Last updated: 2026-09-22
Under France’s mandate, businesses must issue and receive structured electronic invoices for domestic B2B transactions through a state-approved platform, and separately report transaction data to the tax administration for transactions outside that scope. The obligation began on 1 September 2026 and extends to smaller businesses on 1 September 2027. Sovos operates as an approved platform in France.
What changed most recently
On 1 September 2026 the first phase took effect: all businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices, and large and mid-sized businesses must issue them and meet e-reporting obligations.
Published By
Sovos
| Mandate | Mandatory B2B electronic invoicing and e-reporting |
|---|---|
| Authority | Direction générale des Finances publiques (DGFiP) |
| Statutory basis | Article 153 of the Finance Act for 2020, with subsequent amending legislation |
| Model | Approved platforms exchange invoices; the Portail Public de Facturation acts as directory and data concentrator |
| In scope | VAT-registered businesses established in France, for domestic B2B transactions |
| Live dates | 1 September 2026 and 1 September 2027, by business size |
| Formats | Factur-X, UBL and CII, all aligned to EN 16931 |
Two separate obligations, and being outside one does not exempt a business from the other.
E-invoicing applies to domestic B2B transactions between businesses established in France. Invoices must be issued in a structured electronic format and exchanged through a state-approved platform rather than sent directly as a PDF or on paper.
E-reporting covers transactions that fall outside the e-invoicing obligation but still carry VAT relevance: B2C sales, and cross-border transactions with parties outside France. For these, transaction data and payment data are transmitted to the tax administration rather than the invoice itself.
France operates a continuous transaction control model. Invoice and transaction data reaches the DGFiP through the approved platform network as business is conducted, rather than only through periodic VAT returns.
Scope is phased by business size, and the receiving obligation applies to everyone from the first date regardless of size.
| Phase | Effective date | Applies to | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2G, preceding the B2B reform | From 2017 | Suppliers to public entities | B2G e-invoicing via Chorus Pro | DGFiP |
| Phase 1 | 1 September 2026 | All businesses, regardless of size | Must be able to receive electronic invoices | DGFiP |
| Phase 1 | 1 September 2026 | Large enterprises and mid-sized enterprises (ETI) | Must issue electronic invoices and meet e-reporting obligations | DGFiP |
| Phase 2 | 1 September 2027 | Small and medium enterprises and micro-enterprises | Must issue electronic invoices and meet e-reporting obligations | DGFiP |
| Phase 2 | 1 September 2027 | Non-established taxable persons operating in France, and businesses making intra-Community acquisitions | Obligations apply from this date | DGFiP |
Size categories follow French definitions: large enterprises above 5,000 employees or 1.5 billion euros turnover; mid-sized enterprises between 250 and 5,000 employees; small and medium enterprises below 250 employees; micro-enterprises below 10 employees. A business close to a threshold should confirm its classification, because it determines which phase applies.
Invoices must be issued in a structured format aligned to the European standard EN 16931. Three are accepted: Factur-X, a hybrid carrying structured data inside a PDF; UBL; and CII. Approved platforms may exchange other formats, including EDIFACT and other XML syntaxes, where both parties use approved platforms.
Exchange runs through plateformes agréées, or approved platforms, previously referred to as Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires (PDP). These are registered with the state and authorized to issue, receive, validate and route invoices, and to transmit invoice and transaction data to the DGFiP.
The Portail Public de Facturation acts as the central directory of businesses and as the data concentrator for the administration, rather than as the general exchange platform originally envisaged. The directory is what allows a sending platform to determine where a recipient receives invoices, which makes accurate registration a prerequisite rather than an administrative step.
The DGFiP was confirmed as the Peppol authority for France in July 2025, and AFNOR published the technical specifications and API standard governing exchange between platforms.
The Director General of the DGFiP stated in May 2026 that penalties would not be applied from 1 September 2026, and that the administration would contact businesses before any enforcement action.
The administration has also indicated a proportionate approach to technical and operational difficulty during the initial phase, where a business can demonstrate good faith and a clear plan to reach compliance, and has confirmed that business continuity will be maintained where invoices are temporarily exchanged through alternative channels.
This is a transition posture rather than a change to the obligation. The requirement applies from 1 September 2026 and the statutory penalty framework remains in the legislation. Businesses relying on forbearance should document the roadmap that forbearance is conditioned on.
The work is rarely confined to the invoicing system, and the items below are where French implementations have concentrated.
Sovos is a registered approved platform in France and handles invoice format, exchange, e-reporting and archiving for the mandate through the Sovos Compliance Network, alongside the other mandate countries a business operates in.
Sovos entered production on 1 September 2026, the day the mandate took effect, with Global 2000 clients live. Three weeks in, Sovos reported more than 170,000 organizations registered across the Sovos-powered network in France, with the nearest competitors each registering fewer than 2,200. More than 1 million inbound documents were processed in the first 17 days, at a 1.6% invoice rejection rate during live production against an estimated market-wide rate of approximately 20%.
The registered figure spans three channels: direct enterprise clients, including a large proportion of Global 2000 organizations; managed service and business process outsourcing providers delivering France and wider EU compliance to their own clients; and software and technology platforms that embed the Sovos Compliance Network within their own products. Product specifications are published on the Sovos e-invoicing and CTC page rather than repeated here.
All businesses had to be able to receive electronic invoices from 1 September 2026. Large and mid-sized enterprises had to issue them and meet e-reporting obligations from the same date. Small and medium enterprises and micro-enterprises must issue from 1 September 2027.
E-invoicing governs domestic B2B invoices, which must be issued in a structured format and exchanged through an approved platform. E-reporting covers transactions outside that scope, principally B2C sales and cross-border transactions, where transaction and payment data is transmitted to the DGFiP rather than the invoice itself. Most businesses face both.
E-invoicing governs domestic B2B invoices, which must be issued in a structured format and exchanged through an approved platform. E-reporting covers transactions outside that scope, principally B2C sales and cross-border transactions, where transaction and payment data is transmitted to the DGFiP rather than the invoice itself. Most businesses face both.
Domestic B2B invoices are exchanged through approved platforms, which are registered with the state and authorized to issue, receive, validate and route invoices and to transmit data to the DGFiP. The Portail Public de Facturation serves as the directory and data concentrator rather than as the general exchange platform originally envisaged.
Factur-X, UBL and CII, all aligned to the European standard EN 16931. Approved platforms may exchange other formats, including EDIFACT and other XML syntaxes, where both parties use approved platforms.
The Director General of the DGFiP stated in May 2026 that penalties would not be applied from 1 September 2026 and that the administration would contact businesses first. That is a transition posture rather than a change to the obligation, and it is conditioned on demonstrable good faith and a clear compliance plan.
