France is entering the decisive operational phase of its e‑invoicing reform with the launch of a national pilot program running from late February to the end of August 2026. This pilot is the first real “production‑like” testing of the country’s Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) model before mandatory e‑invoicing and e‑reporting start on 1 September 2026.
Purpose of the Pilot
The French tax administration (DGFiP) has designed the pilot to de‑risk the 2026 go‑live by allowing companies and accredited platforms to test the entire lifecycle of digital invoicing under real conditions.
The pilot enables participants to:
- Exchange live, real‑transaction invoices
- Test invoice lifecycle statuses
- Validate platform‑to‑platform interoperability
- Confirm end‑to‑end communication with the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF)
This phase represents the first opportunity for businesses to operate within the full clearance ecosystem ahead of the legal mandate. [vatcalc.com], [sovos.com]
Timeline
- Late February 2026 — Pilot opens
- June 2026 — Upgrade to spec version 3.1
- End of August 2026 — Pilot closes
- 1 September 2026 — All businesses must be able to receive e‑invoices; large and mid‑sized companies must issue and report them
Other newsletters
France to Launch Six-Month E-Invoicing Pilot Phase Ahead of 2026 Mandate
- The French Tax Authority will launch a six-month e-invoicing pilot phase from late February to August 2026, using only real business data.
- Only accredited service providers (PAs) who have completed end-to-end testing with the Public Portal can participate, and must obtain customer consent.
- The pilot will use technical standards AFNOR XP Z12-012 and XP Z12-014, starting with version 3.0 of external specifications and transitioning to version 3.1 in June 2026.
- Recent regulatory simplifications include making the number of transactions in e-reporting optional and removing the reference to previous transmissions.
- The pilot aims to ensure a smooth transition to mandatory e-invoicing by identifying and resolving operational challenges before the September 2026 rollout.
Source: sovos.com
- See also
- Join the Linkedin Group on Global E-Invoicing/E-Reporting/SAF-T Developments, click HERE
- Join the LinkedIn Group on ”VAT in the Digital Age” (VIDA), click HERE
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