French General Tax Code
In forceI.-Corporation tax returns and their appendices relating to a financial year are filed electronically.
This obligation also applies to companies belonging to one of the following categories:
1° Natural or legal persons or legal or de facto groupings of persons whose, at the close of the financial year, pre-tax sales or total gross assets shown on the balance sheet are greater than or equal to 400 million euros;
2° Natural or legal persons or legal or de facto groupings of persons holding, at the close of the financial year, directly or indirectly, more than half of the capital or voting rights of a legal person or grouping mentioned in 1° ;
3° Legal persons or de jure or de facto groupings of persons of which more than half of the capital or voting rights are held at the close of their financial year, directly or indirectly, by a person or grouping mentioned in 1°;
4° (Expired)
5° Legal persons belonging to a group covered by the tax regime provided for in Article 223 A or Article 223 A bis when it includes at least one person mentioned in 1°, 2° and 3°.
For the companies mentioned in 1° to 3°, this obligation applies to declarations that must be filed as from 1 February of the second year following the year in which at least one of the conditions set out in 1° to 3° is met at the end of the financial year. For the undertakings mentioned in 5°, this obligation applies from 1st February of the first year following that in which they join the group.
For the undertakings mentioned in 1° to 5°, this obligation continues to apply until 31st January of the fourth year following that in which the conditions ceased to be met at the close of the financial year. By way of derogation from the provisions of the previous paragraph, if, during this period, the conditions are once again met at the close of a financial year, this obligation continues to apply from the start of the first subsequent financial year.
This obligation also applies to legal entities or de jure or de facto groupings of persons who have opted to file their tax returns with the department responsible for large companies under conditions laid down by decree.
II.-.Declarations of industrial and commercial profits, non-commercial profits and agricultural profits and their appendices are filed electronically.
III.-Value added tax returns, their attachments and applications for refunds of value added tax credits, as well as returns of taxes assimilated to turnover taxes and their attachments, are submitted electronically.
IV.-Business value added tax returns must be submitted electronically.
V.-The recapitulative statement referred to in III of Article 289 B is submitted electronically. However, taxable persons benefiting from the scheme referred to in Article 293 B may file it on paper.
VI.-The income tax returns of property companies not subject to corporation tax and their appendices are filed electronically.
VII.-The returns referred to in Article 568 as well as the returns relating to the tax on gaming houses provided for in Article 1559 are submitted electronically. Operators who, due to the lack of coverage of the place where they are established by one or more networks offering access to electronic communications, do not have an information system allowing access to the Internet, shall make these declarations on paper.
VIII.-The taxpayers mentioned in II of Article 117 quater and in I of Article 125 A file their returns electronically when they are only liable for the levies mentioned:
1° In Article 117 quater;
2° In Article 125 A, on interest on current accounts and on interest paid in respect of sums made available to the company of which natural persons are members or shareholders and held in an individual blocked account and on interest due by notary's offices in respect of income from consignment accounts, specific deposits and consigned securities ;
3° In Article L. 138-21 of the Social Security Code, made on income subject to the levies mentioned in 1° and 2° of this VIII.
IX.-.Those liable for the levies and withholdings provided for in articles 117 quater, 119 bis, 125-0 A, 125 A and 1678 bis of this code and Article L. 138-21 of the Social Security Code submit their declarations electronically.
X.-Declarations relating to the withholding tax mentioned in Article 1673 bis are submitted electronically.
XI.-The recapitulative declaration of tax reductions and credits provided for in respect of corporation tax, industrial and commercial profits, non-commercial profits and agricultural profits shall be submitted electronically.
XII.-The declarations referred to in articles 990 E and 990 F are filed electronically.
XIII.-The tax credit return for research expenditure mentioned in Article 244 quater B is submitted electronically.
XIV.-Payroll tax returns shall be submitted electronically.
XVI.-A decree shall specify the other returns that shall be submitted electronically, failing which Article 1738 shall apply.
