Business formalities: the one-stop-shop back-up procedure in the event of a malfunction

Following a number of technical malfunctions reported by users, a back-up procedure was introduced to enable certain business formalities to be carried out on the one-stop-shop online platform, which has been compulsory since January 1.

Use of the dematerialized one-stop shop now mandatory

As of January 1, 2023, use of the business formalities window replacing the business formalities centers (CFE) is compulsory for formalities relating to the creation, modification and cessation of activity. It applies to all companies, whatever their legal form or activity.

The use of this online service is relatively straightforward. When logging on for the first time, the declarant (company director, agent or delegate) must create a personal user account. To complete the formality, the necessary information is entered online, and the associated supporting documents are sent. It is then up to the relevant bodies (INSEE, social and tax services, commercial court registrars, consular chambers) to process this information. The status of your file can be consulted at any time from the dashboard in your personal space.

Simplifying business formalities

The one-stop shop offers several advantages. Firstly, it provideseasy access to all the formalities involved in setting up, modifying or terminating a business, whatever the legal form or sector of activity of the company concerned. Thanks to this platform, managers can monitor and administer the formalities created via dashboards. They can also add to these and submit additional supporting documents for processing by the relevant authorities. Finally, the site gives an indication of the progress made in processing the application.

The one-stop shop is being rolled out in several stages. On July 1, 2021, the service was made available to professionals with a mandate to carry out business formalities on behalf of their clients. Since January 1, 2022, it has been available to business creators and entrepreneurs. Since January 1, 2023, the site has been a one-stop shop for business formalities.

A back-up procedure in the event of technical difficulties

Despite the problems reported by users last year when using the online platform, the government has decided to maintain theobligation to use the one-stop shop for filing annual accounts, and for formalities relating to the creation, modification and cessation of business activity.

However, the decree of December 28, 2022 provides for a back-up procedure in the event that a declarant is unable to file a compliant declaration via the site. The text specifies that the difficulty reported by the user must be sufficiently significant. It must be impossible to file single dossiers, to determine an alternative solution via the platform, and to resolve the problem in less than 15 days from the date of notification. In this situation, a strategic college set up by Bercy is responsible for initiating the emergency procedure and recording the decision on a list sent to the declarants concerned.

What about files submitted before December 31, 2022?

For files submitted before December 31, 2022, the decree states that formalities sent to CFEs and not processed before this date will be transferred to the competent bodies by January 31, 2023 at the latest.

Declarations of registration, modification or deregistration that have not been processed by December 31 can be processed by the clerks of the commercial courts and judicial courts with commercial jurisdiction until January 31.

Thus, in the event of unavailability of the one-stop-shop online platform, INPI, upon notification from the organizations receiving the formalities, may implement the emergency procedure introduced in an order published in the Official Journal of December 29, 2022. This decision interrupts the deadlines applicable to formalities from the date on which the strategic committee notes the impossibility of filing the single files.