The dematerialization of invoices has a number of objectives, not least of which is to enable companies to simplify their work and boost their competitiveness by lightening their administrative burden.
As a reminder, VAT is the government's largest revenue budget, and the annual amount of VAT fraud is around 15 billion euros, hence the Administration's determination to halve this figure!
INFOCERT helps you to understand the reform of electronic invoicing, which promises to be an upheaval for France's 4 million businesses. and introduces you to the concepts of e-invoicing and e-reporting.
E-invoicing:
E-invoicing meanssending invoice data via a data stream - for business-to-business sales in France only. It represents the end of paper, replaced by a structured file.
To go into more detail, with e-invoicing we are talking about :
- Semantic - i.e. the words that will be found and that correspond to the list of data contained in the file sent.
- Syntax concept - i.e. the formats that files can take.
- File transmission channels - several solutions: either data is entered into a portal and a structured file is created on registration, or the file is transmitted automatically via an API or EDI.
What's important to remember is thatthe data comes from a European standard - EN16931.
E-invoicing formats :
- UBL (Universal Business Language) = XML - one of the best-known languages on the Internet.
- C2I (Certificat Informatique et Internet) = XML too.
- Invoice X in the form of a readable PDF that embeds the data directly inside the file. With this format, we no longer speak of "invoice printing", but of "readable". By law, "readable" must be understandable to the human eye.
E-reporting:
E-reporting, on the other hand, is the sending of data not to professionals, but to the authorities, for reporting purposes. The concept of e-reporting underpins several subjects, including the transmission of sales to private individuals.
One of the developments envisaged for e-reporting in the future is that of international B2B sales for declaratory purposes, which would enable European harmonization of the subject.
What characterizes B2C e-reporting - the B2B question will be addressed in another episode - is its formidable heterogeneity . In fact, e-reporting is used in a wide variety of fields: retail, ticketing, parking lots, hotels, catering, vending machines, and so on. In other words, it covers a very broad spectrum.
As the reform will apply even to those who don't have IT tools - in the case of a small shop in a small village, for example - we'll need to ensure that support is in place. It must not disrupt the ecosystem or create a digital divide across the country.
Electronic invoicing in figures :
- 4 million: That's the number of companies that will be affected by the reform, i.e. all French businesses.
- Including 3.8 million VSEs and SMEs.
- 100 million euros a year: this is the approximate value of sales between companies and the public authorities.
- 2 billion euros a year: That's the approximate value of sales between French companies - domestic B2B.
- 20 billion euros a year: That's the approximate value of sales transactions to private individuals.
European standardization.
The origin of this reform lies in a European directive on VAT. It's important to remember that Europe is at the forefront of issues concerning invoicing and the fight against VAT fraud. The European Commission is constantly working on this, and has been asked to strengthen the tools for combating VAT fraud.
Invoice dematerialization not only simplifies and streamlines business processes, it also helps combat VAT fraud. As a reminder, VAT is the government's largest revenue budget, and VAT fraud represents a loss of around 15 billion euros a year. The aim of invoice dematerialization is to halve this amount!
Reminder of the roll-out schedule for dematerialized invoicing.
Obligation to receive electronic invoices :
- September1, 2026 for ALL French companies.
Obligation to issue electronic invoices :
- September1, 2026 for large and mid-sized companies,
- Then on September1, 2027 for other companies - small, medium-sized and micro-businesses.
For example, from September 1, 2026, to receive an invoice from a very large company, the invoice will have to be dematerialized. It will then have to be uploaded directly from a partner dematerialization platform, in a structured file.
With all this information, it's easy to make the connection with certification. Particularly with NF525, which is compulsory for software that manages payment data. Invoice dematerialization reform heralds regulatory changes. The sending of cumulative data in the fight against VAT fraud should be accompanied by a tightening up of data security, which is where all this comes from.
To find out more about invoice dematerialization, please visit our dedicated section. We also offer related training courses, so please don't hesitate to contact us.
