Electronic invoicing and DGFiP: the role of the French tax authority

In a nutshell:

1. The Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) leads the reform and sets the regulatory framework that applies to all VAT-liable companies in France.
2. The Public Invoicing Portal, operated by the DGFiP with the AIFE, plays the role of central directory and tax data concentrator.
3. E-reporting allows the DGFiP to collect invoicing and payment data in near real time to pre-fill VAT returns.
4. The stated objective: reduce VAT fraud, simplify business life, and generate an estimated 4.5 billion euros of yearly savings.

Electronic invoicing dgfip is not just about a new document format: it is a complete redesign of how invoices flow between businesses, driven by the French tax authority. The DGFiP, the Directorate General of Public Finances, sits at the centre of the reform. It defines the rules, oversees technical players, accredits PDPs and gathers the tax data sent by platforms. This article explains the DGFiP’s mission, the role of the Public Invoicing Portal, the partnership with the AIFE, the data collected through e-reporting, the official timeline and the resources available to companies.

What is the DGFiP and what is its mission

The Directorate General of Public Finances is a French government department under the authority of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. Created in 2008 from the merger of the Directorate General of Taxes and the Directorate General of Public Accounting, it manages both taxation (individuals, businesses, tax audits, recovery) and public accounting (state employee payroll, local government accounts, central government books).

In this capacity, the DGFiP is the operational arm of the tax administration for VAT, corporate income tax, personal income tax and local taxes. It runs several public portals, including impots.gouv.fr for tax filings, BOFIP for tax doctrine and, since 2017, Chorus Pro for the dematerialisation of invoices addressed to public bodies.

In the context of the inter-company invoicing reform, the DGFiP wears several hats:

• Regulatory and business owner of the reform.
• Competent authority for accreditation of partner dematerialisation platforms.
• Operator of the Public Invoicing Portal alongside the AIFE.
• Final recipient of the tax data transmitted by the platforms.

To grasp the scope of the reform, it helps to read the comprehensive guide to electronic invoicing, which covers the whole framework.

A brief history: from Chorus Pro to the B2B reform

The DGFiP is not new to dematerialisation. Since 2017, ordinance no. 2014-697 of 26 June 2014 has required the use of electronic invoices in all commercial relations with the public sphere. Any company that invoices a government body, a local authority or a public institution must submit its invoices through Chorus Pro, the platform run by the Agency for State Financial Information (AIFE).

This obligation, known as B2G (business to government), was rolled out gradually to all company sizes between 2017 and 2020. More than 100 million invoices are now processed yearly through Chorus Pro according to AIFE figures. The feedback loop is solid: shorter payment terms, better traceability, productivity gains for both public buyers and suppliers.

Building on this experience, the DGFiP obtained parliamentary authorisation in 2020 to extend dematerialisation to all inter-company (B2B) transactions carried out on French territory. Ordinance no. 2021-1190 of 15 September 2021 sets the legislative framework, decree no. 2022-1299 of 7 October 2022 details the technical conditions, and article 91 of the 2024 Finance Act fixes the final timeline. To better understand the mandatory electronic invoicing scope, these consolidated texts on Legifrance are the starting point.

The PPF, Public Invoicing Portal operated by the DGFiP

The Public Invoicing Portal is the cornerstone of the system on the administration side. Hosted at portailpro.gouv.fr, it is a free public platform whose business owner is the DGFiP. Operational ownership is delegated to the AIFE, already an expert in running Chorus Pro.

The PPF carries out three main missions:

• Central business directory: it lists all companies established in France along with their reception platform(s). When a PDP needs to deliver an invoice, it queries the PPF to know where to send it.
• Tax data concentrator: it receives, in real time, mandatory invoicing and payment data sent by PDPs and forwards them to the DGFiP’s information systems.
• Archive and consultation service: companies can review their invoicing and reporting history.

Originally, the PPF was also intended to offer a free direct invoice exchange function between companies. This exchange role was scaled back in 2024 to focus the PPF on its directory and concentrator functions, leaving exchange operations to private PDPs. To clarify what a PDP partner platform does, it is therefore important to distinguish the PPF (public, central, free for its remaining functions) from PDPs (private, accredited, paid).

The AIFE, technical operator of the PPF and Chorus Pro

The Agency for State Financial Information is a national-competence service attached to the DGFiP. Its mission: design, operate and evolve the State’s financial information systems. Created in 2005, the AIFE notably manages Chorus, the State accounting software, and Chorus Pro for public-sector invoicing.

In the current reform, the AIFE is the technical operator of the PPF. It handles hosting, development and operation of the platform. It also publishes the technical specifications (external specifications of the technical foundation) that PDPs must follow to interconnect with the PPF.

The AIFE has built rare expertise in standardised EDI flows, in the European EN 16931 standard and in exchange formats (Factur-X, UBL, CII). This expertise is critical to ensure interoperability between the hundreds of PDPs that will need to communicate from September 2026.

“Electronic invoicing is a major step forward in the modernisation of our economy. It will deliver productivity gains, simplify reporting obligations and help fight VAT fraud.” – Impact study, ordinance no. 2021-1190, September 2021

Data collected by the DGFiP: e-reporting and anti-fraud

The reform rests on a simple principle: give the DGFiP reliable, structured, near real-time data on all B2B and B2C transactions carried out on French territory. Two distinct flows coexist.

E-invoicing for domestic B2B transactions

For any invoice between two companies established in France and liable to VAT, the invoice must transit through a platform (PPF or PDP). The platform automatically transmits the mandatory data to the DGFiP: party identifiers, amounts excluding VAT, VAT collected, dates, mandatory wording. This is the heart of e-invoicing.

E-reporting for non-covered flows

For transactions that are not covered by e-invoicing (sales to individuals, exports outside the EU, purchases from foreign suppliers), companies will report transaction data separately through a mechanism called e-reporting. Payment data (cash receipts for services) is also transmitted to allow correct calculation of VAT due.

Together, these flows allow the DGFiP to:

• Pre-fill monthly or quarterly VAT returns.
• Detect discrepancies between declared collected VAT and actually invoiced VAT.
• Combat carousel fraud, one of the leading VAT fraud schemes in Europe, valued at tens of billions of euros annually at European level.
• Produce fine-grained statistics on economic activity.

The legal framework for collected data is set out in article 289 bis of the General Tax Code, complemented by article 290 and decree 2022-1299. The BOFIP (BOI-TVA-DECLA-30) details the practical conditions.

Ecosystem actors: DGFiP, AIFE, PPF, PDP, OD, OC

The reform’s architecture relies on several players. The table below summarises their respective roles.

This architecture allows healthy competition between PDPs while ensuring reliable transmission of tax data to the DGFiP. Companies can freely choose their provider, supported for example by an electronic invoicing platforms comparison to identify the best fit.

Why the DGFiP wants to digitise: expected benefits

The motivation of the tax administration is twofold: modernise the economic fabric and secure tax revenues. The impact study attached to ordinance no. 2021-1190, published by the Ministry of the Economy, quantifies the expected gains for the country.

• Savings for businesses: 4.5 billion euros per year, around 50 euros saved per dematerialised invoice (no postage, no paper editing, fewer reminders, no manual reprocessing).
• Reduction of average payment delays: between 5 and 10 days depending on company size, thanks to traceability and faster delivery.
• Secured tax revenue: between 1 and 1.5 billion euros recovered yearly on VAT fraud, according to DGFiP estimates.
• Simplified reporting: pre-filling of VAT returns, likely end of certain paper forms.

Beyond these figures, the DGFiP highlights a modernisation logic: alignment with major European peers (Italy leading with SDI since 2019, Spain with FacturaE, Poland with KSeF), preparation for the European Commission’s ViDA project (VAT in the Digital Age), which will impose e-invoicing for intra-EU transactions by 2030.

How a company interacts with the DGFiP

In practice, a French company does not need to connect directly to the DGFiP for its B2B invoices. Exchange happens through a platform. Three patterns are possible.

Pattern 1: go through a PDP

This is the preferred scenario for most companies. The company chooses a private accredited platform, sends its outbound invoices to it and receives its inbound invoices from it. The PDP handles everything: format conversion, transmission of data to the PPF, archiving. Choosing a PDP is a long-term partnership, and a best electronic invoicing software comparison is a useful starting point.

Pattern 2: use a PDP via a dematerialisation operator (OD)

A company that already uses accounting or management software can keep its tool, which becomes its OD. The OD must then be interfaced with a PDP responsible for the connection to the PPF. The company keeps its habits but must verify that its software vendor has a partnership with a PDP.

Pattern 3: connect directly to the PPF

The PPF offers free access for essential functions (manual invoice deposit, consultation, directory). This route is mainly suitable for very small structures issuing few invoices. It is functionally more limited than a PDP (no ERP integration, limited automation, restricted formats).

Official timeline published by the DGFiP

The DGFiP published a consolidated timeline in June 2024, after several adjustments. Two structural dates frame the reform.

• 1 September 2026: mandatory reception of electronic invoices for all VAT-liable companies, regardless of size. At that date, issuance is also mandatory for large companies and mid-sized enterprises.
• 1 September 2027: mandatory issuance for SMEs, very small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs. By that date, the system applies to everyone.

To visualise all intermediate steps (PDP accreditation, sandbox openings, end of pilot periods), the electronic invoicing timeline gives a detailed sub-period view.

Resources made available by the DGFiP

The administration has built a fairly complete communication framework to support businesses and software vendors. Several resources are freely accessible.

• impots.gouv.fr/portail/facturation-electronique: official DGFiP page covering general documentation, FAQs and reform news.
• portailpro.gouv.fr: PPF portal, gradually open to businesses.
• Business community: collaborative space run by the DGFiP and the AIFE, with regular webinars, thematic workshops and a forum for users and experts.
• External technical specifications of the foundation: specifications dossier published by the AIFE, essential for software vendors and PDP candidates.
• BOFIP: Bulletin officiel des finances publiques, section BOI-TVA-DECLA-30, which sets out the applicable doctrine.
• Service-public.fr: short fact sheets for managers, written by the Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information.

A free phone helpline is also available for companies facing technical or regulatory difficulties. The number can be found on impots.gouv.fr.

Wrap-up: the DGFiP at the heart of the system

The reform of inter-company invoice dematerialisation is, above all, a tax administration project. The DGFiP is the project owner, sets the framework, exploits the collected data and coordinates all stakeholders. The PPF, operated by the AIFE, plays the role of directory and concentrator, but private PDPs handle most exchange operations. For companies, the priority is to understand this architecture, identify the PDP that will be their entry point, and stick to the official timeline.

FAQ