French Import VAT Changes (DIT France)

Invitation to UK Exporters: French Import VAT Changes Webinar

DIT France has partnered with RM Boulanger, a company specialised in cross-border formalities and tax matters, as well as Groupe BBL, a transport and logistics specialist company, to deliver a second webinar on the changes to the French import VAT regime that came into effect on 1 January 2022.

These changes may affect companies exporting goods from the UK to France, and through France to the rest of the European Union.

The new rules are related to VAT deferment, and mean that VAT on imports into France is no longer collected by the customs authorities, but will automatically be reverse-charged on the importer’s French VAT returns.

Therefore:

• VAT on import is no longer payable to your French customs broker;
• You cannot sell DDP to French clients if your company does not have a valid French VAT number;
• VAT refund claims through the 13th directive are no longer possible for import VAT.

All companies that act as the importers of records in France are liable for VAT on import and will have to obtain a valid VAT French number, issued by the DGFiP (French Tax Authority), and will have to file VAT declarations. The reverse charge of VAT to importation (ATVAI) therefore becomes the rule for all importers who must declare the amounts on their VAT filings.

This does however mean that:

• Import VAT no longer needs to be pre-financed;
• Time-consuming procedures for Import VAT refunds will be a thing of the past;
• One VAT number can be used to deliver DDP to both French and other European Union clients.

You can find an additional explanation of the new measures in English, as well as actions to take, on the site of the BIFA here: Changes to French Import VAT Rules – Effective 1st Jan 2022 – BIFA.

You can access the recording of our previous webinar by clicking here and please click here to download the slides.

You can sign up to the new webinar at 10am GMT on 15 February by clicking here.

Please note that this session will dedicate time to both B2B and B2C specific sales.