France Postpones Mandatory B2B E-Invoicing Deadline: New Timeline for Businesses

Implementing mandatory B2B e-invoicing could be postponed once again, as a committee of the National Assembly has adopted the Draft Law on delaying the deadlines for introducing e-invoicing. Considering the initial plan was to introduce mandatory e-invoicing in 2024, the new proposed deadline further extends the implementation period. 

However, it is necessary to underline that this is still not legally binding, and that Parliament will vote on the proposed Draft Law.

New Timeline for Mandatory B2B E-invoicing

Under the proposed Draft Law, all businesses must receive e-invoices through a certified Public Digital Platform (PDP) from September 2027. The new deadline has been postponed by a year since the previous deadline was September 2026.

Large and medium-sized companies will have to issue e-invoices starting September 2027. However, the deadline could be further extended to December 2027. Small and micro companies will face the same obligations from September 2028, which is a one-year postponement since the implementation deadline was previously set for September 2027. Similarly, as for large and medium companies, the deadline could be further extended to December 2028 by a decree.

The main reasons for the possible delay are the latest changes to the Portail Public de Facturation (PPF), a government e-invoicing platform, which were made in October last year. Initially, the PPF was supposed to be a free platform for businesses to exchange e-invoices. However, the government decided to reduce its role, leaving businesses without access to the free, state-operated solution, thus adding to the complexity and cost of implementation.

Although the proposed postponement aims to give businesses, especially SMEs, more time to adjust and prepare for new responsibilities, its adoption is uncertain since a minority parliamentary group proposed it.

Conclusion

The final voting for the proposed postponement is scheduled for April 24, 2025. Regardless of the voting outcome, businesses should continue preparing for the rollout of the mandatory B2B e-invoicing. If the Parliament approves the postponement, companies will have more time. However, implementation is inevitable, so businesses should focus on setting up their systems and internal procedures to meet the requirements.

Source: National Assembly, Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information