France rejects 2026–28 penalties grace period proposal for e-Invoicing

ARTICLE 28 – businesses acting in good faith spared e-invoicing fines

The proposed amendment by Mme Virginie Duby-Muller of the Droite Republican had inserted a new paragraph after §85 stating:

Businesses acting in good faith will not be subject to penalties under Article 1737 III or Articles 1788 D I–II of the French General Tax Code for breaches observed between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2028. A Council of State decree will define the conditions of this “good faith” tolerance.

In short: France was proposing a two-year grace period where sanctions for e-invoicing and e-reporting non-compliance would not apply, provided the business is making genuine efforts to comply. This does not delay the obligation. It recognises that successful nationwide digitalisation requires an adaptive, secure rollout—not a cliff-edge.

Why France needs a grace period

The move comes after months of growing concern among businesses, platforms, and software vendors. While the benefits of e-invoicing are indisputable—modernisation, automation, cost savings, shorter payment cycles, and vastly improved fraud detection—the scale of the transformation is unprecedented.

1. Uneven Business Preparedness

Despite extensive preparation efforts, readiness is highly variable. Companies are still grappling with:

• Selecting certified private platforms
• Building or upgrading ERP and finance systems
• Sector-specific complexities (construction, retail, services, public procurement)
• Late publication of specifications and schema updates
• Incomplete interoperability testing
• Real-world testing environments that are still evolving

For many, projects have only recently restarted after major design changes.

2. Disruption triggered by the end of the free public invoicing portal

The government’s October 2024 decision to abandon the free public portal and rely solely on private PDPs caused many companies to pause or re-scope their projects. Large enterprises with multi-ERP environments saw months of delay. SMEs lost the clarity and simplicity they were counting on. Implementation teams have had to redesign interfaces, re-evaluate vendor choices, and re-map data flows.

3. Risk of Systemic Gridlock

Without transition measures, 1 September 2026 could see:

• Mass invoice rejections
• Payment blockages
• Cash-flow deterioration
• Supply-chain paralysis

In a country where 2.5 billion B2B invoices circulate each year, even a small error-rate would cause macro-scale disruption. The amendment seeks to avoid a technical “brownout” in France’s invoicing infrastructure.

E-invoicing soft landing measures

The amendment codifies a period of administrative tolerance, underpinned by several mechanisms crucial for stability.

1. No penalties for good-faith errors

During the 2026–2028 transition:

• No fines for e-invoicing or e-reporting non-compliance
• Protection for companies facing shared or systemic technical issues
• No sanctions for mis-formatted or rejected invoices, provided there is no intent to avoid obligations

This is not a free pass. It is targeted relief to prevent unintentional non-compliance from becoming financially crippling.

2. VAT deduction protection

Crucially, a customer’s right to deduct VAT will not be compromised by e-invoicing difficulties, as long as the invoice contains the legally required information. This avoids a worst-case scenario where technical formatting errors delay VAT recovery and damage cash-flow.

3. Stronger Dialogue and National Support Structure

The proposal emphasises the need for:

• A properly funded communication campaign for businesses
• A national hotline and local assistance centres (via DGFIP)
• Routine publication of common anomalies to speed up fixes
• Faster feedback loops between platforms, DGFIP, and businesses

Given the complexity of PDP interoperability, a robust support ecosystem is essential.

4. Business Continuity in Case of Major Outages

If France experiences:

• Mass invoice rejection
• A central network outage
• PDP connectivity failures

…businesses must still be able to issue, receive, and process invoices.

A national business continuity plan would ensure payments and supply chains are not disrupted—even in the event of a system-wide failure.

The proposed amendment gives businesses two years of sanctioned flexibility—a pragmatic step to secure the reform rather than weaken it. If adopted, this grace period will act as France’s safety net: ensuring that the economic and tax transformation succeeds without disrupting invoicing, payments, or the broader value chain.

See more in our French VAT guide.