There is a particular kind of jet lag that comes from returning to a full inbox after a proper break, and I’ll admit to feeling it this morning. But today isn’t just another back-to-work Tuesday: 1 September 2026 is also the date the French e-invoicing reform actually starts biting.
What actually changes today
As of today, every VAT-liable business established in France must be able to receive electronic invoices. Large companies and ETIs (mid-size enterprises) must also start issuing them electronically. SMEs and micro-businesses get a further year: their own issuance obligation only starts on 1 September 2027, though they too must be able to receive from today.
The detail worth flagging to anyone who hasn’t looked at this closely since the plans shifted: the Portail Public de Facturation (PPF), once meant to double as a free, universal invoicing platform, no longer plays that role. Since October 2024, it has been scaled back to two functions only — a central directory of businesses and their e-invoicing addresses, and a data concentrator that relays fiscal information to the DGFiP. Actually issuing and receiving invoices now has to go through a PDP (plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire), a private platform registered and approved by the DGFiP. If your business doesn’t have one lined up, that’s the practical gap to close first — not a portal to wait for.
Why the first day matters more than the deadline
Reforms like this tend to get attention only when the compliance deadline is imminent. But the businesses that treat 1 September as the day the clock starts, rather than the day it runs out, are the ones that end up choosing their PDP deliberately instead of under pressure — and that actually test their invoice data quality before it’s flowing to the tax authority in real time.
If you’re a large company or ETI, this is no longer a planning exercise; it’s live today. If you’re an SME with a year of runway, that year goes faster than it looks — the businesses I’ve seen handle this well started evaluating PDPs well before their own deadline was close.
Good to be back. More soon.
Sources: Urssaf.fr; economie.gouv.fr; vofact.fr on the PPF’s revised 2026 role.