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France Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T)

France introduced a local version of the OECD’s SAF-T harmonised tax data reporting schema. The French version, FEC (Fichier des Écritures Comptable). The new regime comes into effect from 1 January 2014.

France e-invoicing will be introduced from 2024 following a 1-year delay. Learn more about French VAT in our country guide.

French FEC diverges

The French SAF-T follows the Code Général des Impôt – CGI – the French Tax Code. It must be produced in a .txt format on request. This typically happens prior to an audit to ensure an efficient targeting of the tax inspectors queries and time. However, this proprietary format is a significant variation from the original OECD format.

OECD Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development created the first version of SAF-T in 2005. Its aim was for a five-ledger structure for supporting accounting and VAT data to be exchange between corporate taxpayers and the tax authorities. The aim is to improve the efficiency of communications and tax collections. It was intended to be harmonised, but many of the countries that have adopted it have varied significantly from the OECD format.

The OECD is now on version II of its SAF-T. The five ledgers are:

  1. General ledger and supporting journals
  2. Accounts receivable, with customer master data and invoices
  3. Accounts payable, including vendor master data and invoices
  4. Warehouse stock inventories, and master data
  5. Fixed assets ledger, including depreciation / amortisation

Check which countries have implemented SAF-T. For SAF-T and other transactional-level reporting, calculate or verify global VAT / GST calculations on individual or batch transactions with our Advisor and Auditor services.

Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T countries

Country (click for details) Date Scope
13 Ukraine Jan 2025 Phased 2025 to 2027 implementation
12 Bulgaria Jan 2025 Phased introduction over two years
11 Denmark Jan 2024 Phased implementation from 2024
10 Romania Jan 2022 Mandatory monthly filings initially large taxpayers (due Jan 2023)
9 EU OSS & IOSS Jul 2021 On-demand for sellers, marketplaces or Intermediaries
8 Norway 2020 Replaced VAT return 2022
7 Angola 2019 On-demand
6 Lithuania 2019 On-demand; residents and non-residents above €30,000 sales threshold
5 Poland 2016 Mandatory, monthly replaced VAT return Oct 2020
4 France 2014 On-demand
3 Luxembourg 2011 On-demand
2 Austria 2009 On-demand
1 Portugal 2009 Monthly for residents and non-residents (Jun 2022)

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