A foreign founder can complete incorporation, obtain a Kbis (the official extract from the French Trade and Companies Register), open a business account and still miss the first French VAT filing because the company\u2019s accounting timetable was not connected to its tax account. The mistake is common when the founder lives abroad, the company has no French employee and the first invoices are issued from another country. It is not harmless. A company may have to file a zero return even when it has made no sale, and a return showing a VAT credit may be just as important as a return showing VAT to pay.<\/p>\n
The relevant document is form 3310-CA3, usually called the CA3. It is the recurring French value-added tax return (TVA, or taxe sur la valeur ajout\u00e9e) used under the normal real VAT regime. The practical response is to identify the missed period, reconstruct every taxable transaction and input invoice, file the correct return through the professional tax portal, pay any net VAT immediately, and create a written record explaining the delay. This article sets out that process for a newly incorporated French company owned or managed from abroad, as at 24 August 2026. It distinguishes a late filing from an inaccurate filing and from conduct that could support a tax-fraud allegation.<\/p>\n
The first question is not whether the company has received money. It is whether the company has been placed in a VAT regime that requires a return for the relevant period. Article 287 of the French General Tax Code (Code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts, or CGI) begins with the words \u201cTout redevable de la taxe sur la valeur ajout\u00e9e\u201d and requires an identified VAT taxpayer to submit the form prescribed by the tax administration. A company that has no turnover may therefore have a filing obligation even though the amount of VAT due is zero.<\/p>\n
The official French tax guidance states that a company under the normal real VAT regime must begin accounting for VAT from the start of its activity and transmit form 3310-CA3 from the month following the beginning of turnover. Monthly or quarterly CA3 returns are transmitted during the month following the month or quarter concerned. The exact filing date is displayed in the company\u2019s professional account, because the date may depend on the company\u2019s tax office, legal form and other administrative identifiers. The official VAT regime guidance from the French tax administration<\/a> should be checked together with the company\u2019s tax account.<\/p>\n This creates several situations that a foreign founder must separate:<\/p>\n The first filing period must be determined from the tax registration, the date the company became liable for VAT and the period shown in the professional account. Do not assume that the incorporation date, the date of the Kbis or the date of the first invoice always gives the answer. A company can be registered before it begins trading, while a transaction can create VAT consequences before the founder considers the business to be \u201copen\u201d. Review the INPI (Institut national de la propri\u00e9t\u00e9 industrielle) filing, the Kbis, the SIREN number (the nine-digit French business identification number), the tax options selected in the formation file and every communication from the SIE (Service des imp\u00f4ts des entreprises, the business tax office).<\/p>\n The distinction between the normal real regime and the simplified regime also matters. The normal real regime ordinarily uses the monthly or, if the statutory conditions are met, quarterly CA3. The simplified regime uses the annual CA12 return and advance payments, although a company can move into the normal regime in specific cases. The French tax administration explains that a company with annual net VAT below \u20ac4,000 may request quarterly CA3 filing under the normal regime. That is an option or an authorised filing rhythm, not permission to ignore the first return. Check the regime written in the tax account before preparing the correction.<\/p>\n A new company should also review whether the professional tax account was activated correctly. The tax administration states that the 3310-CA3 becomes available in the professional account on the first day of the month of the relevant due date. If the return is not visible, the founder should preserve a screenshot, send a message through the secure account and ask the SIE to confirm the company\u2019s VAT regime, first period and filing deadline. A missing button is an administrative problem to document, not a reason to leave the period unresolved.<\/p>\n The rule is particularly important for a founder who has not yet moved to France. The company\u2019s French tax compliance follows the company\u2019s French tax identification and activity. It does not wait for the founder\u2019s residence permit, French personal bank account or relocation. A foreign founder can manage the filing through the professional account, an authorised accountant or an EDI provider. EDI means \u00e9change de donn\u00e9es informatis\u00e9es: the accountant\u2019s or software provider\u2019s data-interchange route. EFI means \u00e9change de formulaires informatis\u00e9: completion through the online professional tax service. The chosen route must leave a filing receipt and a copy of the submitted data.<\/p>\n The safest working assumption is therefore simple: if the account lists a CA3 period, prepare and file it, even if the figures are nil. If the account does not list a period that should exist, obtain a written answer from the SIE and keep the request with the incorporation records. That approach protects the company from a later argument that it silently abandoned a known filing obligation.<\/p>\n \u201cA missed CA3\u201d can describe three different failures, and the consequences are not identical. First, the company may have filed nothing. Second, it may have filed a return but paid late. Third, it may have filed a return containing an understated amount of sales or an unsupported deduction. The first two usually call for prompt administrative correction. The third requires a more careful reconstruction because the company must correct the tax position without creating a second inaccurate declaration.<\/p>\n For a late declaration, CGI Article 1728<\/a> provides a statutory majoration (tax increase). The ordinary rate is 10% when the return is filed late without a prior formal notice, or when it is filed within the period following a formal notice. The rate can rise to 40% when the declaration is not filed within the period after the notice. The article uses the expression \u201cmajoration de 10 %\u201d for the first level. A founder should not treat the 10% figure as an automatic final bill in every case: the assessment base, the timing, any notice, the tax due and the company\u2019s factual conduct all matter.<\/p>\n Late payment is a separate issue. CGI Article 1731<\/a> provides a 5% majoration for late payment of sums due to the tax authorities. It also states that the 5% majoration does not apply when a late return containing the taxable elements is accompanied by payment of all the corresponding tax. The practical consequence is important: if the calculation is reliable and cash is available, filing the overdue CA3 and paying the full net VAT at the same time can avoid the separate late-payment increase, although it does not automatically erase every filing penalty or administrative consequence.<\/p>\n There is also a targeted VAT fine in CGI Article 1788 A<\/a>. In the situation covered by paragraph 4, when VAT on an operation is deductible by the taxpayer, failure to mention the chargeable tax on the return for the relevant period can trigger \u201cune amende \u00e9gale \u00e0 5 % de la somme d\u00e9ductible\u201d. That rule concerns a specific omission in a VAT return. It should not be confused with the general 10% increase for a return filed late, nor should it be used to calculate a penalty without analysing the exact transaction and the company\u2019s right to deduct.<\/p>\n The distinction between an error and fraud is equally important for an overseas founder. CGI Article 1741<\/a> addresses fraudulent evasion of tax, including intentional omission or concealment. A late first return caused by an accounting handover, an inaccessible portal or a genuine misunderstanding of the filing calendar is not automatically tax fraud. On the other hand, deliberately hiding taxable sales, fabricating purchase invoices or using a CA3 to create an artificial credit can create a materially different risk.<\/p>\n The case law illustrates why the evidence trail matters. In Cour de cassation, criminal chamber, 10 September 2014, no. 13-84.933<\/a>, the case concerned a manager, a VAT underpayment and a proposed \u201cd\u00e9claration CA3 compl\u00e9tive \u00e0 signer et d\u00e9poser\u201d. The court rejected the appeal after the lower court had assessed the manager\u2019s knowledge and conduct. The decision does not say that every late CA3 is criminal; it shows that an attempted correction does not replace the need to ensure that the corrective declaration is actually signed, filed and paid.<\/p>\n In Cour de cassation, criminal chamber, 1 June 2011, no. 10-86.072<\/a>, the court reviewed a case involving understated turnover, company accounting and CA3 entries. The judgment refers to the CA3 as containing \u201cles \u00e9l\u00e9ments indispensables au calcul de la TVA\u201d. It confirmed a criminal finding on the facts of that case, including repeated understatements and the use of tax debt as company cash. That factual pattern is very different from a first missed filing followed by a transparent nil return or a carefully supported correction.<\/p>\n Similarly, Cour de cassation, criminal chamber, 7 October 2009, nos. 07-84.482 and 08-87.890<\/a>, examined omitted turnover and the timing of chargeability. The decision states that, absent the relevant option, \u201cla taxe \u00e9tait exigible lors de la vente des biens\u201d. The lesson for a founder is not to postpone VAT merely because the customer has not paid or because the company\u2019s internal accounts have not been closed. The transaction date, invoice, payment terms and chosen VAT option must be checked against the applicable rule.<\/p>\n A reliable file should also contain the accounting evidence. Article L. 123-12 of the French Commercial Code<\/a> requires a trader, whether an individual or a legal person, to record the movements affecting the business\u2019s assets chronologically. The foreign founder should therefore preserve the bank statements, invoices issued and received, import records, customer location evidence, reverse-charge analysis, VAT calculations and the filing receipt. The tax authority may ask for French translations of foreign documents, especially where the documents establish the nature, date or amount of an operation.<\/p>\n The immediate risk assessment can be expressed as a short matrix: no return with no transaction usually means file the nil CA3 and explain the delay; no return with deductible input VAT means file the CA3 and decide whether a credit should be carried forward or claimed; no return with VAT collected means file and pay promptly; an underreported or unsupported return means stop and reconstruct the period before contacting the SIE. In every case, a documented correction is stronger than an unexplained silence.<\/p>\n The first 48 hours should be organised around the missed period, not around a general discussion of French company formation. The founder or adviser should create a one-page timeline with the incorporation date, Kbis date, VAT registration date, date of first business activity, date of first invoice or advance payment, dates of supplier invoices, the period shown in the tax account and the date on which the omission was discovered. Add the date when the company first received access to the professional account. This chronology will prevent a later explanation from mixing the company\u2019s legal creation with the beginning of taxable operations.<\/p>\n Next, obtain the accounting ledger or a transaction export for the entire period. Classify every item into output VAT, deductible input VAT, exempt or outside-scope operation, intra-European transaction, import, reverse charge, or non-business expenditure. For each amount, record the tax point, the VAT rate, the taxable base, the VAT amount, the invoice number and the supporting document. A spreadsheet is acceptable as a working tool, but the final figures must reconcile to the accounting records and bank movements. The fact that a payment was made from the founder\u2019s foreign account does not, by itself, change whether the expense belongs in the company\u2019s VAT return.<\/p>\n The return should then be filed for the period that was missed. If the company uses EFI, select the correct 3310-CA3 period in the professional account and complete each relevant line. If it uses EDI, instruct the accountant or provider in writing and obtain the transmission acknowledgement. If the system permits a late or corrective return, use the period-specific route. Do not silently place the missing month\u2019s sales into a later return simply because the later form is available. If the platform does not show the period, send the SIE a secure message with the company name, SIREN, VAT number, missing period, date of incorporation, filing regime and a request for the period to be opened or for precise filing instructions.<\/p>\n The French tax administration\u2019s CA3 timetable<\/a> should be saved with the file. The dates are not safely inferred from a foreign company\u2019s home-country calendar. The tax account can show a date tied to the company\u2019s French SIE and its identification data. The founder should save the filing receipt, the submitted PDF or export, the payment reference and a screenshot showing the period submitted.<\/p>\n Calculate payment at the same time. If output VAT exceeds deductible VAT, pay the net amount through the approved electronic payment route. If the return shows a credit, decide whether to carry it forward or request repayment. The tax administration states that a company under the normal real VAT regime can submit form 3519 in addition to the CA3 for a VAT-credit refund, subject to the conditions and supporting documents. A refund request should not be used to conceal a missing return or to claim input VAT that is not supported by a compliant invoice.<\/p>\n The evidence for input VAT deserves special attention. Article 271 links deduction to the chargeability of the tax and to statutory conditions. The text of Article 271<\/a> states that \u201cLe droit \u00e0 d\u00e9duction prend naissance\u201d when the deductible tax becomes chargeable to the supplier. The current version must be checked for the period at issue because French tax rules can change. An invoice from an overseas supplier may require a reverse-charge analysis rather than ordinary French input VAT. An invoice issued to the founder personally may require a separate review of whether the company is the actual recipient and whether the cost was taken over correctly.<\/p>\n The sales file should be equally precise. Under CGI Article 289<\/a>, the company must ensure invoices are issued for relevant supplies and services and must keep copies. Article 289 also recognises a document that modifies an original invoice when it refers to that invoice specifically and unambiguously. If the company issued invoices without a French VAT number, used the wrong rate or failed to show a reverse-charge statement, do not merely edit a later spreadsheet. Identify each customer invoice, prepare the legally correct corrective document where needed and consider whether the customer must receive a credit note or replacement invoice.<\/p>\n If the company has no activity, the nil return still needs a written internal note: \u201cNo taxable transactions, no deductible VAT, no intra-European acquisition, no import, no reverse-charge operation for [period].\u201d That statement should be checked by the person responsible for the accounts and kept with the filing receipt. A foreign founder may not know the French word \u201cn\u00e9ant\u201d; the accounting instruction should use both terms so that the accountant, bank and director understand that the company filed a zero return rather than omitted the period.<\/p>\n Finally, send a concise message to the SIE if the return is late. State the cause without inventing facts, give the date of voluntary filing, confirm payment or explain the credit, and list the documents attached. If the delay resulted from a newly created account, an incorrect contact address or a technical access failure, attach the relevant evidence. Do not accuse the administration of losing the return unless the filing receipt proves that point. The aim is to create a contemporaneous record showing that the company detected and repaired the omission.<\/p>\n The SIE message should be written as a compliance notice, not as a long narrative. A useful subject line is: \u201cVoluntary filing of overdue 3310-CA3 \u2014 [company name] \u2014 SIREN [number] \u2014 period [month\/quarter]\u201d. The body should contain five facts: the company\u2019s legal name and SIREN; the VAT number and tax regime; the period concerned; whether the return shows nil VAT, VAT to pay or a credit; and the date of filing and payment. A final paragraph can request confirmation that the company\u2019s filing calendar is correctly activated for the next period.<\/p>\n Attach the Kbis, the VAT registration notice or tax-account message, the return receipt, payment confirmation, a transaction reconciliation and a short explanation of the error. If the company is owned by a foreign parent, add the ownership chart only if it helps explain the accounting or cross-border transaction. Avoid sending an unfiltered archive of foreign personal documents. The SIE needs evidence of the French company\u2019s taxable operations, not a full immigration file for the founder. Where an overseas document is central, identify the document, its date, currency and translation status.<\/p>\n If the administration later sends a mise en demeure (formal notice to file), record the date of receipt immediately. The 30-day period referred to in Article 1728 is not a casual grace period. It can affect the level of the tax increase. File within the notice period if the figures are reliable; if the company cannot complete the reconstruction, send a written response explaining what is missing, what has already been filed and when the complete return will be supplied. A response should never state that a return was filed if the company has only prepared a draft.<\/p>\n The Court of Cassation\u2019s 2014 decision, no. 13-84.933, is a useful warning for a manager working across borders. The manager said that the accountant had prepared a supplementary CA3 and that he had taken steps to correct the tax. The judgment nevertheless focused on whether the return was actually handled and whether the manager had ensured the tax was regularised. A founder should therefore identify one person with authority to validate the CA3, one person who transmits it and one person who confirms payment. If the same accountant performs all three tasks, the company should still require a written receipt and a monthly reconciliation.<\/p>\n The 2011 decision, no. 10-86.072, also shows why \u201cthe accountant made a mistake\u201d is not a complete control system. The case involved repeated understatement, prior tax checks and use of the retained VAT as working capital. A newly incorporated company should not look like that pattern. The board or sole shareholder should adopt a short written policy: sales invoices are reviewed weekly; supplier invoices are coded before the CA3 deadline; cross-border transactions are checked separately; and the director receives the submitted return and payment receipt. The policy is especially useful when the director is abroad and the company has delegated bookkeeping to a French provider.<\/p>\n The 2009 decision, nos. 07-84.482 and 08-87.890, reinforces the need to identify the tax point for each transaction. A customer\u2019s delayed payment may not postpone VAT in the way the founder expects, especially for goods, advance payments or services where an option has been made. The internal checklist should therefore ask: was there a delivery, an advance, a completion, an invoice, a collection or a reverse-charge event during the period? The answer must be tied to the applicable rule, not to the date on which the founder first moved cash into the company.<\/p>\n The company should add the following controls to its legal calendar:<\/p>\n The company should also link its VAT process to the broader French company calendar. Its annual accounts, corporate tax, beneficial-owner information and employment compliance are separate obligations, but the same Kbis, SIREN, director and accountant data are reused. A wrong address or an unmonitored email account can cause several deadlines to fail at once. The company\u2019s French corporate tax and first-year tax calendar<\/a> should be reviewed alongside the VAT calendar, while the existing guide on VAT registration for a foreign company in France<\/a> explains the initial registration stage. The firm\u2019s French business and company law practice<\/a> can be used as the broader legal point of reference.<\/p>\n If a penalty has already been assessed, the company should read the notice rather than assume that filing the return closes the matter. Check the tax period, principal tax, majoration, payment allocation and any reference to a mise en demeure. A request for review should be supported by the filing receipt, proof of voluntary correction, evidence of the portal problem or accounting handover, and the company\u2019s compliance history. The director should not sign a factual statement that the company cannot verify. A carefully limited explanation is more credible than a general assertion of good faith.<\/p>\n The same discipline applies if the company is about to stop trading. A company that closes, becomes dormant or changes its activity may have a final VAT return and other tax formalities. The first missed CA3 should not be left until dissolution, liquidation or deletion from the register. The final return, the VAT account and the accounting records should be reconciled before the company\u2019s French bank account is closed. If a foreign parent later sells the shares, the purchaser will usually ask for evidence that the French company\u2019s VAT filings and liabilities are complete.<\/p>\n Missing the first CA3 after incorporating a French company is a compliance incident, not a reason to stop operating or to place the company\u2019s entire project on hold. The response is to identify the correct period, confirm the VAT regime, reconstruct sales and purchases, file the 3310-CA3 for that period, pay the net VAT or document the credit, and preserve every receipt. A nil return can still be required. A credit return can still be valuable. A return that is filed late but complete and paid can have a different consequence from an inaccurate return that understates turnover or claims unsupported input VAT.<\/p>\n For a foreign founder, the strongest protection is an evidence trail: the Kbis and tax registration, the professional-account correspondence, the transaction ledger, invoices, cross-border analysis, filing receipt, payment proof and a factual message to the SIE. The company should then assign ownership of the next deadlines and reconcile each CA3 before submission. If a formal notice, tax audit, unusual cross-border transaction or disputed penalty is already present, obtain a French legal review before signing a response. The practical objective is not to explain away the missed deadline; it is to restore an accurate French tax record and prevent the same gap from recurring.<\/p>\n You can arrange a telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer from the firm. Call +33 6 46 60 58 22<\/a> (French format: 06 46 60 58 22) or use the contact page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A practical legal and tax response for a foreign founder who missed the first French CA3 VAT return after incorporation: filing periods, nil returns, VAT credits, penalties, evidence and SIE communication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251031309,"featured_media":16377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kj_source_type":"","_kj_official_id":"","_kj_official_url":"","_kj_judilibre_id":"","_kj_jur":"","_kj_lieu":"","_kj_chambre":"","_kj_rg":"","_kj_date":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":""},"categories":[80314,80313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2106300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decryptage","category-doing-business-in-france"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
B. What is the legal risk: late filing, late payment, or a false return?<\/h3>\n
II. How to regularise the first CA3 and protect a foreign founder\u2019s position<\/h2>\n
A. What to file, pay and document in the first 48 hours<\/h3>\n
B. How to communicate with the SIE and prevent the next missed return<\/h3>\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Need a quick opinion on your case<\/h2>\n
\nWe can review the missed CA3, the VAT calculation and the message to the French tax office.<\/p>\n