France has adopted the new anti-fraud law which introduces, among other things, a responsibility for e-commerce platforms in the field of VAT.
Overview of the responsibility of e-commerce platforms in the European Union
The responsibility of e-commerce platforms for VAT should be effective in all Member States of the European Union from 1 January 2021 with the entry into force of the amendments to the 6th Directive.
However, in the face of the urgency of stemming the massive fraud that is being done through these platforms, some Member States are taking the lead and are incorporating platform responsibility into their legislation even before the new Community provisions come into force.
After the United Kingdom and Germany is therefore the turn of France to make E-commerce platforms responsible for the payment of VAT due by their sellers.
The responsibility of e-commerce platforms in France
When it realizes that a seller is not fulfilling its VAT obligations correctly, the French tax authorities may order the platform to take steps to ensure that the seller regularises its situation.
If the situation is not regularized within one month of the first notification, the tax authority may give notice to the platform to exclude the concerned seller.
In the absence of exclusion of the seller within one month of the formal notice, the platform becomes jointly liable for the VAT payable by the seller and may be sought for payment by the tax authorities.
These provisions will not come into effect until January 1, 2020. However, the platforms are already preparing for them and companies that sell their products to French individuals through e-commerce platforms are systematically asked for a french VAT number to continue their activity.
ASD Group allows you to quickly obtain a VAT number in the United Kingdom, Germany, France but also in all other EU Member States. We will also take care of all your declarative obligations in these states.
For more information, you can contact us directly.
