France introduce new VAT software obligations from Jan 2018

31 May 2017

From January 2018 France will require VAT registered businesses to use certified anti-VAT fraud software.

These requirements will apply to all software used by the business whether it is bought-in or developed in-house, and also to cash registers used in retailer’s premises. The basic requirements for the software include:

• The ability for the tax authorities to be able to access individual transaction data directly
• The data to be stored online or in a method approved by the tax authorities
• The ability to prove the integrity of the data
• Cash registers to provide daily and monthly totals of sales
• Accounting software to have at least an annual close / reconciliation facility.

Businesses who have bought in their software will be able to obtain certification for their system from accredited software providers.  There are currently no details on how the certification process will work for companies with in-house developed software.

Failure to comply with these requirements could result in fines of up to €7,500 per software or cash register unit used, this could present a large financial risk to major retailers or groups of companies using the same software platform.