French General Tax Code
In forceI. - 1° Intra-Community acquisitions of tangible movable property made for consideration by a taxable person acting as such, or by a non-taxable legal entity when the vendor is a taxable person acting as such and who does not benefit in his State from the special exemption scheme for small businesses, are also subject to value added tax.
1° bis Acquisitions of goods made by a taxable person or a non-taxable legal entity, the supply of which is exempt pursuant to 2° to 6° of II of Article 262 or Article 262-00 bis, are not subject to value added tax
2° Subject to not exceeding the threshold indicated below, acquisitions of goods other than new means of transport or products subject to excise duty made are not subject to value added tax:
a) By a non-taxable legal person;
b) By a taxable person who only carries out transactions that do not give rise to a right of deduction;
c) By a farmer placed under the flat-rate reimbursement scheme provided for in articles 298 quater and 298 quinquies.
These provisions only apply when the amount of the acquisitions made by the above-mentioned persons has not exceeded, during the previous calendar year, or does not exceed, during the calendar year in progress at the time of the acquisition, the threshold of €10,000.
This amount is equal to the sum, excluding value added tax, of acquisitions of goods, other than new means of transport or products subject to excise duty, which have given rise to a supply of goods located in another Member State of the European Union, pursuant to the provisions of the legislation of that State adopted for the implementation of Articles 31 to 39 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006.
2°a Intra-Community acquisitions of second-hand works of art, collectors' items or antiques made for consideration by a taxable person acting as such or by a non-taxable legal person are not subject to value added tax where the vendor or taxable person is a taxable dealer who has applied in the Member State of departure of the dispatch or transport of the goods the provisions of the legislation of that State adopted for the implementation of Articles 312 to 325 or 333 to 341 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006.
3°The obtaining of the power of disposal as an owner of tangible movable property dispatched or transported to France by the vendor, by the purchaser or on their behalf, to the purchaser from another Member State of the European Union is considered to be an intra-Community acquisition.
It is also considered to be an intra-Community acquisition for the taxable person to whom the supply is made to obtain the power to dispose as an owner of the goods dispatched or transported under the conditions set out in Article 2 of Article 17a of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax within twelve months of the arrival of the goods in France.
4° The assignment in France by a taxable person of goods belonging to his business from another Member State under the system of stocks under a contract of deposit provided for in Article 17a of the aforementioned Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 shall not be treated as an intra-Community acquisition of goods.
II. - The following shall be treated as an intra-Community acquisition effected for consideration:
1° (Repealed by Law 95-1347).
2° The assignment in France by a taxable person for the needs of his business of goods of his business dispatched or transported from another Member State, with the exception of goods which, in France, are intended:
a) To be used temporarily for the purposes of services carried out by the taxable person or under conditions which would entitle him, if he were importing it, to temporary admission with total exemption from duties;
b) To be the subject of work, provided that the good is re-dispatched or transported to the taxable person in the Member State of dispatch or transport;
c) To be the subject of installation or assembly.
d) To be the subject of supplies on board means of transport, carried out by the taxable person, under the conditions referred to in d of I of Article 258.
The allocation in France of natural gas, electricity, heat or refrigeration from another Member State for the purposes of a taxable supply under the conditions referred to in III of Article 258 shall not be treated as an intra-Community acquisition.
3° The receipt in France, by a non-taxable legal entity, of goods that it has imported into the territory of another Member State of the European Union.
4° The allocation of goods by armed forces stationed or staying in France, for their use or for the use of the civilian element accompanying them, where one of the following conditions is met:
a) These forces are the French armed forces and have acquired these goods exempt from tax in a Member State of the European Union other than France, due to their use either for a defence effort carried out with a view to implementing an activity of the European Union within the framework of the common security and defence policy, or for the joint defence effort provided for by the North Atlantic Treaty;
b) These forces are under the authority of a Member State of the European Union other than France. b) These forces belong to another State which is a party to the North Atlantic Treaty, are not assigned to the joint defence effort provided for by this Treaty and have acquired these goods exempt from tax outside the Member State of the European Union to which they belong by virtue of their assignment to this joint defence effort.
III. - A taxable person, acting in his own name but on behalf of a third party, who enters into an intra-Community acquisition, is deemed to have personally acquired and supplied the goods.
