Ordinance No. 2019-359 of April 24, 2019, revises the invoicing rules set forth in Article L.441-9 of the Commercial Code.
Starting October1, 2019, two new required items must appear on your invoices!
Get ready!
Why?
- The terms used in the Commercial Code and the General Tax Code regarding the invoice issuance date differ, creating legal uncertainty that leads to disputes and, consequently, late payments. In fact, Article L.441-3 of the Commercial Code stipulates that the invoice must be issued upon completion of the sale, whereas Article 289.I.3 of the General Tax Code provides that the invoice must be issued upon completion of the delivery or the provision of services!
Thus, the new Article L.441-9, which will apply to all invoices issued on or after October1, 2019, states: “ the seller is required to issue the invoice upon completion of the delivery or the provision of services, as defined in Article 289(I)(3) of the General Tax Code .” It should be noted that Article 256.II.3 of the General Tax Code specifies that“the physical transfer of tangible personal property” is considered a delivery of goods.
- To combat another source of late payments—namely, “fake disputes,” which unscrupulous payers orchestrate to gain additional time to pay the supplier— the billing addresses of both the buyer and the seller must now be included, as well as the purchase order number if one was issued by the buyer.
Regarding this last point, if the order number is missing or incorrect, it is advisable to obtain written confirmation from the buyer verifying the correct item number for invoices involving large amounts.
- To further ensure effective compliance with invoicing requirements, Ordinance 2019-359, which was published in the Official Journal on April 25, 2019, provides for a penalty for failure to comply with invoicing requirements and for the omission of required information. This penalty is now administrative rather than criminal.
Thus, by decriminalizing this offense—and by granting the DGCCRF the authority to issue citations during its inspections—the legislature is certain to achieve greater results and greater efficiency in ensuring compliance with these obligations. Administrative fines will range up to 75,000 euros for an individual and 375,000 euros for a legal entity, with these amounts doubled in the event of a repeat violation within a two-year period.
Reminder of required information on invoices:
For the person issuing an invoice:
- Name or corporate name, address, contact information, legal form, share capital, SIREN number, intra-Community VAT number
- New as of October 1, 2019: billing address, if different from the address listed above
In the body of the invoice:
- Invoice Number
- Invoice Date (See above – delivery date) *
- Settlement Date
- The quantity
- The exact name
- The unit price (excluding tax) of products sold or services rendered, and any price discounts received as of the date of sale or service provision
- Discount terms for payment made before the due date indicated on the invoice
- The rate of late payment penalties due on the day following the payment date
- The amount of the lump-sum recovery fee owed to the creditor in the event of late payment
For the customer:
- Name or business name, address, contact information, legal form, share capital, SIREN number, intra-EU VAT number (Be sure to verify it!*)
- New as of October 1, 2019: billing address, if different from the address listed above
- New as of October 1, 2019: the purchase order number, if provided by the buyer
Invoice Date : * It is understood that , for the summary invoice, the invoice issuance date will not be disputed.
Customer VAT Number :* To verify it: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do?locale=fr