You created your French company from London, New York, Dubai or Singapore. The Kbis (the official identity certificate of your French company, issued by the greffe, the registry office of the commercial court) arrived, the bank account works, the first invoices went out. Then real life takes over and the French legal calendar keeps running without you. Every year, a French company must approve its annual accounts at a shareholders meeting, file them with the greffe (the clerk office of the commercial court that keeps the RCS, the Registre du Commerce et des Societes, the French trade and companies register), send its corporate tax return to the French tax administration (the DGFIP, Direction Generale des Finances Publiques, through its portal impots.gouv.fr), file VAT returns, pay the CFE (Cotisation Fonciere des Entreprises, the annual local business tax), keep the beneficial ownership data up to date and react within weeks if losses have eaten half of the share capital. Miss one of these steps and the penalties arrive by post or by electronic notice while you are abroad: fines for late filing, public listing of defaulting companies, tax surcharges, directors held personally liable for company debts, or a court summons to hold the meeting under a daily penalty. This guide gives foreign founders and foreign parent companies the complete annual legal calendar of a French SARL (Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, the French private limited company) and SAS (Societe par Actions Simplifiee, the flexible joint-stock company most foreign investors choose), with the exact statutory deadlines, the official texts behind each date, and a practical catch-up method when a deadline has already passed. It builds on our step-by-step setup guide for foreign founders, which explains the bank account, the Kbis, VAT activation and the first hire: Setting Up a Company in France as a Foreign Founder: Bank Account, Kbis, VAT and Your First Hire.

I. How do I approve the annual accounts of my French company when I live abroad?

French company law does not let the director approve the accounts alone. The accounts prepared by the management must be submitted to the shareholders or the sole shareholder, who vote on them at the annual ordinary meeting. For a founder living abroad, this means organising a formal meeting (or a written consultation when the articles allow it), sending the documents in advance, recording minutes, and then filing. The two questions below cover the deadlines that matter.

A. What is the six-month deadline to hold the annual meeting and approve the accounts?

For a SARL, the rule is set by Article L223-26 of the Commercial Code: Article L223-26 of the Commercial Code. The statute provides that the management report, the inventory and the annual accounts drawn up by the managers must be submitted to the shareholders for approval, and it fixes the timing in these exact words: “dans le délai de six mois à compter de la clôture de l’exercice sous réserve de prolongation de ce délai par décision de justice”. In plain English: the shareholders must vote on the accounts within six months of the financial year end. A company closing its year on 31 December must therefore hold its annual meeting before 30 June of the following year.

The same six-month logic applies to the SAS and the SA (Societe Anonyme, the classic public limited company), through Article L225-100 of the Commercial Code: Article L225-100 of the Commercial Code. Its opening sentence reads: “L’assemblée générale ordinaire est réunie au moins une fois par an, dans les six mois de la clôture de l’exercice, sous réserve de prolongation de ce délai par décision de justice”. Again, the ordinary general meeting sits at least once a year within six months of year end, unless a court extends the deadline. In an SAS, the articles of association organise freely how decisions are taken, but the six-month approval deadline itself still applies; only its procedural details can be adapted, and many foreign-owned SAS articles allow video meetings or written consultation so the founder abroad can vote without flying to Paris.

Two practical points matter for a director living outside France. First, the documents must reach the shareholders before the vote: the annual accounts, the management report, the text of the proposed resolutions and, where one exists, the statutory auditor report. If this information duty is breached, the law allows the resulting vote to be annulled. Second, if the six-month period expires without a meeting, the public prosecutor or any interested person can petition the president of the competent court, ruling in summary proceedings, to order the managers to convene the meeting, if necessary under a daily fine. A foreign shareholder who is blocked by a co-shareholder or a silent manager can therefore go to the Paris commercial court and obtain an injunction. Where the delay is legitimate (accountant late, auditor appointed late, group consolidation pending), the president of the commercial court routinely grants an extension of the six-month period on petition before it expires; experienced counsel file this request in May for December year ends.

Minutes are the evidence that everything happened correctly. They must record the date, the place (or the videoconference), the shareholders present or represented, the quorum, each resolution on the accounts, the allocation of the profit or loss, and the vote result. Keep the signed minutes with the company registers at the registered office in France; the tax administration and a future buyer will both ask for them.

B. Where and when do I file the approved accounts with the greffe, and what happens if I skip this step?

Approval is only half of the job. The approved accounts must then be filed (deposited) with the greffe of the commercial court for attachment to the RCS file, so that third parties, banks and suppliers can consult them. For a SARL, Article L232-22 of the Commercial Code: Article L232-22 of the Commercial Code sets the filing deadline as follows: “dans le mois suivant l’approbation des comptes annuels par l’assemblée ordinaire des associés ou par l’associé unique ou dans les deux mois suivant cette approbation lorsque ce dépôt est effectué par voie électronique”. One month after the meeting for a paper filing, two months for an electronic filing. Since almost every filing now goes through the electronic channel (the INPI Guichet unique, the single online portal for all French business formalities, procedure.inpi.fr), the practical deadline is two months after the shareholders vote.

For companies with share capital structured as actions (SA and SAS), the mirror provision is Article L232-23 of the Commercial Code: Article L232-23 of the Commercial Code, which uses the same formula: “dans le mois suivant l’approbation des comptes annuels par l’assemblée générale des actionnaires ou dans les deux mois suivant cette approbation lorsque ce dépôt est effectué par voie électronique”. The implementing rule confirms the mechanics in Article R123-111 of the Commercial Code: Article R123-111 of the Commercial Code, which states that companies must file “dans le délai d’un mois à compter de leur approbation par l’assemblée ordinaire” and adds: “Dans ce cas, le délai prévu au premier alinéa est porté à deux mois.” Electronic filing doubles the period to two months.

Take a concrete calendar. Year end 31 December 2025, meeting held 15 June 2026, electronic filing due by 15 August 2026. Small companies can attach a declaration of confidentiality to keep the profit and loss account or even the full accounts out of public view, but the filing itself remains compulsory; confidentiality only limits publication, never the duty to deposit. Micro and small thresholds are defined by turnover, balance sheet and headcount, and your accountant confirms which option your company can use.

Skipping the filing is not a paperwork detail. Article R247-3 of the Commercial Code: Article R247-3 of the Commercial Code provides: “Le fait de ne pas satisfaire aux obligations de dépôt prévues aux articles L. 232-21 à L. 232-23 est puni de l’amende prévue par le 5e de l’article 131-13 du code pénal pour les contraventions de la cinquième classe.” Failure to file is a fifth-class petty offence, punishable by a fine, heavier in case of repeat offending. Beyond the fine, the president of the commercial court can issue an injunction to file under a daily penalty at the request of any interested party or the public prosecutor, and the list of non-filing companies is public: banks check it before lending, and serious suppliers check it before signing. A foreign director who discovers two or three years of unfiled accounts should order the accountant to close the missing years, hold the late meetings, file everything through the Guichet unique, and keep proof of each filing receipt.

II. Which tax and social deadlines can a foreign-run French company not afford to miss?

Once the corporate calendar is secured, the tax and social calendar takes over. A French company pays corporate income tax (IS, Impot sur les Societes), charges and deducts VAT (TVA, Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutee), pays the annual CFE local tax, declares its employees to URSSAF (Unions de Recouvrement des cotisations de Securite Sociale et d Allocations Familiales, the agency that collects French social security contributions) every month, and keeps its beneficial ownership information current on the RCS. Each regime has its own clock, and a founder abroad must synchronise them all.

A. When do I file corporate tax, VAT returns and pay the CFE local tax from abroad?

Corporate income tax comes first. Article 223 of the General Tax Code: Article 223 of the General Tax Code imposes the return duty on companies liable to corporate tax and fixes the deadline in these terms: “la déclaration du bénéfice ou du déficit est faite dans les trois mois de la clôture de l’exercice. Si l’exercice est clos le 31 décembre ou si aucun exercice n’est clos au cours d’une année, la déclaration est à déposer au plus tard le deuxième jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai.” Three months after year end, or for a 31 December year end, no later than the second working day after 1 May (in practice early May). The return (the liasse fiscale, the standardised bundle of tax forms and financial statements) is filed electronically through the tax portal impots.gouv.fr, and the balance of corporate tax is paid at the same time, after deduction of the four quarterly instalments paid during the year. A company whose year end does not fall on 31 December must count three months from its own closing date. Late filing triggers a 10 percent surcharge, rising to 40 percent after a formal notice goes unanswered, plus monthly late interest; these penalties apply automatically even when the director lives abroad and never saw the reminder letter sent to the French registered office.

VAT follows a separate rhythm that many foreign founders underestimate. Article 287 of the General Tax Code: Article 287 of the General Tax Code provides that “Les redevables soumis au régime réel normal d’imposition déposent mensuellement la déclaration visée au 1”, meaning businesses under the normal VAT regime file every month and pay the VAT due monthly. The same article adds the relief for smaller operators: “Lorsque la taxe exigible annuellement est inférieure à 4 000 €, ils sont admis à déposer leurs déclarations par trimestre civil.” Below 4,000 euros of VAT payable per year, quarterly filing is allowed. Companies under the simplified regime file one annual VAT return with two advance payments in July and December. A foreign founder whose French VAT number stayed inactive after the Kbis arrived should read our dedicated guide on activating the number and invoicing legally: Your French VAT Number Is Still Inactive After You Got the Kbis. Missing VAT returns blocks refunds, triggers estimated assessments, and freezes the whole VAT chain for your customers.

The CFE local tax surprises almost every foreign investor because it is due even in the first profitable year and even when the company rents only a small office. Article 1447 of the General Tax Code: Article 1447 of the General Tax Code states: “La cotisation foncière des entreprises est due chaque année par les personnes physiques ou morales”, which means every individual or company carrying on a habitual self-employed professional activity owes the CFE each year. The CFE notice arrives in the autumn on the impots.gouv.fr business account and is payable by mid-December. New companies are exempt in their first calendar year, then pay a minimum contribution based on the commune, even with modest turnover; Paris minimum rates are famously high. Forgetting the CFE means a surcharge and, quickly, enforced collection against the French bank account.

Two further clocks run in parallel. Social declarations: every hire must be declared to URSSAF before the employee starts (the DPAE, Declaration Prealable A l Embau, the mandatory pre-hiring declaration), and monthly payroll data (the DSN, Declaration Sociale Nominative, the single monthly payroll return) must be transmitted with contributions paid. Our guide to the first hire from abroad explains the DPAE, the contract, the trial period and the payslip: Your First Hire in France From Abroad. An URSSAF audit can start years later; our audit survival guide details the control, the assessment letter and the appeal routes: Your French Company Is Audited by URSSAF and You Live Abroad. Beneficial ownership: Article L561-46 of the Monetary and Financial Code: Article L561-46 of the Monetary and Financial Code requires companies to file with the RCS, through the single portal, “les informations relatives aux bénéficiaires effectifs”, the identification, personal domicile and control details of the real owners. Any change of shareholder, control chain or domicile must be updated; an outdated beneficial ownership file blocks bank compliance checks and can draw administrative sanctions. All creation, modification and closure formalities now pass through one channel, as Article L123-33 of the Commercial Code: Article L123-33 of the Commercial Code confirms: “Ce dossier est déposé par voie électronique auprès d’un organisme unique désigné à cet effet.” In practice that single body is the INPI Guichet unique, and a foreign director accesses it with an electronic identity or through a mandated counsel.

B. I missed a deadline from abroad: what penalties apply and how do I catch up step by step?

Start with the diagnosis. List every missed item with its year: unapproved accounts, unfiled accounts, late corporate tax returns, missing VAT returns, unpaid CFE, outdated beneficial owners, undeclared payroll. Then rank by danger. The most urgent is any situation where the equity has fallen below half of the share capital, because the law imposes a four-month reaction time. Article L223-42 of the Commercial Code: Article L223-42 of the Commercial Code provides that “les associés décident, dans les quatre mois qui suivent l’approbation des comptes ayant fait apparaître cette perte s’il y a lieu à dissolution anticipée de la société.” Within four months after approving the loss-making accounts, the shareholders must vote whether to dissolve the company early. If they continue, the company must rebuild its equity to at least half of the capital by the end of the second year following the loss, or reduce the capital. A foreign shareholder who ignores this step keeps the company alive but exposes the director to personal liability and blocks any dividend. Our guide to heavy first-year losses explains the carryforward, the instalments and the refund mechanics: Your French Company Made a Loss in Its First Year.

Second, close and approve the missing years. Ask the French accountant for draft accounts for each open year, starting with the oldest. Convene one shareholders meeting per year (or one meeting with separate resolutions per year where counsel confirms it is valid for your company form), approve each set of accounts, vote the allocation of results, and sign the minutes. If the six-month period has long expired, petition the commercial court for a retrospective extension or simply hold the late meeting: courts punish persistent silence, not honest catch-up. File each year electronically with the greffe through the Guichet unique and keep every filing receipt; the two-month electronic period of Articles L232-22 and L232-23 applies to each late filing the same way.

Third, regularise tax. File the missing corporate tax returns on impots.gouv.fr, pay the principal, then apply for a discretionary reduction (remise gracieuse) of surcharges, explaining the distance, the change of accountant or the misunderstanding of the French calendar; reductions are frequently granted for first-time, spontaneous regularisation. File the missing VAT returns in chronological order so input VAT carries forward correctly, and request a payment plan (delai de paiement) for large balances. Pay the CFE arrears and set up electronic notices on the business tax account so future assessments reach you by email wherever you live. Update the beneficial ownership data the same day through the Guichet unique.

Fourth, protect the director. A foreign director of a French company can be held liable for management faults, for late declaration of insolvency (within 45 days of the cash-flow standstill), and for tax fraud in serious cases. If the company cannot pay its debts as they fall due from its available assets, stop trading blindly and seek advice within days: the choice between an amicable procedure (mandat ad hoc, conciliation) and formal insolvency (sauvegarde, redressement, liquidation) depends on cash, and our creditor-side guide shows how fast French insolvency moves against a foreign customer: Your French Customer Is Insolvent and You Are Abroad. Where employment disputes pile up alongside the arrears, our dismissal guide explains severance, settlement and the labour court: Dismissing an Employee in France From Abroad.

Practical tools make the next year painless. Give your French accountant and your lawyer a shared calendar with five fixed alerts: year end plus six months for the meeting, meeting plus two months for the greffe filing, year end plus three months (or early May) for corporate tax, monthly or quarterly VAT, and December for the CFE. Route all French administrative mail to a scanned mailbox or a domiciliation agent who forwards the same day, and activate electronic notifications on impots.gouv.fr, URSSAF and the Guichet unique. The official service-public.fr business pages (service-public.fr/professionnels-entreprises) and the tax authority guides on impots.gouv.fr publish the current campaign dates each year; check them every January rather than relying on last year memory.

Conclusion

A French company run from abroad survives on one discipline: never let a deadline pass in silence. Approve the accounts within six months of year end, file them with the greffe within two months of the meeting, return corporate tax within three months or by early May, file VAT monthly or quarterly, pay the CFE every December, declare every hire before day one, and update the beneficial owners whenever control changes. Each date rests on a short statutory sentence, and each sentence is enforced by a fine, a surcharge or a court order. The good news is that French law rewards spontaneous catch-up: late meetings can still be held, late accounts can still be filed, late returns can still be sent, and surcharges can often be reduced when the director comes forward first. If your company is already late, work through the missing years oldest-first, file everything electronically, keep every receipt, and put the shared calendar in place for next year. Run from Paris or from another continent, the calendar is the same; only the organisation changes.

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