From 1 July 2026, France suspended its national small parcel tax (introduced in March 2026) and replaced it with a standardised European customs duty of €3 per product category. This duty applies to all parcels valued at €150 or less imported from countries outside the EU. Collected at EU level, it now harmonises the rules...
Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal judgment, 19 May 2026, no. 25BX00295 The court confirmed that VAT reverse charge applicable to building works carried out as a subcontractor (French Tax Code article 283, 2 nonies) requires demonstrating genuine subcontractor status. A construction company had applied the reverse charge mechanism to services provided as part of building...
Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal Judgement, 21 May 2026, no 24BX01030 This judgment clarifies the criteria for determining whether furnished holiday lettings fall under VAT exemption or must be taxed due to their hotel-like characteristics. In this case, a French property management company was letting furnished apartments in a ski resort and had claimed VAT...
Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal Judgement, 7 May 2026, no 24MA03071 In this case, the court confirmed that missing invoices alone are not sufficient to challenge VAT deduction rights when the taxable person demonstrates that the substantive conditions for that right are met. In this instance, the Tax Authority had refused VAT deduction on the...
The transfer of VAT provisions from the French Tax Code (CGI) into the new Code on Taxation of Goods and Services (CIBS) has been pushed back. Book II of the CIBS, originally due to come into force on 1 September 2026, is now expected to take effect on 1 January 2027, giving administrations, businesses and...
A French appeals court has ruled that transporting biological samples can be VAT-exempt, provided the transport is genuinely tied to an exempt medical analysis service. The case involved a medical laboratory carrying out analyses for clients based in North Africa. Local providers collected, preserved and shipped the samples to France for testing. The French Tax...
The French Finance Act for 2026 introduces a significant change with the creation of Article 273 septies E of the French Tax Code. Until now, the free distribution of goods in a promotional context was considered to preclude VAT deduction, regardless of the underlying business purpose. This restrictive approach was rooted in the civil law...
In this ruling, the Conseil d’État clarified the VAT treatment of payments made under trade cooperation arrangements, reaffirming the distinction between price reductions and remuneration for services. The dispute concerned amounts paid by suppliers to distributors under trade cooperation agreements covering product placement, in-store promotions and marketing activities. These payments had been presented as commercial...
The French Finance Act for 2026 harmonises the VAT rates applicable to household waste collection and treatment services. With effect from 1 March 2026, all household waste collection and treatment services are subject to a single reduced VAT rate of 5.5%. This brings to an end the previous patchwork of different rates depending on the...
Ruling of 24 February 2026, n° 497507 The Conseil d’État ruled on the scope of the VAT reverse charge mechanism applicable to subcontracting in the construction sector under Article 283, 2 nonies of the French Tax Code. The mechanism applies where services are directly linked to a construction, renovation, transformation or demolition project. The...
In this ruling, the Court of Cassation clarified the liability of a logistics provider for import VAT where customs formalities are carried out by an intermediary. A company had instructed a logistics provider to handle its customs clearance under a so-called “express” mandate. Following irregularities in the import declarations, French Customs held the provider liable...
Under Article 275 of the French Tax Code, businesses can import goods free of VAT provided those goods are destined for exempt transactions typically exports or Intra-Community supplies of goods. Until now, claiming VAT relief at importation meant issuing a specific notice known as the “A.I.2 form“, which had to be handed to suppliers and...
