France E-Invoicing for Foreign Companies: E-Reporting Rules 2026

Short answer: if your business has no establishment in France, you are outside France’s e-invoicing mandate. You don’t have to issue French e-invoices or be able to receive them, even with a French VAT number. What can apply is e-reporting: sending data about French sales on which you owe the French VAT, through an approved platform. For most small UK, US and EU sellers that starts on 1 September 2027. If you only sell to French businesses under the reverse charge, or only through OSS or IOSS, there is usually nothing for you to report.

Want a quick answer for your setup? Our free France e-invoicing checker asks how you sell into France and tells you whether you e-report, and from when.

This guide is for businesses based outside France: UK and US SaaS companies, Shopify and Amazon sellers, and EU companies selling into France. It goes deeper than the foreign sellers section of our France e-invoicing guide, which explains the reform as a whole.

Sources: the DGFiP’s e-invoicing FAQ (version of 1 September 2026), its February 2026 presentation for foreign businesses without a French establishment, and the official tax commentary (BOFiP) on which transactions are e-reported, which data is sent and how often, all published on 30 September 2026.

Find your situation

Your situation	Receive e-invoices	Issue e-invoices	E-report	What you need
Non-EU seller, no French VAT number, selling to French businesses (reverse charge)	No	No	No. Your customer reports the purchase	Nothing new. A correct invoice marked Autoliquidation (reverse charge)
Non-EU seller with a French VAT number (stock in France, or local consumer sales)	No	No	Yes, for French sales where you owe the VAT	An approved platform before your start date. No directory entry
Seller using only OSS or IOSS for French sales	No	No	No, for OSS and IOSS sales	Nothing new
EU seller with a fixed establishment in France	Yes, since 1 Sept 2026	Yes, on the calendar for your size	Yes	An approved platform and a directory entry, like a French business
EU seller without a French establishment	No	No	Only for sales on a French VAT return, plus self-accounted purchases from 1 Sept 2027	An approved platform if anything is in scope
Marketplace seller	No, unless established	No, unless established	Depends on who owes the VAT. See marketplaces	Check each flow
SaaS company selling to French businesses	No	No	No for reverse-charge sales. Yes only for consumer sales you declare on a French VAT return instead of OSS	Usually nothing

Which date? If you do have to e-report, the date depends on the size of your whole company, worldwide:

• Large and mid-sized companies: sales since 1 September 2026
• SMEs and micro-businesses: sales from 1 September 2027
• Everyone: self-accounted purchases from 1 September 2027

See how size is worked out.

Established or not: the question that decides everything

France’s reform splits businesses by whether they are established in France for VAT, not by whether they have a French VAT number. The DGFiP’s FAQ (question 1.6) is short: businesses not established in France “ne sont pas concernés par la facturation électronique” (are not covered by e-invoicing).

You count as established if you have:

• A French company, such as a subsidiary. It is a French business in its own right.
• A VAT fixed establishment (établissement stable) in France. The FAQ (question 1.7) says a company with its head office abroad but a French fixed establishment “has the same obligations” as an established business.

A fixed establishment, in the EU definition (article 11 of Regulation 282/2011), is a place with enough permanence and its own staff and equipment to buy or supply services. A French office with staff who sell or deliver your service may well be one. A French VAT number is not one on its own, and stock sitting in a third-party warehouse usually isn’t either. If you’re unsure, settle this first with an adviser, because everything below assumes you’re not established.

What e-reporting means for a foreign business

E-reporting (officially transmission des données de transaction, “transmission of transaction data”) means your approved platform sends the tax authority data about sales that aren’t covered by a French e-invoice. For a business with no French establishment, the rule is in article 290 II of the French tax code: you report transactions located in France for which you are liable for the French VAT (FAQ question 3.1).

So the test for each flow is simple: do I owe the French VAT on this sale, outside OSS or IOSS? If yes, it’s in scope.

Sales that are in scope

The DGFiP’s February 2026 presentation lists these examples:

• Sales of goods from stock in France to French consumers
• Distance sales of goods from another EU country to French consumers, unless you use OSS or stay under the EU’s €10,000 small-seller threshold
• Services taxed in France sold to consumers, if you don’t use OSS (for example, a software seller registered directly in France)
• Sales of goods inside France to businesses that aren’t established in France and have no French VAT number, so you charge them French VAT
• Services taxed in France, such as work on a building, sold to that same kind of foreign business
• From 1 September 2027: purchases on which you self-account for French VAT (see below)

What stays out

• Sales you declare through Union OSS, non-Union OSS or IOSS
• Sales to French VAT-registered businesses where the reverse charge applies. The customer owes the VAT and reports the purchase
• Intra-EU supplies of goods and exports. The presentation says plainly that these “sont exclues” (are excluded) for non-established businesses
• Imports of goods
• Exempt transactions that don’t require an invoice

Which date applies: how your size is worked out

Foreign businesses follow the same calendar as French ones (FAQ question 3.2):

Your size	E-reporting of sales (and payment data)	E-reporting of purchases where you owe the VAT
Large company (GE) or mid-sized company (ETI)	1 September 2026	1 September 2027
SME (PME) or micro-business	1 September 2027	1 September 2027

The obligation covers invoices issued, or, where there’s no invoice, transactions that take place on or after that date.

Size is measured on the whole foreign company

This is the part foreign businesses most often get wrong. The FAQ says the criteria are assessed “au niveau de l’entité juridique étrangère dans sa globalité (peu importe ce qui a été réalisé en France)”: at the level of the whole foreign legal entity, whatever it did in France. Your French sales don’t matter. Your worldwide headcount, turnover and balance sheet do.

Category	Staff	Money test
Micro-business	Fewer than 10	Turnover or balance sheet of €2m or less
SME (PME)	Fewer than 250	Turnover of €50m or less or balance sheet of €43m or less
Mid-sized (ETI)	Fewer than 5,000	Turnover of €1.5bn or less or balance sheet of €2bn or less
Large (GE)	Everyone else

Three rules decide edge cases:

1. The reference date is 1 January 2025. Use your last financial year closed before that date. A business with no closed year by then uses its first financial year that closes after it.
2. Staff count first. You move up a category as soon as the headcount limit is passed. Otherwise you move up only if both turnover and balance sheet are over the limit.
3. Each legal entity stands alone. Size is measured per company, not per group. A US parent’s UK subsidiary is measured on the UK company’s own figures.

The thresholds are in euros, so convert your figures. If you’re close to a limit, agree the conversion with your adviser.

Example: a US company had 120 staff, $60m of revenue and a $30m balance sheet in the financial year ending 31 December 2024. At about $1 = €0.92, that’s roughly €55m and €28m. Turnover is over the €50m SME limit, but the balance sheet is under €43m and staff are under 250, so it stays an SME. Its date is 1 September 2027.

Most small UK and US online sellers are SMEs or micro-businesses, so 1 September 2027 is the date that matters.

The 1 September 2027 rule for purchases

The original law only covered sales. As the DGFiP’s presentation put it, article 290 II “ne vise que les opérations pour lesquelles l’assujetti non établi est le fournisseur” (only targets transactions where the non-established business is the supplier). The 2026 Finance Law widened it. From 1 September 2027, whatever your size, you must also e-report purchases on which you are liable for French VAT as the buyer (FAQ question 3.2).

In practice that means purchases where you self-account for French VAT on your French return, such as:

• Moving your own stock from another EU country into a French warehouse. EU VAT law treats that transfer as an intra-EU acquisition in France, which you declare on your French return
• Buying goods from an EU supplier that are delivered to you in France and taxed there as an intra-EU acquisition (acquisition intracommunautaire)
• Buying goods located in France, or services taxed in France, from another business that isn’t established in France, where you self-account because you have a French VAT number

Imports of goods from outside the EU remain outside e-reporting. Purchases from French suppliers who charge you French VAT aren’t in your reporting either, because the supplier owes that VAT and reports the sale itself.

This date is the same for large companies, so a large foreign business that has been e-reporting sales since September 2026 adds its purchases in September 2027.

What data you send, and how often

Sales to consumers: daily totals

For each day, your platform sends the net amount and the VAT, split by VAT rate and by type of transaction (goods, services, margin scheme sales). It also sends your identifier, the period and the currency. Amounts are in euros. There’s no order-by-order detail and no customer names (BOFiP data commentary, §50 to §60).

Sales to businesses: invoice by invoice

For sales to foreign businesses, the data mirrors a French e-invoice. The DGFiP’s list of transaction data (updated August 2026) includes:

• Both parties’ identifiers and countries
• The category: goods (LB), services (PS) or both (LBPS)
• The invoice number and date
• Net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount for each rate, plus the totals
• The currency
• Mentions where relevant, such as Autoliquidation (reverse charge) or an exemption reason

From 1 September 2027, more fields are added. These include line details (description, quantity and unit price), discounts, extra charges and the delivery address.

Your identifier. You don’t have a SIREN, the French company number, so a substitute is used (§80 of the same commentary). An EU business uses its EU VAT number. A non-EU business uses its ISO country code followed by the first 16 characters of its company name.

Payment data

Payment data covers only services where French VAT is due when you’re paid. It includes the date you were paid, the amount by VAT rate and the invoice number. It’s not needed for international services under the reverse charge, or if you opted to pay VAT on invoicing (FAQ question 4.1). For most foreign sellers it only matters if you sell services to French consumers on a French VAT return instead of OSS.

How often you send

How often you send depends on your French VAT return regime. The rules are the same whether you’re established or not (BOFiP transmission commentary, §40).

Your French VAT regime	Transaction data	Deadline
Normal regime, monthly returns (réel normal mensuel)	Three times a month: the 1st to 10th, 11th to 20th, and 21st to month end	Within 10 days after each period
Normal regime, quarterly returns	Monthly	Within 10 days after the month
Simplified regime (régime simplifié)	Monthly	Between the 25th and the end of the following month
VAT franchise (franchise en base)	Every two calendar months	Between the 25th and the end of the following month

Payment data goes monthly for a monthly filer. Foreign businesses registered for French VAT usually file monthly returns, which means 36 transaction transmissions a year. If you had no transactions in a period, nothing is expected for it.

Do you need an approved platform and a directory entry?

A platform: yes, if you have anything to e-report. Only a Plateforme Agréée (an approved platform registered by the DGFiP) can pass e-reporting data to the tax authority. If you have a French fiscal representative, the platform can be the one your representative chooses. See France’s approved platforms for how to pick one.

The directory: no. France’s central directory (annuaire) lists businesses in scope and the platform that receives their e-invoices. The DGFiP’s presentation is explicit on three points:

• Foreign businesses without a French establishment can e-report without being in the directory.
• Appearing in it “ne crée pas nécessairement d’obligation” (doesn’t necessarily create an obligation). A foreign company with a SIREN may find itself listed.
• You need a directory entry only if you want to receive e-invoices from French suppliers.

What French business customers will expect from you

Your French customers are inside the reform even though you’re not. Here’s how your invoices fit into it.

Your invoices aren’t e-invoices, and don’t need to be

E-invoicing applies only to transactions between two businesses established in France (FAQ question 1.5, article 289-0 of the tax code). An invoice from a foreign supplier is outside it. A PDF by email remains the normal, compliant way for you to bill a French company.

The French buyer reports your invoice instead

French businesses must e-report what they buy from suppliers that aren’t established in France (BOFiP scope commentary, §60). That covers three kinds of purchase:

• Intra-EU acquisitions of goods (acquisitions intracommunautaires), for example a French shop buying stock from a Spanish wholesaler
• Goods bought inside France from a non-established seller, where the buyer self-accounts for the VAT, for example from your French stock under the reverse charge
• Services taxed in France bought from a foreign provider, often called imports of services, such as a SaaS subscription from a UK or US company

Imports of goods are excluded, because customs already has that data. The buyer’s platform sends your invoice data invoice by invoice. As a simplification, the line details are not required for purchases from non-established suppliers (BOFiP data commentary, §70). Large and mid-sized French buyers have been doing this since September 2026. SMEs start in September 2027.

What changes for you in practice

1. Supplier data requests. Expect forms asking for your legal name, address, country and VAT number, or confirmation that you don’t have an EU one.
2. Clean invoice basics. The buyer’s platform reads your invoice number, date, goods or services category, net amount, currency and the Autoliquidation mention. Unique, sequential numbers and a clear reverse-charge statement save everyone time.
3. Prompt invoicing. A monthly filer reports three times a month, so late invoices create catch-up work for your customer.
4. Optional channels. Some buyers will invite you to upload invoices to a supplier portal or send them through their platform. That’s a convenience, not a legal requirement for you.
5. No refusing a PDF. The DGFiP’s start-up guide (question 3) says an invoice received by email, PDF or paper for a real transaction must not be set aside for that reason alone. It can be paid and its VAT deducted. For a foreign supplier, the PDF was compliant in the first place.

Marketplace sellers

The DGFiP’s FAQ (question 1.4) says the obligations sit with the business selling through the marketplace, not the marketplace, and that your own size sets your date. What you actually report depends on who owes the VAT on each sale:

How you sell	Who owes the French VAT	Your e-reporting
Parcels of €150 or less shipped from outside the EU through a marketplace	The marketplace, through IOSS	None
Non-EU seller, stock in France (for example Amazon FBA), sold to consumers	The marketplace, as the “deemed supplier” (assujetti facilitateur)	Most likely none for those sales, but see the note below
EU seller, stock in France, sold to consumers on a marketplace	You, on your French VAT return	Yes: daily totals
Any seller, sold to French VAT-registered businesses	The buyer, under the reverse charge	None. The buyer reports

A note on the deemed-supplier case. E-reporting for non-established businesses covers sales on which they owe the VAT. When the marketplace is the deemed supplier, it owes the VAT, not you. But the DGFiP hasn’t published an answer for this exact case, and its FAQ stresses that obligations stay with the seller. Confirm with your marketplace and adviser before September 2027.

SaaS and digital services

The common case for a UK or US software company is simple:

• Sales to French businesses. The service is taxed where the customer is, and the French customer self-accounts for the VAT. You don’t owe it, so you have nothing to e-report. The customer reports the purchase.
• Sales to French consumers through OSS. If you declare them through non-Union OSS (non-EU businesses) or Union OSS (EU businesses), you have nothing to e-report.
• Sales to French consumers on a French VAT return. If you registered in France directly instead of using OSS, you’re in scope for daily totals and payment data from your start date.

One thing to watch: a French office with staff who sell or support your product could become a fixed establishment. That would move you into the full domestic rules.

Worked example: a UK SaaS company with €400,000 of French B2B revenue

Ledgerline Ltd is a London project-management SaaS. It has 45 staff and had £6.2m of turnover in the year to 31 December 2024, so it’s an SME. It has no French VAT number and no French office. Forty French companies pay for annual plans, averaging €10,000 each: €400,000 a year.

A typical invoice, to a logistics company in Lyon:

• Annual plan, net: €12,000.00
• French VAT charged by Ledgerline: €0.00, with the mention Autoliquidation (reverse charge)
• The customer self-accounts for 20% French VAT, €2,400.00, on its own return and deducts the same amount if it’s fully taxable. Net cost to the customer: €0.00 of VAT

What Ledgerline must do under the reform:

• E-invoicing: nothing. It isn’t established in France.
• E-reporting of sales: nothing. It doesn’t owe French VAT on these sales. Its size doesn’t change that: even a large company would have nothing to report here.
• Purchases from September 2027: nothing, unless it starts buying things on which it self-accounts for French VAT. Without a French VAT number, it doesn’t.
• Platform or directory: neither is needed.

What changes is on the customer’s side. The Lyon company’s platform reports Ledgerline’s invoice: identifier “GB” plus the first 16 characters of “Ledgerline Ltd”, country GB, category services (PS), invoice number, date, €12,000.00 net, euros, Autoliquidation. Ledgerline’s larger French customers have been doing this since September 2026. Its SME customers start in September 2027. Ledgerline’s job is to answer supplier forms and keep its invoices clean.

What would change the answer: opening a Paris sales office with staff could create a fixed establishment, which would mean receiving e-invoices now and issuing them from September 2027. Selling to French consumers would still mean no e-reporting, as long as those sales go through non-Union OSS.

Worked example: a US Shopify brand with stock at a French 3PL

Juniper & Pine Inc. is an Oregon skincare brand with 18 staff and $4.1m of revenue, so it’s an SME. It’s not a micro-business, because it has 10 or more staff. It imports stock into a 3PL warehouse near Lyon, is registered for French VAT, files monthly French returns and sells through its own Shopify store. Orders to other EU countries ship from the French stock and are declared through Union OSS.

Flow	E-reported by Juniper & Pine?
Shopify sales to French consumers from French stock	Yes: daily totals, from 1 September 2027
Shopify sales to German or Belgian consumers from French stock, under Union OSS	No: OSS sales are excluded
Wholesale to a Paris concept store with a French VAT number	No: reverse charge, the store reports the purchase
Wholesale to a Belgian retailer, shipped from France	No: intra-EU supply, excluded
Importing stock from the US into France	No: imports are excluded

One day’s sales. On 6 October 2027 it sells to French consumers:

• 41 skincare orders at 20%: €3,444.00 including VAT
• 4 copies of its printed skincare book at 5.5%: €84.40 including VAT

Its platform reports that day as:

VAT rate	Net amount	VAT
20%	€2,870.00	€574.00
5.5%	€80.00	€4.40

As a monthly filer, it sends three transmissions a month. The data for 1 to 10 October 2027 is due by 20 October 2027. That’s 36 transmissions a year.

The wholesale order. The Paris store buys 300 units at €14.00: €4,200.00 with no VAT and the mention Autoliquidation. The store accounts for the €840.00 of French VAT itself and reports the purchase in its own e-reporting.

Purchases from September 2027. Its imports are excluded, and its French suppliers charge VAT in the normal way. So unless it starts buying from other non-established sellers’ French stock, nothing extra applies.

Before September 2027 it should:

• Choose an approved platform, starting with its accountant or fiscal representative, and check the platform connects to Shopify
• Make sure it can export daily totals by VAT rate for French-stock orders to French customers only, separate from its OSS orders
• Keep a dated log of the setup

The cost of ignoring it: 36 missed transmissions × €500 = €18,000, capped at €15,000 for the year.

Penalties and the start-up phase

Failure	Fine	Annual cap	Applies to foreign businesses?
Missing e-reporting transmission (art. 1788 D of the tax code)	€500 per transmission	€15,000 per calendar year	Yes, if you’re in scope
Invoice not issued as an e-invoice (art. 1737)	€50 per invoice	€15,000 per calendar year	Only if you’re established in France
No platform to receive e-invoices (art. 1737 IV bis)	Formal notice, then €500 after three months	None stated	Only if you’re established in France

These amounts match our France e-invoicing guide.

First offence. The fines don’t apply to a first offence in the current year and the three previous years, if you fix it yourself or within 30 days of the tax authority’s first request (DGFiP presentation, February 2026).

Start-up leniency. The DGFiP’s start-up guide says there will be no penalties during the start-up phase for businesses on a “trajectoire sérieuse de mise en conformité” (serious compliance trajectory). The guide also says this is “ni un report ni une suspension de l’obligation” (neither a postponement nor a suspension of the obligation). Its section on e-reporting is aimed at the businesses that started in September 2026, which includes large foreign companies. The guide doesn’t say how long the phase lasts, and it says nothing about September 2027. Don’t plan on the same tolerance then. We cover the guide in detail in what “no fines if you’re trying” really means.

How GoodVat helps

GoodVat is not a Plateforme Agréée and doesn’t transmit e-reporting data. If you’re in scope, you’ll need an approved platform for that. What we do is the French VAT work around it, through GoodVat Global Tax Compliance:

• Map your French flows: which sales and purchases are in scope, which are covered by OSS or IOSS, and from which date
• Register you for French VAT, OSS or IOSS where you need it
• Calculate the right rate at checkout for every product and destination
• File your French VAT and OSS returns and keep your invoices compliant

Selling into France from abroad?

Tell us how you sell into France: where you're based, where your stock sits and who your customers are. We'll map whether you have to receive, issue or e-report, and from which date, then handle your French VAT registration and filings.

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Checklist for foreign companies

1. Confirm you have no French establishment. No French company, no office with staff. If you do, follow the full French rules instead.
2. List every French flow and who owes the VAT on it: you, your customer or a marketplace.
3. Take out what’s excluded: OSS and IOSS sales, reverse-charge sales to French businesses, intra-EU supplies, exports and imports.
4. Work out your size on the whole legal entity, using the year closed before 1 January 2025, to get your date.
5. If anything is left, choose an approved platform before your date, and check you can export daily totals by VAT rate.
6. From 1 September 2027, add self-accounted purchases, such as stock transfers into France.
7. Tidy your invoices for French business customers: sequential numbers, VAT number, goods or services, and the Autoliquidation mention.
8. Keep a dated log of decisions, setup and incidents. It’s your evidence if something goes wrong.

FAQ

Do foreign companies have to issue e-invoices in France?

No, not if they have no establishment in France. The French tax authority says businesses that are not established in France for VAT are not covered by e-invoicing, even if they have a French VAT number. A foreign company with a French branch or VAT fixed establishment is treated as established and follows the full domestic rules.

What is e-reporting in France?

E-reporting is the second half of France’s reform. Sales that aren’t covered by a French e-invoice, such as sales to consumers and sales between a French and a foreign business, are reported to the tax authority as data through an approved platform. Consumer sales are sent as daily totals by VAT rate, business sales invoice by invoice.

When does French e-reporting start for foreign companies?

On the same calendar as French businesses. Large and mid-sized foreign companies have had to e-report their sales since 1 September 2026, and small and medium-sized businesses and micro-businesses start on 1 September 2027. Size is measured on the whole foreign legal entity, not just its French sales. E-reporting of purchases where you self-account for French VAT starts on 1 September 2027 for everyone.

Does a UK or US SaaS company selling to French businesses need to e-report?

Usually not. When you sell software to a French VAT-registered business, the customer accounts for the French VAT under the reverse charge, so you don’t owe it and have nothing to e-report. Your French customer reports the purchase instead. Sales to French consumers through non-Union OSS are also outside French e-reporting.

Do I need to do French e-reporting if I use OSS or IOSS?

Not for the sales you declare through OSS or IOSS. The tax authority’s FAQ says e-reporting of consumer sales applies to non-established businesses only where they do not use Union OSS, non-Union OSS or IOSS. Sales you put on a French VAT return, such as sales from stock held in France, are still in scope.

Do foreign companies need a Plateforme Agréée?

Only if they have something to e-report. E-reporting data can only reach the tax authority through an approved platform (Plateforme Agréée), which you or your fiscal representative choose. You don’t need an entry in the French e-invoicing directory to e-report. You only need one if you want to receive e-invoices.

Can my French customer refuse my PDF invoice?

Not because it’s a PDF. E-invoicing only applies between two businesses established in France, so a foreign supplier’s invoice sits outside it and a PDF by email is still the normal way to bill. The tax authority’s start-up guide also says an invoice received by email, PDF or paper for a real transaction can be paid and its VAT deducted.

What is the penalty for missing French e-reporting?

€500 for each missing e-reporting transmission, capped at €15,000 per calendar year. A first offence is not fined if you correct it yourself or within 30 days of the tax authority’s first request. During the start-up phase, the tax authority says it won’t fine businesses that are on a serious, documented path to compliance.

Related guides

• E-invoicing in France: the full reform, dates, formats and new invoice mentions
• France’s approved platforms (Plateformes Agréées): what they do and how to choose one
• Factur-X explained: the hybrid PDF format used in France and Germany
• E-invoicing in the EU: every country’s mandate and timeline in one place
• Selling to France: VAT rates and rules: French TVA rates, registration and the reverse charge
• UK sellers: selling to French customers: customs, carriers and TVA after Brexit
• The EU One-Stop Shop (OSS): the scheme that keeps most cross-border consumer sales out of French e-reporting
• Selling to EU businesses: reverse charge and VAT number checks