All the essential terms to understand the reform
electronic invoicing mandatory approach and is transforming the trade landscape in France. To help you navigate these new regulations, here is a complete lexicon of essential terms.
A
Yearbook
Definition: Centralized database managed by the PPF that lists all buyers and their associated PDPs.
Objective: Determine if a buyer uses the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) or a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) to receive invoices.
Key principles:
- Centralization : Brings together all stakeholders involved in the reform
- Interoperability : Accessible by all users of the ecosystem
- Information : Guarantees a high level of information for appropriate addressing
- Securing : Ensures data security and traceability
API (Application Programming Interface)
Definition: Interfaces that allow applications to exchange data with each other easily.
Use: In the context of electronic invoicing, APIs facilitate integration between different systems (ERP, accounting software, dematerialization platforms).
Advantage: Improves the user experience and simplifies the work of developers.
B
Domestic B2B (Business to Business)
Definition: Commercial transactions carried out between VAT taxable persons established in France.
Special feature: Subject to French billing rules and concerned by the electronic invoicing obligation.
Example: A French company that sells to another French company.
International B2B
Definition: Transactions between two VAT payers, one of whom is established in France and the other within the EU or outside the EU.
Obligation: Only concerns e-reporting (data transmission), not mandatory electronic invoicing.
B2C (Business to Customer)
Definition: Transactions between a VAT payer (supplier) and non-taxable persons (individuals).
Obligation: Subject only to e-reporting, not to mandatory electronic invoicing.
C
Chorus Pro
Definition: Dematerialized invoicing solution already in place for all public sector suppliers since 2017.
Evolution: The Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) will be built on the Chorus Pro model.
Current use: Mandatory to bill to the State, local authorities, public institutions.
CII (Cross Industry Invoice)
Definition: Structured electronic invoice format based on XML.
Special feature: One of the three mandatory formats accepted by the tax authorities, along with UBL and Factur-X.
Advantage: Structured format for automated data processing.
Billing circuits
Definition: Different methods of exchanging invoices and transmitting data in the electronic invoicing ecosystem.
Illustration: Represented in the famous “Y diagram” which shows the flows between suppliers, buyers and tax authorities.
Clearance
Definition: System for the real-time control of transactions by the tax administration.
Mechanism: Use CTC (Continuous Transaction Control) to secure VAT collection.
Digital safe
Definition: Solution ofcertified electronic archiving NF 203 CCFN.
Guarantees: Ensures the integrity, probative value and confidentiality of archived documents over time.
Obligation: Electronic invoices must be kept for 10 years.
Controls
Definition: Automated checks carried out by the PPF on the flows transmitted.
Control types:
- Techniques (format, structure)
- Applications (data consistency)
- Functional (business rules)
- Business (regulatory compliance)
Consequences: In case of failure, flows may be declared inadmissible or invoices refused.
CTC (Continuous Transaction Control)
Definition: System for the real-time monitoring of transactions by tax authorities.
Objective: Strengthen the fight against VAT fraud.
Life cycle
Definition: Monitoring the evolution of the processing of an electronic invoice from its filing to its payment.
Mandatory statuses: Defined by the administration (deposited, rejected, refused, cashed).
Optional statuses: Can be added by actors in the chain according to their needs.
D
DGFIP (Directorate-General for Public Finances)
Definition: French tax administration responsible for the implementation of the electronic invoicing reform.
Missions: Taxation, public management, and now supervision of the electronic invoicing ecosystem.
E
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
Definition: Technique for the automated exchange of commercial documents between companies in standardized formats.
Use: Replace physical exchanges (orders, invoices, delivery notes) with electronic flows.
Special feature: Requires partners to be able to translate and integrate data into their information system.
EFI (Electronic Form Interchange)
Definition: Exchange system via a dedicated portal made available by a customer (Major Purchaser).
Operation: The supplier manually re-enters the billing data on the customer portal.
Limit: A manual process that is not part of the electronic invoicing requirement.
e-Invoicing
Definition: Issuance and receipt of invoices via a dematerialization platform in a structured format.
Scope of application: Applies to all businesses subject to VAT for their domestic B2B transactions.
Calendar: Progressive implementation between 2024 and 2026 depending on the size of the companies.
IN 16931
Definition: European standard that defines the semantic data model of an electronic invoice.
Importance: All formats accepted in France (CII, UBL, Factur-X) respect this standard.
Businesses
Definition: Suppliers, buyers or their representatives, equipped or not with a dematerialization solution.
Obligation: All businesses subject to VAT will have to comply with the reform according to the defined timetable.
e-Reporting
Definition: Mandatory transmission to the tax authority of data relating to transactions not concerned by e-invoicing.
Scope of application:
- International B2B transactions
- B2C transactions
- Payment data for certain transactions
F
Factur-X
Definition: Mixed electronic invoice format combining a PDF file (readable by humans) and an XML file (usable by the machine).
Standard: Complies with the European standard EN16931 and is one of the three mandatory formats in France.
Advantage: Facilitates the transition by maintaining the familiar visual look of the PDF while allowing automation.
Mandatory electronic invoicing
Definition: Reform requiring VAT payers to issue, transmit and receive their B2B invoices in electronic format.
Calendar:
- 2024 : Large companies (turnover > €1.5 billion)
- 2025 : Medium-sized businesses (turnover > 250 M€)
- 2026 : All other businesses
Objectives: Modernizing exchanges, reducing VAT fraud, simplifying reporting obligations.
Electronic Invoice
Definition: Invoice issued and received in electronic format complying with three mandatory conditions.
Mandatory conditions:
- Authenticity of origin : Guarantee the identity of the issuer
- Content integrity : Ensure that the content has not been altered
- Readability : Allow human and automated reading
Preservation: Secure archiving is mandatory for 10 years.
Flux
Definition: In the PPF ecosystem, four types of flows are managed.
Flow types:
- e-Invoicing : Mandatory electronic invoices
- Life cycle : Invoice statuses
- e-Reporting : Domestic non-B2B transaction data
- Yearbook : Information on actors
Formats
Definition: File structures predefined by the tax authorities to facilitate the exchange and exploitation of data.
Mandatory formats:
- HERE (Cross Industry Invoice)
- UBL (Universal Business Language)
- Factur-X (mixed PDF + XML format)
Characteristics: All comply with the European standard EN16931.
Structured formats
Definition: Formats that use semantics and a structure that encodes the content of the message.
Principle: Each text element is assigned tags that delineate and identify it.
Advantage: Enables automated data processing.
Mixed formats
Definition: Format combining a structured file (XML) and a PDF image of the invoice.
Typical example: Factur-X that combines human readability (PDF) and automated operation (XML).
I
Interoperability
Definition: Capacity of the electronic invoicing ecosystem (PPF and PDP) to allow communication between all systems.
Means:
- Minimum base of common formats
- Interconnection between actors
- Secure user identification
- Use of the shared directory
L
Readable
Definition: A characteristic of an invoice that can be read easily by the user and the administration, on paper or on screen.
Reference: WOOD-TVA-DECLA-30-20-30-10 § 100.
M
Mandatory information
Definition: Information that must appear on invoices according to the General Tax Code and economic regulations.
Evolution: These terms are likely to evolve with the reform of electronic invoicing.
Sources: Article 242 nonies A of annex II of the CGI.
N
ID number
Definition: Unique company identification number for e-reporting and e-invoicing.
Accepted formats: SIREN or SIRET depending on the case of use.
O
OD (Dematerialization Operator)
Definition: Intermediary offering dematerialization services without registering with the tax authorities.
Operation: Must be connected either to the PPF or to a PDP to transmit electronic invoices.
Example: Efalia is a Dematerialization Operator.
Exempt transactions
Definition: Transactions excluded from e-invoicing and e-reporting obligations under articles 261 to 261 E of the CGI.
Examples:
- Care and education benefits
- Banking and financial transactions
- Some rental transactions
Original
Definition: Original invoice issued and transmitted in its original format.
Evolution: As part of the reform, the concept of original disappears in favor of authenticated electronic invoices.
P
PAF (Reliable Audit Trail)
Definition: All the devices that make it possible to demonstrate to the tax authorities the economic reality of the invoiced transaction.
Objective: Irrefutably reconstruct the complete chronology of the billing process.
Steps covered:
- Contractualization (quotation, contract)
- Order
- Logistics (delivery/reception)
- Invoicing
- treasury
PDP (Partner Dematerialization Platform)
Definition: Private provider registered with the tax authorities offering dematerialization services.
Minimum mandatory services:
- Dematerialization of invoices
- Direct transmission between senders and recipients
- Extraction and transmission of data to the PPF
Registration: An official list of PDPs will be published by the tax authority.
PPF (Public Billing Portal)
Definition: Public reference platform concentrating invoices and billing data for the tax administration.
Manager: Operated by the State Financial Information Agency (AIFE).
Model: Based on the Chorus Pro experience (B2G billing).
Missions: Ensures the transmission of all data relating to economic transactions (e-invoicing and e-reporting).
S
Y diagram
Definition: Graphic representation of the transmission circuits of invoices and data in the electronic invoicing ecosystem.
Principle: Illustrates flows between suppliers, buyers, and tax authorities via PPF and PDPs.
Invoice status
Definition: Status of the progress of an invoice in its processing cycle.
Main statuses:
- Deposited : Invoice sent to the PPF
- Rejected : Invoice not technically compliant
- Rejected : Invoice refused by the buyer
- Encashed : Invoice paid
U
UBL (Universal Business Language)
Definition: Standard electronic invoice format based on XML, facilitating automated processing.
Advantage: Fixed structure allowing the automatic import of data (amount, date, VAT) into compatible systems.
Status: One of the three mandatory formats accepted by the French administration.
X
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
Definition: Generic markup computer language with extensible syntax.
Recognition: Use tags surrounded by < > symbols.
Objective: Promotes interoperability by allowing the exchange of complex content between different information systems.
🔗 Official resources
They dematerialized their invoices with Efalia:
