Draft pre-completed VAT returns unlikely till 2030 based on 2026-27 e-reporting mandate
France has indicated that pre-filled draft VAT returns are unlikely before 2030, despite its major B2B e-invoicing and e-reporting mandate beginning in September 2026 for large enterprises.
A second wave completes the mandate in September 2027 for remaining businesses. The rules for non-resident VAT e-invoicing is still crystalising.
DGFiP requires two year run up
The French tax authority, the DGFiP, has indicated at the Annual E-Invoicing Day event that the transition to real-time transactional reporting is only the first stage of a much longer VAT digitalisation programme. Once nationwide invoice and transaction data is flowing through the new regime, the administration expects to spend several years absorbing, cleansing and analysing the enormous volumes of data before designing pre-filled VAT return processes.
See global pre-filled VAT return tracker.
This reflects the growing reality across Europe that e-invoicing is not the end goal. Tax authorities increasingly see continuous transaction controls and e-reporting as the foundation for automated VAT compliance, risk analysis and eventually machine-generated VAT returns.
France’s cautious timeline also underlines the technical complexity of moving from invoice-level reporting to accurate VAT return population. Matching invoices, payments, adjustments, exemptions and cross-border treatments into reliable VAT box reporting remains a significant challenge, particularly in a market as large and fragmented as France.
See more in our French VAT country guide. France will be following others, including Spain and Italy.
