France’s e-invoicing reform started on 1 September 2026. For a company based in the UAE or India, the key question is whether you are established in France. Without an establishment, you do not issue French e-invoices, but you may still have to e-report sales on which you owe French VAT. This guide explains who is in scope, which dates apply and what to do. For the full French rules and how we connect your ERP to a certified platform, see our France e-invoicing integration service.
Are you established in France or not?
Everything depends on this first question.
| Your set-up | French e-invoicing (issue and receive) | French e-reporting |
|---|---|---|
| French subsidiary or branch (an establishment for VAT) | Yes, like any French business | Yes, for B2C and cross-border flows |
| No establishment, but you owe French VAT on some sales | No | Yes, for the operations on which you owe French VAT |
| No establishment, and your French customers self-account for VAT (reverse charge) | No | No, the customer reports those transactions |
| No establishment, and you buy in France as a taxable buyer liable for the VAT | No | Yes, from 1 September 2027 whatever your size |
The French tax administration states plainly that the e-invoicing obligation does not concern foreign companies without an establishment in France for VAT purposes. What remains is e-reporting: sending transaction data, and for some services payment data, to the administration through a plateforme agréée.
Which dates apply to a foreign seller?
The dates depend on your size category, as for French businesses.
| Your category | E-reporting starts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Large company (GE) or intermediate-sized company (ETI) | 1 September 2026 | impots.gouv.fr, foreign companies page |
| SME (PME), very small business or micro-business | 1 September 2027 | impots.gouv.fr, foreign companies page |
| Acting as a buyer or reverse-charge customer liable for French VAT, any size | 1 September 2027 | impots.gouv.fr, foreign companies page |
For French businesses, the same reform requires every company to be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026, large companies and ETIs to issue from that date, and SMEs and micro-businesses to issue from 1 September 2027.
How is a foreign company’s size category set?
Your category is assessed on headcount, annual revenue and balance-sheet total, as at 1 January 2025, using the last financial year closed before that date (or the first one closed after it). The assessment is per legal entity. For a foreign company, the revenue test uses worldwide revenue, not just sales into France. A group company in Dubai or Bengaluru with large global revenue can therefore be a large company or ETI under the French rules, even if its French sales are small.
What exactly must a foreign seller report?
According to the French tax administration’s page for foreign companies:
- Transaction data for operations located in France on which you owe French VAT. The data set is the same as for e-invoicing, except the SIREN number may be omitted if you do not have one.
- B2C sales to non-taxable customers are reported as daily totals by VAT rate, unless you are registered with a European VAT one-stop shop.
- Payment data is reported for services and advance payments, by the party receiving the payment. Operations under the VAT-on-debits option or reverse charge are excluded.
What should a UAE or Indian company do now?
Use this checklist to work out your position and prepare.
- Map your French flows: which sales are B2B or B2C, where goods are located, and which operations are subject to French VAT.
- Confirm your establishment status with your tax adviser: a French branch or subsidiary changes everything.
- Identify who owes the VAT on each flow: you, or your French customer under reverse charge.
- Work out your size category from worldwide revenue, headcount and balance sheet at 1 January 2025.
- Choose a plateforme agréée if you have an e-reporting obligation, before your start date.
- Prepare the data in your ERP: customer details, VAT treatment per line, rates and payment data for services.
- Connect your ERP to the platform so reporting is automatic, not a monthly spreadsheet exercise.
What does a plateforme agréée do for a foreign seller?
A plateforme agréée is a private platform certified by the French tax administration (DGFiP). For a non-established seller with an e-reporting obligation, it:
- receives your transaction and payment data in the required structure;
- transmits that data to the administration on your behalf;
- provides the technical channel (usually an API, file upload or portal) your systems connect to.
The French administration states that foreign companies with an e-reporting obligation must choose a plateforme agréée, before 1 September 2026 or 2027 depending on their start date. The platform does not decide your VAT treatment: which operations are taxable in France, and who owes the VAT, remain your decisions with your tax adviser.
What mistakes do foreign sellers make most often?
- Assuming “not established” means “nothing to do”. Non-established sellers who owe French VAT still have e-reporting.
- Using French revenue to set the size category. The test uses worldwide revenue, so many groups fall into the large-company or ETI category and start on 1 September 2026.
- Treating every French B2B sale as reverse charge. Some supplies are taxable in France with the foreign seller liable for the VAT. Check each flow.
- Reporting from spreadsheets. Manual monthly extracts are slow and error-prone. Connect the ERP to the platform so reporting follows invoicing automatically.
- Forgetting payment data. For services, the payment data must also be reported by the party receiving the payment.
- Waiting for a French customer to ask. Your customer cannot fulfil your e-reporting obligation for you.
What data should be ready in your ERP?
| Data | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Customer identity and country, and the French VAT number where the customer has one | To decide who owes the VAT and what to report |
| VAT treatment per invoice line (rate, exemption, reverse charge) | To report taxable amounts correctly |
| Place of supply or location of goods | To identify operations located in France |
| Daily B2C totals by VAT rate | For B2C reporting, unless you use the EU VAT one-stop shop |
| Payment dates and amounts for services | For payment data reporting |
How does this fit with UAE and Indian obligations?
French e-reporting runs alongside your home-country obligations, not instead of them. A UAE company still follows UAE e-invoicing for its UAE transactions (see UAE e-invoicing integration), and its French reporting goes through a French plateforme agréée. One integration layer can serve both: a canonical invoice model in your ERP with a UAE output (PINT AE to your ASP) and a French output (e-reporting data to your platform).
How Co-Mate helps
Co-Mate is an integration engineering company, not a plateforme agréée. We map your ERP data to what your chosen platform needs, build the connection, and keep UAE, French and other country outputs on one integration platform. Start with the free e-invoicing readiness check or see our France e-invoicing integration service.