France's e-invoicing reform went live on 1 September. If you assumed VAT exemption kept you out of it, it does not.
→ Every business established in France that counts as a taxable person must now be able to receive electronic invoices through a state-approved platform. Size, turnover and tax regime make no difference.
→ Ordinary furnished letting is exempt from VAT, with no option to be taxed. The exemption attaches to the supply, not to your status. The reception obligation still applies.
→ There is nothing for a classic meublé to issue. Rent receipts are not invoices.
→ At least three of the four hotel-style services (breakfast, regular cleaning, household linen, reception) takes the letting out of exemption. Issuing and data reporting then follow on 1 September 2027 for small and micro businesses, and already apply to large and mid-sized ones.
→ An emailed PDF is not void. The DGFiP's own start-up guide says an invoice received by mail, PDF or paper can still be processed, paid and used to deduct VAT. It has simply stopped being the compliant way to send one.
→ No automatic fine on day one. Formal notice first, then 500 euros after three months, then 1,000 euros after a second notice, renewable every quarter. The first-offence relief that covers other invoicing penalties does not extend to this one.
→ The obligation follows French establishment, not French property. A non-French company with no establishment in France sits outside the rule. If you hold French stock through an SCI or a French operating company, you do not.
The DGFiP published a start-up guide in July saying sanctions will not be applied to businesses that hit genuine difficulty but are engaged in a serious compliance trajectory. It also says it will distinguish those from inertia and avoidance. That is a grace period, not an exemption.
And the reason this stings. Spain's INE published July on Monday. Overnight stays in tourist apartments were exactly flat year on year. Average stay fell 7.3% to 4.8 nights. The tourist apartment price index rose 6.2%.
Volume has stopped growing. The administrative load has not. Every hour that goes into a compliance project this autumn is an hour not going into rate strategy or direct bookings, and the calendar does not care which one pays your bills.
If you hold French stock, the job this week is small: work out which entities are established in France, then designate a platform. It takes less time than the mise en demeure will.
How much of your team's autumn is already committed to compliance work rather than revenue?
