A foreign company can have French customers, send people or goods to France, and face a practical emergency when its French VAT number has not arrived. The problem is often described as a refused or delayed VAT registration. It is not solved by placing a French-looking number on an invoice. The company must first decide whether France requires identification, whether the customer must apply the reverse charge, whether a French fixed establishment changes the analysis, and which evidence the French tax service expects. A mistake can create unpaid VAT, an invalid invoice, a blocked refund or a permanent-establishment dispute.

This guide is for foreign founders and companies selling into France, including businesses from the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries. It focuses on the narrow situation in which the company must invoice or prepare its first French transaction while its French VAT registration is pending or has been rejected. It does not replace a transaction-by-transaction place-of-supply analysis. Goods, services, stock, imports, construction work, digital services and sales to consumers can lead to different outcomes.

The analysis is particularly important on 3 September 2026 because French VAT provisions are moving from familiar provisions of the Code général des impôts (CGI, General Tax Code) into the Code des impositions sur les biens et services (CIBS, Code of Taxes on Goods and Services). The date of the taxable event and the version of the text must therefore be recorded. The operational route remains the French tax administration’s foreign-company registration process, but the legal references used in a response should match the relevant period.

I. Why is a French VAT number needed before a foreign company invoices France?

A. When is French VAT registration required, and when does reverse charge apply?

The first question is not whether the founder has incorporated a French subsidiary. It is whether the foreign company carries out, receives or facilitates an operation for which French VAT identification is required. The official impots.gouv.fr registration guide for VAT starts with foreign businesses that must register because they carry out operations requiring a French VAT return or customs identification. Its decision depends on the operation, the customer, the place of supply, the company’s establishment and the person legally liable for the tax.

For a business-to-business transaction, or B2B transaction, the customer is acting as a business. For a business-to-consumer transaction, or B2C transaction, the customer is a consumer or another person who is not acting as a taxable business. The distinction is not cosmetic. A cross-border B2B service may be subject to reverse charge, while a service supplied to a consumer may require the supplier to collect VAT in the customer’s country. A shipment from a French warehouse can create a French VAT obligation even when the company’s registered office remains abroad.

For periods governed by the legacy CGI wording, Article 283 states the basic allocation rule: La taxe sur la valeur ajoutée doit être acquittée par les personnes qui réalisent les opérations imposables. The same provision contains important exceptions. In particular, when a foreign-established supplier makes certain supplies or services to a taxable customer identified for French VAT, the customer may be liable for the French VAT through the reverse charge. The tax administration’s official page should be read with the statutory place-of-supply provisions and the exact facts of the transaction.

From 1 September 2026, the new CIBS structure must also be considered. Article L. 215-1 provides, in the new code, that the entity carrying out a taxable operation is generally liable. Article L. 215-2 provides a derogation in which the recipient is liable for a tax supplement in the circumstances defined by the code. The current CIBS Article L. 215-1 and CIBS Article L. 215-2 are therefore useful references for a transaction arising after the recodification date, while the old CGI articles remain relevant to earlier chargeable events and to transition analysis.

A foreign company should test at least the following situations before treating a missing VAT number as a registration failure:

Transaction pattern	Initial question	Typical consequence
Foreign company supplies a French VAT-identified business with a qualifying cross-border service	Is the French customer the person liable for VAT?	Reverse charge may apply, so French VAT may not be charged by the foreign supplier. The invoice still needs the correct wording and identifiers.
Foreign company sells to a French consumer	Is France the place of taxation and does a special scheme apply?	The supplier may need French identification, or an applicable European One Stop Shop scheme. Do not assume B2B reverse charge.
Goods are stored in France before local sale	Where are the goods when the sale or transfer occurs?	Stock, domestic sales, transfers and fulfilment arrangements can require French registration even if the contracting entity is abroad.
Foreign company imports goods into France	Who is importer of record and who pays import VAT?	Customs identification, import arrangements and VAT deduction must be checked separately from the VAT number request.
Foreign company performs work on French property or supplies locally installed equipment	Do special place-of-supply or customer-liability rules apply?	The operation may fall outside the ordinary B2B service rule and require French VAT reporting.
Foreign company claims a French VAT refund	Does the refund procedure require a French registration, a non-established refund route or a filing history?	A bank account, proof of taxable activity and supporting invoices may be requested even when the company has no subsidiary.

The reverse charge is not a universal permission to invoice without a French VAT number. It may apply only if the customer has the required status, the operation is one of the operations covered by the rule, and the supplier is genuinely not established in France for that operation. If the French customer has no valid VAT identification, or if the transaction is a domestic sale from French stock, the result may change. The company should obtain the customer’s legal name, address and VAT identification and verify the number through the VAT Information Exchange System, or VIES, where the transaction is intra-European.

A customer’s request for “a French VAT number” is also not conclusive. Procurement systems often require one field even where reverse charge applies. The company should give the customer a short written explanation identifying the legal basis of the invoice, the country of establishment, the customer’s VAT number, the place of supply and the reason no French VAT is charged. If the customer insists that the foreign company must register, request the precise transaction rule rather than submitting a generic application that does not match the facts.

Conversely, a registration request should not be abandoned because the first customer says that it will reverse-charge. A foreign business may have another French obligation: a second customer, a French warehouse, an installation project, a local employee, an import, a refund claim or sales to consumers. The registration assessment must cover the expected twelve-month business model, not only the first purchase order.

The official French registration page distinguishes operations requiring VAT returns from operations for which the French customer is liable. It also explains that a foreign company may need to register through the French business-formalities portal. That is why the practical file should contain a transaction map. List the customer type, goods or service, contractual supplier, delivery or performance location, movement of goods, invoice date, payment flow, customer VAT number and intended reporting line for each planned operation.

B. How do the French VAT number, SIREN, Kbis and permanent establishment differ?

A French VAT number is a tax identification number. It is not proof that a French subsidiary exists and it is not, by itself, proof that the company has a French permanent establishment. The official identification-number guidance from the French tax administration describes the French VAT number as a prefix, a two-digit key and the company’s SIREN. SIREN means the nine-digit French national business identifier. SIRET means the fourteen-digit identifier associated with an establishment or administrative location. A SIREN or SIRET should never be reformatted and presented as a VAT number.

The Registre national des entreprises, or RNE, is the National Business Register. The RCS, or Registre du commerce et des sociétés, is the Trade and Companies Register for commercial companies. A Kbis is the official extract traditionally used to evidence a company’s registration in the RCS. The greffe is the clerk’s office of the relevant commercial court. BODACC, the Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, is the official publication bulletin for certain business notices. These words appear in company-formation correspondence, but a foreign company can be registered for French VAT without having the same status as a French SAS or SARL, and a VAT number does not manufacture a Kbis.

INPI means the Institut national de la propriété industrielle. It operates the French one-stop formalities system, known as the Guichet unique. A foreign company’s French business formalities may generate a French SIREN or an establishment record, but the reason for the registration must be stated accurately. The INPI identity guidance explains that a foreign company keeps its home-country identifier while a French SIREN can be assigned for activities carried out in France. It does not turn an overseas company into a French company.

SIE means Service des impôts des entreprises, the business tax department. SIEE means Service des impôts des entreprises étrangères, the foreign-business tax department. DINR means Direction des impôts des non-résidents, the Directorate for Non-Resident Taxation. The competent office depends on the company’s situation and the operation. A request sent to a local office that has no authority over a non-established foreign company can create a delay that looks like a substantive refusal.

The number also does not decide the permanent-establishment question. The Court of cassation’s commercial chamber, in its decision of 16 October 2019, no. 17-28.122, examined the relationship between economic activity, VAT and the French location of a foreign company. The official decision no. 17-28.122 records the principle that le fait pour un assujetti de disposer d’un numéro d’identification à la TVA en France n’est pas suffisant en soi to establish a French permanent establishment. The company must therefore keep separate files for VAT identification, corporate-tax exposure and corporate registration.

For VAT, the question is whether the company has an establishment from which the relevant supply is made or received. The Conseil d’État, France’s supreme administrative court, explained in its decision of 15 June 2023, no. 465719, that an establishment must have un degré suffisant de permanence et une structure apte, du point de vue de l’équipement humain et technique to make the services possible autonomously. The official Conseil d’État decision no. 465719 is not a checklist for every business, but it shows why a warehouse, local staff, equipment, authority and operational autonomy need to be documented.

A mailbox, a registered-office service or a French VAT number does not automatically create a fixed establishment. The opposite is also true: calling the French presence “only a sales test” does not remove the risk if the company has local people, equipment and decision-making. Ask who negotiates contracts, who controls stock, where the service is technically delivered, where customer instructions are handled, who can commit the company and whether the French operation can function with a meaningful degree of autonomy.

The legal references changed on 1 September 2026. Article 9 of Ordinance no. 2025-1247 of 17 December 2025 moves the VAT base and assessment rules into the CIBS. The new CIBS Article L. 215-26 addresses information about the beginning, end and nature of an activity, while the new CIBS Article L. 215-27 addresses the identification number. A response written after the transition should state which version it applies and should not copy an old CGI reference without checking the date.

The distinction matters commercially. A bank may ask for a Kbis before opening an account; a customer may ask for a VAT number before approving a supplier; the tax service may ask for proof of foreign incorporation; and a customs broker may request another identifier. Give each party the correct document. If the business is still choosing between a French subsidiary, a branch and direct cross-border sales, the French company-formation and corporate-formalities service page can be used for that separate structural decision. VAT registration should not be used as a substitute for choosing the correct French vehicle.

II. What should a foreign company do when VAT registration is refused or delayed?

A. How should the company build the registration file and protect the first invoice?

A pending application should be treated as a controlled legal and accounting status, not as permission to invent a number or to stop gathering evidence. Start by saving the original submission, the date, the portal reference, the tax office, the company’s selected activity and every document uploaded. Note whether the application was made through the business-formalities portal, by the foreign-company service or through a secure message to the tax administration. A later reviewer must be able to see what the administration actually received.

The French tax administration’s foreign-business registration guidance identifies the practical information expected for a non-established company. The EE0 is the French form used in the relevant foreign-company registration process; “Cerfa” is the French administrative-form numbering system. The official EE0 form, Cerfa no. 15928*01, should be completed consistently with the company’s constitutional documents and transaction map. A form submitted with a different legal name, an unexplained French address or a contradictory activity description is likely to generate questions.

The core evidence pack should normally be assembled in this order:

1. A recent extract from the foreign commercial or companies register showing the legal name, registration number, registered office, directors and current status.
2. The articles of association or equivalent constitutional document, together with a clear French translation when the administration requires one. A translation should preserve legal names, dates, share information and the powers of the signatory.
3. A certificate of VAT identification in the home country, and VIES evidence where the company is established in the European Union and the transaction is intra-European.
4. The director’s identification and authority to act, plus a signed power of attorney if a French tax representative, accountant or other agent submits the application.
5. A short business memorandum describing the planned French customers, goods or services, locations, delivery terms, stock, imports, subcontractors, expected turnover and first invoice date.
6. Contracts, purchase orders, draft invoices, logistics documents or service statements that show why France is involved and which party is expected to account for VAT.
7. Evidence of the registered office and any French premises, warehouse, personnel or equipment, with a written explanation where the company has no French establishment.
8. Bank details suitable for French tax payments or a VAT-credit refund. SEPA means the Single Euro Payments Area; a SEPA-capable account can matter for payments and refunds, but it is not proof of a French subsidiary.
9. Any import, customs, construction, digital-service or consumer-sales documents that change the ordinary B2B place-of-supply analysis.

The administration is entitled to test whether the file describes a real business. It may ask why a company with no French establishment needs a French VAT number, why a customer’s invoice instruction conflicts with the reverse charge, or why the expected French turnover is unrelated to the declared activity. Answer those questions with a transaction diagram and documents rather than with a generic statement that the group “does business in France”.

For companies established in the European Union, and for companies established in countries covered by the relevant mutual-assistance arrangements, a French tax representative is not necessarily required. The official impots.gouv.fr guidance lists the competent foreign-business service and the route for registration. For a company established in a country outside the applicable list, a French tax representative may be required. The current and transition wording can be checked against CIBS Article L. 152-2 and the legacy CGI Article 289 A provisions on a French tax representative.

A representative is not simply a forwarding address. Under the pre-existing CIBS representative provisions, Article L. 152-5 states: Le représentant fiscal est tenu à l’ensemble des obligations s’imposant au redevable. The representative’s role, authority, fees, access to records and responsibility for returns and payments should be set out in a written mandate. The company should not describe a limited administrative agent as a representative with full tax liability, and it should not appoint a representative who cannot actually access the records needed for a VAT audit.

If the application is delayed, send a focused follow-up rather than a second inconsistent application. State the application reference, the date filed, the legal name, the foreign registration number, the proposed French VAT operations, the first invoice date and the missing answer. Ask whether the file is complete, which document is missing, whether the company is directed to the SIEE, and whether the administration considers the customer liable through reverse charge. Use the secure business mailbox where possible and retain the acknowledgement.

The Guichet unique legal-framework page and the official supporting-document guidance also matter when the VAT application is connected to a business-formalities filing. The portal’s file rules, PDF requirements, document size limits and mandate requirements are practical causes of rejection. A tax officer cannot assess the company’s VAT position if the commercial-register extract is unreadable, expired, in the wrong name or uploaded in a format that the portal cannot process.

The first invoice should be placed in one of three controlled categories:

• French VAT is not charged because the customer is liable. Use this only after checking the place-of-supply rule, customer VAT status and applicable reverse-charge wording. Identify the customer’s VAT number and keep the verification record.
• The transaction is outside the scope of French VAT or is exempt. State the actual legal basis and keep the transport, export, customer-status or other proof required for that basis. “VAT pending” is not itself an exemption.
• The foreign company is liable for French VAT. Do not charge a French rate until the tax position, registration route and invoice mechanism have been confirmed. If a taxable operation has already occurred, reserve the VAT amount, preserve the invoice trail and obtain written advice on the reporting and correction route.

Do not use a placeholder such as “FR pending”, do not place the SIREN in the VAT field, and do not copy a customer’s VAT number into the supplier field. Do not charge French VAT merely because the customer’s procurement platform refuses an invoice without a French number. If the company has charged tax without being entitled to do so, the amount can create an obligation to account for tax even if the company later argues that the operation should have been reverse-charged. The invoice, credit note and customer communication should be coordinated with the tax analysis.

For an intra-European movement of goods, keep proof of dispatch, arrival, customer status, invoice, transport and VAT identification. The Conseil d’État held in its decision of 30 December 2010, no. 316022, that l’absence de mention de ce numéro sur une facture ne saurait entraîner à elle seule la perte du droit à exonération for an intra-Community supply, but the same decision required other evidence that the customer was actually identified at the time of delivery. The official decision no. 316022 is therefore a proof case, not a general licence to omit data.

Once the VAT number is issued, check its format, legal name, effective date, reporting frequency, tax regime, assigned office, access to the professional tax account and the first return deadline. The French VAT return is commonly called CA3, after the French return form used for the ordinary monthly or quarterly regime. Confirm whether the company must file a CA3, an EU sales listing, a services declaration or another report. A number that appears in the portal but cannot be used in VIES or does not match the legal name should be escalated before invoicing.

Do not confuse VAT registration with French electronic invoicing. French e-invoicing and e-reporting have separate scope and implementation questions. The already-published guide to French e-invoicing and e-reporting for foreign companies deals with that reporting layer. The present issue is the tax identification and liability of the supplier or customer. A compliant electronic format cannot cure an incorrect VAT treatment.

B. How can the company respond to a refusal, challenge a tax consequence and preserve its position?

“Refused” and “delayed” are different statuses. A delay may mean that the file is incomplete, that the wrong office received it, that identity information has not matched the foreign register, or that the administration is examining the company’s business model. A refusal should identify the reason, but an informal email saying “not possible” is not enough to classify the legal remedy. Ask for the decision, its date, the authority, the missing condition, the relevant transaction and the available route to correct or challenge it.

Make a decision log with five columns: what the company asked for, what the administration answered, what document proves the company’s position, what invoice or return is affected, and what action is due next. Attach the original file and the new evidence. If the problem is a document defect, submit a corrected certified extract or translation. If the problem is the tax analysis, provide a transaction-by-transaction memorandum. If the problem is a French establishment, explain the personnel, premises, authority and technical resources with supporting records. A bare assertion that there is “no permanent establishment” is weaker than an organisation chart, contracts, lease records and delegation matrix.

The designated foreign-business service can be contacted through the secure professional mailbox. An official administrative answer may be needed before the first invoice, especially where the customer disputes reverse charge. Ask the tax service to confirm the competent office and the expected reporting route. Do not send confidential corporate documents through an unverified email address. Save the portal receipt and the full message thread in the tax file.

Keep the VAT-number dispute separate from a formal challenge to a tax assessment. A refusal to assign a number is not automatically the same as a notice assessing VAT. If the administration later collects VAT, denies a deduction, refuses an exemption or calculates a VAT credit incorrectly, the company may need a formal tax claim. Article L. 190 of the Livre des procédures fiscales (LPF, Tax Procedures Book) defines the contentieux route for claims seeking correction of assessment errors or the benefit of a statutory or regulatory right. See the official LPF Article L. 190.

The procedural starting point is equally important. LPF Article R* 190-1 states that Le contribuable qui désire contester tout ou partie d’un impôt qui le concerne doit d’abord adresser une réclamation to the competent service. The full official wording is available at LPF Article R* 190-1. A tax claim must identify the assessment or right challenged, the grounds, the amount where relevant and the evidence. It should not be used as a substitute for answering a missing-document request in an initial registration file.

The French tax administration’s claim guidance describes the administrative claim as the first stage before judicial proceedings. Its separate contestation guidance explains the secure mailbox route and the competent service. The administration’s time to answer and the time to bring a court claim depend on the procedure and the tax involved. A mediator or tax conciliator can sometimes help with communication, but that intervention does not automatically suspend every deadline. Read the decision and its remedy notice rather than assuming that a follow-up email preserves the limitation period.

Case law confirms why the documents and the scope of a mandate matter. In its decision of 3 February 2023, no. 456212, the Conseil d’État held that a mandate given by a foreign company for VAT matters did not automatically authorise service of communications about corporate income tax. The official decision no. 456212 is a warning to define a mandate precisely. A company should state whether the agent can receive VAT correspondence only, file returns, pay VAT, answer an audit, represent the company for other taxes or receive judicial documents.

The permanent-establishment question can also become a compliance issue if the company has been operating in France while waiting for a VAT number. In its decision of 7 September 2022, no. 21-85.056, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of cassation considered activity carried on in France by a Luxembourg company and the consequences of failures concerning VAT returns. The official decision no. 21-85.056 does not mean that every foreign supplier is committing an offence. It shows, however, that the absence of a French subsidiary or the existence of a foreign registered office cannot replace an analysis of the real operations and declarations.

The 2019 and 2023 decisions should be read together. A VAT number does not automatically establish a fixed establishment, but an operational French presence can still make the company liable for French obligations. The question is factual: who performs the service, where, with what resources, under whose authority and for which customer. Preserve the evidence that supports the company’s position at the time of each invoice. A later restructuring will not necessarily change the treatment of earlier transactions.

When the first invoice is urgent, use a written escalation pack with the following attachments and questions:

• The application reference, date submitted, chosen form, competent tax service and complete list of documents received.
• The foreign registry extract, statutes, translation, home-country VAT certificate and director’s authority.
• A table of the first five French transactions, showing customer type, goods or service, place of supply, customer VAT number and proposed invoice treatment.
• A statement identifying French premises, stock, employees, agents, subcontractors, technical resources and contract-signing authority.
• A draft invoice with the proposed VAT wording, plus a short explanation if the customer is expected to reverse-charge.
• A direct request for the missing document, legal reason for refusal, competent office, tax-registration date and reporting obligations.
• A reservation of rights concerning any VAT assessment, deduction or refund, without presenting a routine information request as a formal tax claim.

Use the official Service-Public page on the French intra-Community VAT number as a plain-language cross-check, but rely on the applicable code text for the legal conclusion. Service-Public explains what the number is, who generally needs one, how to request it and what invalidation means. It does not remove the need to examine the company’s place of supply, fixed establishment, representative and reporting obligations.

If the administration has rejected the file because the company appears to have a French establishment, do not simply remove the French address from the next application. Review whether the company actually has a warehouse, employee, dependent agent, installation team, local director or other resource. If the facts support an establishment, the corrective route may involve registration and returns rather than a new assertion of non-establishment. If the administration has misunderstood the facts, produce evidence that distinguishes a customer’s premises, an independent logistics provider and the company’s own operational resources.

If the company is outside the European Union, check the representative-fiscal question at the beginning, not after the refusal. The representative may need to file returns, pay tax, answer correspondence and maintain records. The business should budget for the representative’s fees, define the authority granted, and agree how invoices, accounting data, customs records and customer VAT evidence will be made available. If the company is from the United Kingdom or another country with a relevant mutual-assistance arrangement, confirm the current list and the transaction date rather than assuming that every non-EU country has the same treatment.

A foreign company should also plan for a future audit. Keep the application, correspondence, invoice, customer verification, accounting entry, payment, return and transport proof together by transaction. Do not edit the original invoice without an audit trail. If a credit note is required, link it to the original invoice and record why the VAT treatment changed. If the company collects VAT before identification, hold the amount and obtain a written accounting instruction; do not spend it as ordinary revenue.

Finally, check the company’s wider French activity each time the business model changes. A first invoice for consulting may be reverse-charged, while a later French event, repair, stock transfer, consumer sale or local installation may require registration. Hiring a French employee can add payroll and establishment questions; opening a local account or office can add evidence; moving inventory can change the place of taxation. A VAT number is a component of the French compliance system, not a single approval that covers every future transaction.

Conclusion

A French VAT registration that is refused or delayed should trigger a decision tree, not a placeholder invoice. First classify the transaction: customer status, goods or services, place of supply, stock, import, establishment and person liable for VAT. Then choose the correct route: French identification, reverse charge, an exemption, an EU one-stop scheme or another reporting mechanism. Keep the SIREN, SIRET, RNE, RCS and Kbis concepts separate from the VAT number, and record the legal version applicable to the taxable event, especially during the 2026 CIBS recodification.

The practical response is a complete EE0 or portal file, a precise business memorandum, a written mandate where relevant, and a controlled first-invoice protocol. If the file is delayed, ask the competent foreign-business service what is missing and keep the acknowledgement. If it is refused, obtain the reason in writing and answer it with evidence. If a tax assessment, denied deduction, exemption or refund is involved, use the formal tax-claim route and protect the applicable deadlines. The existence of a French VAT number does not by itself prove a permanent establishment, but the reality of French people, premises, stock and autonomous resources can create obligations even without a French subsidiary.

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