french vat


Thresholds relating to invoicing without VAT in the Member States

Entities granted a VAT exemption based on their volume of intra-Community acquisitions that does not exceed the annual threshold established by their State of establishment are invoiced without VAT (VAT in the Member State of the supplier). However, even if their turnover is below this threshold, the person benefiting from […]


FORMALITIES RELATED TO PAYMENT OF VAT

[i]  Invoicing.   In order to facilitate the operation of the VAT credit system and the verification of due payment of VAT, all invoices sent by VAT taxpayers to their clients, other than governmental organisms and individuals that are not Traders, must be dated and numbered and must contain, inter alia, […]


IMPOSITION OF VAT

[a]  Event Triggering VAT Liability.   Two events must be distinguished with respect to VAT liability: the event which triggers the imposition of VAT and the event by which VAT is due to the tax authorities. These events differ in function of the economic activity on which VAT is levied. The […]


VAT CREDIT SYSTEM – VAT REFUND

VAT is a non-cumulative tax and is imposed only on the price of the services rendered or the goods sold. In order to ensure that only said added value is subject to VAT, a VAT credit system has been adopted which permits a taxpayer to claim as a credit against […]


EXEMPT TRANSACTIONS

Where specific provision of law so permits, certain economic activities which would normally be subject to VAT are exempt from tax. The principal activities or persons that are exempted from VAT are: certain insurance, banking and financial activities, certain not-for-profit activities of Not-For-Profit Associations, doctors and other medical professionals, athletes, […]


TAXABLE TRANSACTIONS

VAT is imposed on all taxable economic activities of a person who is not an employee. The taxable character of an economic activity does not depend upon its profitability; for example, sales at or below cost are taxable. In order to be taxable, a transaction must, in principle, be between […]


Territorial Application of VAT

As a general rule, VAT is imposed on all taxable economic activities conducted or, in specific cases, used in France. For purposes of the imposition of VAT, France includes metropolitan France,   Monaco and the continental shelf and territorial waters. The Overseas Departments and Regions   are treated as foreign countries: such […]


THE FRENCH VALUE ADDED TAX (TVA)

The value added tax (French VAT or TVA) (hereinafter referred to as “VAT”) was instituted in 1955 and is the principal form of indirect taxation in France; in 2007, it generated approximately 49 percent of all French tax receipts. The rules applicable to French VAT are notably governed by European […]


Deduction of VAT by non VAT-registered entities

The ECJ ruled that the VAT identification number is not a condition of deductibility. For the Court of Justice, the VAT identification number is not a condition of the right to deduct: a person not yet identified at the time he has incurred expenditure subject to VAT can not be denied […]


Request for refund of VAT in another Member State

Since 1 January 2010, the refund of VAT Tax Credit to taxable persons established in another Member State called “8th Directive” is repealed and replaced by a new procedure after the Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 which introduced the dematerialization procedure. The recasting of the old procedure of VAT […]