, e-invoicing has been implemented for companies doing business with public administration institutions as part of the EU Directive 2014/55/EU. A French governmental order dated 26 June 2014 requires all suppliers doing business with the public sector to exclusively transmit invoices electronically via the Chorus Pro platform. This measure was progressively enacted between 2017 and 2020, depending on company size.
The Chorus Pro platform was originally designed for B2G, and now the French Government wants to extend its use to the B2B world. In reality, this should be an extension of Chorus Pro, not a whole new system. You may hear the system be called the ‘PPF’ also.
How is this mandate similar/different from e-invoicing mandates in other countries?
French e-invoicing mandate has the same codes than other e-invoicing mandates in other countries (requiring the use of the national e-invoicing platform, using mandatory formats; but each country has its own platform and formats).
It’s not that different from other countries that introduced a “clearance model”. France studied the systems already in place in Italy and Mexico before choosing a model. They ultimately chose to follow the Mexican model, as France liked that invoices can be delivered directly using both government system and authorised third-party registered platforms.
How has this mandate affected Esker itself?
Esker will become a registered private operator and help existing customers and new customers to become fully compliant. We are building a dedicated solution to meet all the requirements to become a registered third party (PDP), ensuring that the high security requirements set by the French government are met. Esker is participating in the public consultations led by the French Tax Administration to help companies digitise their transactions as of July 1, 2024. Esker will be able to be an official candidate by May 2023 and will be registered two months after the government’s validation. Esker will be also candidate for the pilot phase starting from January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024, before the official deadline of the mandate in July 1, 2024.
What other implications do you see stemming from this new mandate?
For international corporations, this mandate should not be seen as just another mandate to comply with. The increasing number of rules, formats, platforms and certificates bring a lot of complexity and nuance to compliance.
Companies that rely on multiple local services providers to ensure e-invoice compliance in different countries find it difficult to uphold rigid local specifications and manage numerous providers. Working with one provider and one solution is the preferred way to go as it increases visibility on global invoices, helps you anticipate new mandates in other countries, improves and streamlines your internal processes, and enhances overall user experience.
(Originally published on the Esker Inc. blog)
