I. General rules

A. Periodicity of readings

Sections 1, 2 and 3 of article 287 of the general tax code (CGI) set the frequency of turnover declarations.

1. Taxpayers subject to the normal real tax regime

has. Principle

These taxpayers file their value added tax (VAT) declarations on a monthly basis and pay the tax due at the same time. When the tax payable annually is less than €4,000, they are allowed to submit their declarations by calendar quarter ( CGI, art. 287, 2 ).

b. Installment system

Pursuant to 2 of article 287 of the CGI and article 1693 of the CGI , taxpayers subject to the normal actual tax regime who experience difficulties in filing their turnover declarations within the regulatory deadlines may be authorized to benefit from an additional period of one month to submit these documents.

The conditions under which taxpayers may be authorized to benefit from this regime are set out in article 39 bis of appendix IV to the CGI .

Although the law only mentions those liable for VAT, the regime is applicable to those liable for taxes assimilated to this tax.

1° Taxpayers concerned

The system of provisional installments can only be adopted by those liable for VAT who have been authorized for this purpose, under the conditions set by article 39 bis of annex IV to the CGI . Article 39 bis of Annex IV to the CGI provides that the authorization to apply this system of declaration of transactions carried out is subject to the following conditions:

the taxpayer must submit a reasoned request to the tax department on which he depends for the payment of VAT;
he must justify that, due to the nature of his activities or the particular structure of his business, he is unable to draw up his declarations within the period provided for in article 39 of annex IV to the CGI . This may be the case of natural or legal persons who, having several establishments, experience difficulties in gathering the elements necessary for the establishment of the declaration within the normal period of declaration.

Pursuant to the provisions of 2 of article 287 of the CGI , only taxpayers taxed according to the normal actual system can request to benefit from the system of installments.

Taxpayers who submit their declarations quarterly cannot benefit from this regime.

Finally, the authorization granted may be revoked at any time when the conditions provided for in 2 of article 39 bis of appendix IV to the CGI are no longer met.

2° Operation of the scheme

Pursuant to 2 of article 287 of the CGI , authorized taxpayers benefit from an additional period of one month to submit their VAT declarations.

Within the normal reporting period, these taxpayers must pay a deposit assessed under their own responsibility according to their taxable turnover and the deductions to which they are entitled. This deposit is at least equal to 80% of the amount actually due. Any difference observed between the sum thus paid and that actually due is subject either to an allocation to the installments relating to the following months, or to an additional payment which must be made at the very moment when these taxpayers file the declaration. of their business ( CGI, art. 1693 ).

In practice, it is up to the taxpayers to proceed as follows:

1/ For business carried out during the first month (m) of application of the system of installments, pay during the second month (m + 1), and within the usual payment period, a deposit corresponding approximately to the tax due and accompany this payment with a form n ° 3310-CA3-SD (CERFA n ° 10963) available online on the site www.impots.gouv.fr bearing:

in the box reserved for correspondence, the words “advance payment for the month of …”, this is the month (m);
in the “Tax to be paid” box, “amounts to be added” line, the amount of the deposit paid.

2/ File during the third month (m + 2), the actual turnover declaration drawn up under the usual conditions on declaration no. 3310-CA3-SD completed in all its parts.

Attach to this declaration a bulletin n° 3515-SD (CERFA n° 10971), showing the amount actually to be paid, taking into account the tax due, the deposit already paid and the new deposit assessed for the second month ( m+1). Fill in the “sums to be charged” or “sums to be added” line of declaration no. 3310-CA3-SD according to bulletin no. 3515-SD and pay the sum to be paid.

3/ Operate as indicated in 2/ for each of the following months, each declaration filed within the time limit normally granted plus one month being accompanied by the corresponding regularization bulletin.

Article 1693 of the CGI provides that the deposit to be paid must be at least equal to 80% of the amount actually due. When the deposit turns out to be more than 20% lower than this amount, the taxpayer bears the late payment interest provided for in article 1727 of the CGI and the increase provided for in 1 of article 1731 of the CGI ( CGI, art. 1784 ).

The penalty specific to the system of installments is only applied to the difference between the amount of the installment actually paid and the theoretical installment equal to 80% of the duties due.

A special system of installments is provided for by article 1693 bis of the CGI for farmers liable for VAT.

The comments relating to this regime are set out in IA § 10 of BOI-TVA-SECT-80-30-60-20 .

2. Persons subject to the simplified real tax regime

100

These taxpayers file a declaration for each financial year which determines the tax due for the period and the amount of the half-yearly installments for the subsequent period ( CGI, art. 287, 3 ).

Note: For more details on the rules applicable to the simplified real regime, please refer to BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-20-30 .

3. Special cases

has. Seasonal taxpayers

110

Seasonal companies placed under the mini-actual or normal actual regime may, upon express request addressed to the tax department to which they belong, benefit from special provisions.

120

They must file declarations No. 3310-CA3-SD , depending on the pace of activity of their company and specify in the box reserved for correspondence:

the closing date of their activity;
the date of resumption of the next season;
certify that they have not exercised another activity subject to VAT in the meantime.

130

Companies benefiting from the measure are natural or legal persons carrying out their activity for part of the year.

These are generally companies whose establishments are open only during the summer or winter periods and which regularly resume their activity after a complete closure.

Example: A winter craft activity will only give rise to the filing of declarations no. 3310-CA3-SD for operations in November and December of year N-1 and January and February of year N, if the the rest of the time the company is closed.

140

This derogation therefore does not apply to companies which:

mainly realize their turnover over part of the year (peak period) to the detriment of the other part (off-peak period);
resume their activity after being closed for less than three months;
exercise jointly or in replacement of their seasonal activity another activity liable to VAT.

150

Taxpayers who carry out a seasonal activity are exempt from providing “nil” declarations during the period when their establishments are closed.

b. Taxable persons carrying out exempt transactions

160

The administration accepts that persons who constantly and exclusively carry out transactions exempt from VAT may be exempted from filing any declaration by the local business tax service.

vs. Persons receiving non-commercial income and carrying out no more than four taxable transactions per year

170

These people can ask, by letter addressed to the local tax service of the companies on which they depend, to place themselves under a declaration regime similar to that of seasonal traders taxed according to the normal real regime.

All they have to do is indicate that they carry out no more than four taxable transactions per year and that they wish to file declarations no. 3310-CA3-SD only at the end of each quarter.

The fees are declared the month following that of their collection. As long as no taxable sum has been collected, there is not even a need to file a declaration n° 3310-CA3-SD bearing the mention “nil”.

d. Groups exempt from VAT

180

The groups referred to in BOI-TVA-CHAMP-30-10-40 , exempted on the basis of the exact reimbursements of expenses received from their members, who do not carry out any taxable transaction are exempt from submitting turnover declarations. This exemption is granted without prejudice to the exercise of the administration’s power of control.

B. Deadline for filing statements

190

Pursuant to 1, 2 and 3 of article 287 of the CGI , 1 of article 39 of appendix IV to the CGI sets the deadlines by which natural and legal persons are required to file their declarations of turnover. business.

200

The tax due, which emerges from the declarations (monthly or quarterly), must be paid when these declarations are filed ( CGI, art. 1692 ). If, during a month or a quarter, no transaction giving rise to VAT and similar taxes has been carried out, the taxpayer must, within the prescribed time limits, send a so-called “nil” declaration, c ie having no turnover.

Deadlines for filing declarations depending on the form of business
Residence of companies	Sole proprietorships	All companies except limited companies	Limited companies	Other taxpayers (associations, local authorities, occasional taxpayers, etc.)
City of Paris and departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne	According to the first letter of the operator’s surname: A to H: 15 I to Z: 17	According to the first two digits of the identification number assigned by INSEE: 00 to 68: 19 69 to 78: 20 79 to 99: 21	According to the first two digits of the identification number assigned by INSEE: 00 to 74: 23 75 to 99: 24	the 24th
Other departments	According to the first letter of the operator’s surname: A to H: 16 I to Z: 19	the 21	the 24th	the 24th

For the taxes due, as the case may be, for the month or the quarter by the taxpayers referred to in the first paragraph of article 95 of appendix III of the CGI (taxable persons established in another Member State of the European Union, identified to VAT in France) and placed under the declaration regime, the declaration of turnover must be electronically transmitted no later than the 19th of the following month ( CGI, ann. IV, art. 39, 1, 1°, e ).

In addition, the deadline for submission is set:

on the 24th of the following month for the summary declaration mentioned in a of 3 of article 1693 ter of the CGI filed by the taxpayer mentioned in 1 of article 1693 ter of the CGI (option for the consolidated payment of VAT and similar taxes ) (CGI, ann. IV, art. 39, I-1°-f);
on the 24th of the month following the month or quarter during which the tax became payable:
- for the declarations of taxpayers placed under the actual normal monthly or quarterly regime mentioned in 2 of article 287 of the CGI and who are subject to the VAT payable when the petroleum products appearing in the table of 1° of 1 of Article 265 of the Customs Code in the version in force on December 31, 2021, at the end of the suspensive regime provided for in 1° bis of 1 of Article 298 of the CGI (CGI, ann. IV, art. 39, I- 1°-g);
- for the declarations mentioned in 1 of article 287 of the CGI showing imports mentioned in article 291 of the CGI (CGI, ann. IV, art. 39, I-2°).

Note: On the reporting deadlines for deliveries to oneself made in the context of real estate transactions, please refer to II-D-2 § 260 of BOI-TVA-IMM-10-20-30 .

220

However, when the deadline for filing the declaration coincides with a public holiday or deemed to be a public holiday with regard to the corporate tax department, this deadline is postponed to the next working day ( CGI, ann. IV, art. 39 , 1, 3° and CGI, app. IV, art. 199-0 ).

230

When a declaration and the corresponding means of payment are deposited directly in the letterbox of the business tax service, the date of receipt of the documents is fixed on the last working day preceding that on which it was found in the box. No penalty is therefore applied when the declaration accompanied by the means of payment is found in the letterbox at the opening of the offices of the business tax service, the day after the day on which this deposit should have been made ( RM Godfrain n ° 37739, OJ AN of May 9, 1988, p. 1972) .

240

When the declaration is sent to the competent business tax department by post, the postmark serves as proof of the date of dispatch (CGI, ann. IV, art. 39,1-4°). It does not matter whether the envelope containing the declaration and, where applicable, the means of payment, is franked at the postal rate reserved or not for urgent envelopes (RM Bouquerel n° 19318, JO Sénat of May 12, 1976, p. 893).

250

In the event of transfer or termination, the declarations of turnover must be submitted within thirty days of the transfer or cessation of activity ( CGI, art. 287, 4 ).

Note: For those liable for the simplified real regime, please refer to BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-20-30-20 .

II. Tolerance granted for the period of paid leave

260

As an exception to the mechanism referred to in I § 1 and following , a tolerance is granted for the period of paid leave. Some companies experience difficulties during the period of paid holidays to determine within the time limits the elements necessary for the establishment of their declarations of turnover. This is particularly the case for those whose importance requires the organization of a specialized accounting department.

To remedy this difficulty, while sparing the interests of the Treasury, the companies in question are authorized to pay within the time limit set for filing the declaration and for the month whose accounts cannot be closed in time because of the holidays. , a deposit, the amount of which must not be less than 20% either of the amount actually due or of the tax paid the previous month.

When the deposit is more than 20% lower than the tax paid the previous month, the company must attach, to the adjustment declaration, a declaration of turnover retracing exactly, a posteriori, the operations attributable to the month. for which the deposit has been paid, in such a way as to justify that this deposit is greater than 80% of the amount actually due.

A regularization of the situation occurs the following month.

It is recommended to the service to make a liberal application of this tolerance and to admit to the benefit of the measure any taxpayer who, whatever the size of his company, experiences serious difficulties in respecting during the annual closing, the deadline time limit for filing turnover declarations.

270

Companies wishing to benefit from the tolerance mentioned in II § 260 must comply with the rules set out in II-A to C § 280 to 300, which differ according to the actual turnover regime under which they are taxed.

A. Companies placed under the regime of normal actual turnover

280

Companies placed under the normal actual turnover regime file declaration no. 3310-CA3-SD relating to the month for which the accounts cannot be closed in time due to paid holidays within the time limit. But they are authorized not to fill in the usual headings on condition that they pay a deposit which must be at least equal to 80% either of the sum paid the previous month, or of the sum actually payable.

To this end, they indicate in the box reserved for correspondence on the form the mention “Period of paid leave – Payment of a deposit of …” and they specify the amount of the latter which is then carried over successively to the line “amounts to be added” then in the box “Total to pay”.

The declaration submitted for the following month makes it possible to regularize the company’s situation. It is, in fact, exceptionally, established by combining the elements relating to the past month with those of the previous month and the statement made shows the amount of the tax due for the two months. The taxpayer indicates in the box reserved for correspondence the mention “Period of paid leave – Regularization” and reports, for imputation, on the line “amounts to be imputed”, the amount of the deposit paid the previous month. The total to be paid which is cleared then constitutes the balance to be paid for the two months concerned.

In the event that the deposit exceeds the sum due for the two months, the amount to be indicated on the line “sums to be charged” is limited to this latter sum. The total to be paid which appears is then nil and the excess will be carried forward, for allocation to the “sums to be allocated” line of the following declaration.

When the installment paid during the first month was less than 80% of the sum paid the previous month by the company, the latter must enclose for order to the declaration of regularization a declaration n° 3310-CA3-SD retracing exactly a posteriori the transactions attributable to this first month in such a way as to justify that the deposit paid was greater than 80% of the amount actually payable.

B. Companies placed under the system of installments

290

Companies placed under the system of installments provided for in 2 of article 287 of the CGI have an additional period of one month to submit their declarations of turnover ( IA-1-b § 20 ). To benefit from the tolerance granted for the period of paid leave, they must proceed as follows.

The declaration relating to the month (m) for which the accounts cannot be closed in time due to paid holidays is filed during the month (m + 2) within the time limit, but the usual sections are not completed and it is not is not accompanied by a Form No. 3515-SD . The box reserved for correspondence of declaration no. 3310-CA3-SD is annotated as in the previous case and the amount of the deposit paid is mentioned successively on the line “amounts to be added” and in the box “Total to be paid “.

The declaration submitted during the following month (m + 3) is drawn up by adding together the elements relating to the months (m) and (m + 1). Bulletin no. 3515-SD , which accompanies it, is completed under the usual conditions, it being specified that the sum to be mentioned on line b is the total of the installments paid for these two months, namely:

the deposit paid during the month (m + 1) the amount of which appeared on line e of bulletin no. 3515-SD filed that month;
the deposit paid during the month (m + 2) the amount of which appeared on the line “sums to be added” of declaration no. 3310-CA3-SD filed that month.

C. Common Provisions

300

Electronic procedures allow declarations to be transmitted in advance during the month preceding the temporary closure, in particular during the summer period when the company closes from the first day of the month until the due date.

Source: gouv.fr

Reporting / Compliance

Guidance: Frequency of VAT filing