What is the method for sending Invoices under the e-Invoicing mandate in France?

There are two methods by which e-Invoices can be sent. First, the public invoicing portal (PPF) is the National invoicing portal. In B2B transactions taxpayers can issue and transmit invoices through the PPF (Portail public de facturation) to the buyer, any additional platform is not necessary. Second, a partner dematerialization platform (PDP) is a trusted service provider that is required to be registered with the French tax administration. Registration needs to be renewed every three years.

Partner dematerialization platforms (PDP) roles are as follows:

• Transform, validate, and send invoices to the French Tax Authority.
• Extract data from these invoices to forward them to the tax authorities.
• Act as an intermediary between supplier and customer.

The buyer and the seller can have different PDP’s and still be able to exchange invoices. 

Invoices must be generated in UBL, CII, or Factur-X (a hybrid structure that allows both XML and PDF submissions). A digital signature is not required.

The taxpayer should archive invoices for 10 years. Some PDP platforms are expected to provide archiving services.