Form P4 CM Cerfa 11679 is a declaration of deregistration reserved for sole traders ceasing their commercial or craft activity. There is another P4 form, called P4 PL, reserved for the liberal professions. The P4 CM form only needs to be completed in the event of total and definitive cessation of activity for retailers and craftsmen.
Who is the P4 CM declaration of deregistration for?
Form P4 CM is reserved for traders and craftsmen operating as sole proprietorships, whether classic sole proprietorships, microenterprises or limited liability companies.
This form must be completed in the event of total and definitive cessation of activity, and forwarded to the appropriate business formality center within 30 days of the end of activity.
The business formalities center is the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie for retailers, and the Chambre des métiers et de l'artisanat for craftsmen.
How do I fill out form P4 CM?
The deregistration declaration for sole traders and craftsmen comprises a number of different sections, which must be completed carefully to avoid any risk of error that could complicate and slow down the administrative procedure.
These headings are as follows:
- Identification reminder
- Personal statement
- Declaration of closure
- Further information
Identification reminder
This section comprises two boxes, one for the company's identity, the other for the entrepreneur's identity.
In box 1, the entrepreneur must enter his SIREN number. He must then specify whether he is registered in the Trade and Companies Register, and if so, with the clerk's office of which commune, or in the Trade Register, in which case he must indicate the département in which he is registered.
In the case of a sole proprietorship with limited liability, tick the appropriate box and attach the PEIRL CM insert to form P4 CM, i.e. the declaration of assignment of assets.
In box 2, the sole trader is asked to enter his birth name, surname, first name, date, department, town and country of birth.
Personal statement
In box 3, the entrepreneur must indicate the date of definitive cessation of activity, and specify whether this is due to the death of the operator. If the company employed one or more employees, the date of termination of the last employee must also be entered.
Entrepreneurs with an itinerant commercial or craft activity must tick the appropriate box, and attach their itinerant card to form P4 CM, as they will no longer be authorized to operate.
Declaration of closure
Box 4A is reserved for information concerning the principal place of business. If you are winding up your business, you must indicate the address of this establishment, as well as what will happen to it: will it be closed or sold? Check the corresponding box, or the "Other" box, and specify the destination of the main establishment.
Box 4B is designed to collect the same information, except that this time it concerns a possible secondary establishment. For the deletion to be taken into account, the secondary establishment must cease operations at the same time as the main establishment. In addition, the secondary establishment must be under the jurisdiction of the same commercial court clerk's office or the commercial division of the judicial court as the main establishment.
Further information
In box 5, the entrepreneur may make additional comments. In box 6, he must specify his correspondence address, if different from the address of his principal place of business.
All that's left to do is to specify your status as declarant, agent or other, then date and sign the P4 CM form. The form is then forwarded to the Trade and Companies Register or the Trade Register, to the Special Register of Sole Proprietors with Limited Liability (RSEIRL) for those entrepreneurs concerned, as well as to social security bodies, the tax authorities, Insee and, if necessary, the Labor Inspectorate.
What other steps need to be taken in the event of permanent cessation of activity?
In addition to sending in the P4 CM declaration of deregistration form, sole traders who are definitively ceasing their activity must take other steps to comply with the law, social security bodies and tax authorities.
Once the application for deregistration has been processed by the business formalities center, the company is deregistered not only from the Trade and Companies Register or the Trades Register, but also from the Sirene register managed by INSEE, the files of active professionals kept by the tax authorities, and the files of professional affiliates of social security bodies.
Sole traders must also file their final tax returns within 45 days of ceasing trading. For self-employed entrepreneurs, the deadline is 60 days.
The amounts to be declared are as follows:
- Profits made between the end of the last closed accounting period and the date of definitive cessation of activity;
- Profits subject to deferred taxation ;
- Any capital gains from the sale of business property.
These profits will be taxed as industrial and commercial profits (BIC) or non-commercial profits (BNC), depending on the nature of the activity carried out by the sole trader.
Entrepreneurs declaring a definitive cessation of activity must also pay VAT if they were subject to it. He has 30 days from the date of cessation to make this declaration, if he was subject to the normal actual system, or 60 days if he was subject to the simplified actual system. He must also pay the business property tax (cotisation foncière des entreprises).
Finally, even if the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises forwards the P4 CM form, i.e. the declaration of deregistration, to the social security bodies, it is still advisable to notify the Sécurité Sociale des Indépendants, or any other affiliated fund, depending on the activity carried out.
Sole traders are still covered by their previous scheme for one year, on one condition: they must be up to date with their health insurance contributions.