Company: Postponement of Electronic Invoicing
The Ministry of the Economy announced that the widespread adoption of electronic invoicing by all businesses would be delayed.
Bercy will have to be patient before it can implement its system to combat VAT fraud. The Ministry of the Economy announced in a press release on Friday that the rollout of electronic invoicing to all businesses would be delayed. The initial deadline, set for July 1, 2024—by which all companies, regardless of size, were supposed to be able to receive electronic invoices—is no longer in effect.
The statement from the Ministry of Finance specifies: “It has been decided to postpone the effective date of the measure, originally scheduled for July 1, 2024, in order to allow sufficient time for the successful implementation of this reform, which is fundamental to the economy. ” The new timeline will be established as part of the process to adopt the 2024 budget bill, with the goal of ensuring that the 4 million businesses affected can transition to electronic invoicing under the best possible conditions.
This decision follows discussions with stakeholders in the reform. During the first half of the year, the ministry engaged in dialogue with industry associations, businesses, and software publishers, all of which play a key role in this new system. In fact, invoicing can be handled by private platforms registered with the General Directorate of Public Finance (DGFIP) or directly through the public portal. The registration of these entities began last May.
Given the scale of this project, some were already expressing doubts about whether the initial timeline could be met. The Ministry of Finance has experienced a few setbacks in the past, such as the single business registry or, more recently, the real estate declaration, which posed problems for both individuals and social housing professionals.
Electronic invoicing represents a major reform for the business world, comparable to withholding tax for individuals. This system is designed to enable the government to pre-fill VAT returns, thereby allowing for faster refunds of VAT credits to businesses and better detection of fraud or errors through targeted audits.
To illustrate the effectiveness of this approach, former Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal cited the example of Italy, one of the pioneers in this field, which reportedly recovered 2 billion euros in its first year thanks to the implementation of electronic invoicing. In France, INSEE estimates that VAT fraud results in a revenue shortfall of more than 20 billion euros per year.
Initially, July 1, 2024, marked not only the date by which all businesses were required to receive electronic invoices, but also the date by which large companies were required to issue these new invoices. For mid-sized companies (ETIs), the deadline was set for January 2025, while for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the scheduled date was January 2026.
