Key Sept 2026 e-invoicing legislation passed as 2026 Finance Bill approved
The 1st September 2026 launch of B2B e-invoicing and B2C e-reporting mandate is now clear following key amendments now passed as part of the 2 February 2026 long-awaited approval of the the 2026 Budget PLF (Projet de Loi de Finances). This includes key updates (Article 28 of the PLF – see below) include fundamental changes to the mandate which were agreed by the French National Assembly and Senate on 2nd December.
Article 28 – e-invoicing Approved Partners, penalties & soft-landing
The e-invoicing measures within the Bill are contained within Article 28. They include:
Article 28 of the (now blocked) 2026 Finance Bill is the main technical brick refining France’s mandatory e-invoicing and e-reporting framework for 2026. It does not change the overall model, but it tightens definitions, hardens the platform architecture, and recalibrates sanctions and migration rules.
- Platform model consolidated:
- “Partner dematerialisation platforms” (PDPs) are formally rebadged as approved platforms (plateformes agréées, PAs), with a reinforced licensing/registration regime. Only PAs listed in the State’s central directory (or the public-sector mutualised solution) can sit in the core e-invoicing/e-reporting flow.
- Sanctions rebalanced for a softer landing:
- Article 28 initially tightened penalties for non-compliance by both taxpayers and PAs, but parliamentary amendment I-1918 rolls back some fine increases and removes the penalty for failing to appoint a PA, signalling a “soft-landing” phase while preserving a credible enforcement framework once the system is live.
- New legal spine for data flows:
- A new Article 290-0 CGI is created to anchor the obligation for PAs to transmit structured invoice and reporting data to the tax administration, with technical and periodicity details to be set by decree.
- Scope and data clarified:
- Article 28 refines the perimeter of e-reporting (B2B, B2C, intra-EU and other cross-border flows, cash-accounted transactions) and confirms that both invoice and, where relevant, payment data must be reported as standardised “data” rather than loosely defined “information”.
- Roles of PAs vs Chorus Pro defined:
- The text clarifies that PAs are the default channel for business e-invoicing and e-reporting, while the Public Invoicing Portal (Chorus Pro/PPF) is focused on B2G/public procurement, avoiding overlap and duplication in the architecture.
- Central directory and switching rules strengthened:
- The State-run central directory becomes the routing cornerstone, with explicit rules on how addressing data is maintained and how businesses can switch PAs, including a legally mandated minimum 12-month post-contract service period from the former platform.
