The 2024 edition of Electronic Invoicing Day, held in mid-March in Paris, was an opportunity to recall the objectives of the generalization of e-invoicing and its new calendar, but especially a zoom on several panes operational or technical aspects of the reform.
New calendar, unchanged will! Despite the postponement of generalization from electronic billing in France for businesses, announced last summer, the Electronic Invoice Day organized in mid-March by the FNFE-MPE (European Forum for Electronic Invoicing and Electronic Public Procurement) was once again packed for its 2024 edition: nearly 1,500 people were present in the large auditorium of the Palais Brongniart, or connected remotely. As a reminder, the schedule shift for the application of the electronic invoicing obligation would be essentially linked to the delay in the development of the Public Billing Portal (PPF), the cornerstone of the system. But above all, it is not without consequences. Especially for companies that had hired very early adapting their systems, and hope to maintain the mobilization of their teams for two more years while minimizing additional costs.
Beyond a reminder of the objectives of the reform for businesses (automation of processing, acceleration of payments, reduction of disputes and supply chain disruptions) and the new timetable, in two waves starting in September 2026, The day was above all an opportunity for the organizers and speakers to highlight several strategic aspects, in particular interoperability between the multiple actors involved. “The generalization concerns all those subject to VAT, including around 4 million companies, but also more than 500 publishers of management software packages and dematerialization operators (OD), as well as partner dematerialization platforms (PDP) of which around fifty have already submitted a registration file,” immediately recalled Cyrille Sautereau, president of the FNFE-MPE, to raise the issue. Without forgetting the PPF, therefore, which will ensure in the Y diagram retained by the tax administration, three central functions: directory of taxable persons and their electronic receipt addresses, electronic invoicing platform (“e-invoicing” section), transaction data concentrator (“e-reporting” section).
Before addressing the issues of interoperability between all these players, Cyrille Sautereau also insisted on the technical complexity of the reform, detailing the characteristics of an electronic invoice in terms of formats (CII, UBL, Factur-X and their extended profiles), data (business, legal, commercial, tax, technical, marketing, etc.) and management rules. Then by listing the thirty or so use cases listed: deposit invoice and final invoice, self-invoicing, invoice paid by a third party, factoring, employee fees, subcontracting invoice, etc. “In this complex and extensive system, interoperability between the different technical components constitutes a key point,” he insisted. For now, the availability of a “network of platforms” to ensure this interoperability remains awaited. But a prototype based on the specifications of Peppol, the European exchange network secure between commercial partners, was however initiated in France, in compliance with the requirements of the reform. “On this basis, we are also working with the FNFE-MPE to set up an entity responsible for the governance of this interoperated network, a sort of hexagonal Peppol,” explained Emmanuelle Levieils (photo opposite), responsible for mission to project management within the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFip) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. This, in a European context, since other countries are engaged in a similar approach. It is also, ultimately, a matter of covering other documents beyond just invoices.
In the meantime, ministerial speakers have clarified the main measures already taken to facilitate preparation for deployment. Because there is an emergency. " 1er September 2026 should not be seen as the starting point of the reform, but as the first point of arrival,” insisted Stéphane Eustache, director of the electronic invoice program within the Agency for Financial Informatics of the State (AIFE). “At our level, we have put ourselves in a position to anticipate, by establishing a clear legal framework and a precise timetable”, with the objective of delivering the central directory function before the end of 2024 to allow PDPs to check their ability to use it (connection tests, technical and functional tests). Before that, the elements describing the operation of the portal (external specifications, swaggers, software and OD will also be supported, with the overhaul of the page dedicated to reform on the tax administration website, “for greater clarity”, and the establishment of an online training course. In 2025, a pilot phase will lead to the opening of services to prepare for large-scale deployment, “avoiding a Big Bang”.