While all companies were to be able to accept electronic invoices from July 2024, the government has decided otherwise, postponing the reform's entry into force.
Gradual implementation
Initially, the obligation to transmit electronic invoices and transaction data to the authorities was to be phased in gradually:
- July 1, 2024 for large companies;
- January 1, 2025 for mid-sized companies;
- January 1, 2026 for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In addition, the obligation to receive invoices in electronic format was due to come into force for all companies from July 1, 2024.
Electronic invoicing postponed to 2026
The date on which the obligation for all companies to receive electronic invoices will come into force is no longer topical. In a press release published on July 28, Bercy states that it has been decided to " postpone the entry into force of the system, scheduled for July 1, 2024, in order to give the necessary time for this reform, which is structuring the economy, to succeed ". A new date will be set as part of the work to adopt the Finance Act for 2024, in order to guarantee that the companies concerned will be able to switch to electronic invoicing " under the best possible conditions ".
This decision was taken in the first half of the year during discussions between the Ministry, federations, companies and software publishers, who are an essential link in the system.
Once the reform is in place, invoicing can be carried out by private platforms registered with the Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFIP). The registration service for partner dematerialization platforms has been open since May.
A similar system in Italy
The announcement of the postponement of the reform is causing some concern among professionals, who recall the dysfunctions encountered following the launch of the National Company Register by Bercy. This portal, designed to simplify the process of creating, modifying and terminating companies, was due to go live in March 2023, but was only launched 3 months later.
Similarly, last July, the dematerialized real estate declaration procedure imposed on private individuals and social landlords turned into a nightmare. The parties concerned had experienced difficulties in transmitting the data to the authorities, and were given an extra month to file their declarations.
Nevertheless, the government is reassuring about the implementation of electronic invoicing, taking its cue from Italy, which was able to recover almost 2 billion euros in the first year thanks to this system. In France, INSEE has determined that VAT fraud represents a loss of revenue of almost 20 billion euros a year.