Intracommunity VAT in France in 2026: rules, obligations and refunds

Intracommunity VAT follows the destination principle: a supply of goods to a customer VAT-identified in another Member State is exempt in France under six cumulative conditions, the acquisition is reverse-charged by the French buyer, and VAT paid abroad is reclaimed under Directive 2008/9/EC through the impots.gouv.fr business account. The OSS portal covers B2C distance sales.

EU intracommunity VAT applies to every French business trading goods or services with partners established in other EU Member States. In 2026, the rules are largely set by Directive 2006/112/EC and the French General Tax Code (CGI). This guide covers exempt supplies, the simplification for triangular transactions, the VAT One-Stop Shop and the recovery of VAT paid in another Member State.

French fiscal territory and the European Union#

The territory where French VAT applies covers metropolitan France (mainland France, its coastal islands and Corsica), the territory of Monaco (transactions from or to Monaco are treated as transactions from or to France) and Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion. Corsica is part of the metropolitan territory, with specific rates set by Article 297 of the French Tax Code: 0.90%, 2.10%, 10% and 13%, the standard rate remaining 20%. There is no 9% rate in Corsica.

Two distinct sets of exclusions must be kept apart:

• French territories where VAT does not apply: French Guiana, Mayotte, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and Clipperton Island
• Territories of other Member States excluded from the EU VAT territory (Article 6 of Directive 2006/112/EC): Mount Athos, the Canary Islands, the Åland Islands, the Channel Islands, Heligoland and Büsingen, Ceuta and Melilla, Livigno and Campione d'Italia together with the Italian waters of Lake Lugano. Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City are not fiscal enclaves but third countries.

Switzerland, although linked to the EU by bilateral agreements, is outside the European Union and is subject to specific rules, with its own VAT identification number (UID).

Fundamentals of intracommunity transactions#

Two principles govern intracommunity VAT:

1. Destination principle: VAT applies in the country of destination of goods or services. For supplies of goods, the VAT of the country of arrival applies. For acquisitions, VAT is self-assessed in France.

2. General B2B rule: services supplied to a taxable person are taxed where that customer has established its business, or at its fixed establishment receiving the service (Article 44 of Directive 2006/112/EC, transposed in Art. 259, 1° CGI). Services supplied to non-taxable persons (B2C) remain, as a rule, taxable where the supplier is established.

Where does French VAT apply in 2026?#

Practical consequence: a transaction with a territory outside the EU VAT territory is never an intra-Community supply or acquisition, even where the partner is French. It falls under the export and import regime, with the corresponding customs formalities.

Intra-Community supplies (Art. 262 ter CGI)#

An intra-Community supply is a sale of goods dispatched or transported from France to another EU member state. It is exempt from French VAT under six cumulative conditions (Art. 262 ter CGI), two of which come from the 2020 "quick fixes": the buyer must have communicated a VAT identification number issued by another Member State, and the seller must have filed the EC sales list (état récapitulatif, Art. 289 B CGI). The two substantive conditions detailed below are the ones most often at the origin of an assessment:

1. The buyer must be VAT-registered in their country (or a non-taxable legal entity registered for VAT)
2. The seller must document the dispatch or transport of goods to the other member state

Required proofs: transport document (CMR, air waybill), invoice with customer's VAT number, sales contract, buyer's attestation.

Without proof of dispatch, the supply is reclassified as a domestic sale taxable in France.

Intra-Community acquisitions (Art. 256 bis, 258 C and Art. 283, 2 bis CGI)#

An intra-Community acquisition is the purchase of goods dispatched or transported from another member state to France. VAT is self-assessed by the French buyer under the reverse charge mechanism.

Mechanism: the French buyer charges French VAT on their own return (CA3) and simultaneously deducts it in the same operation. There is no actual cash outflow: the VAT due and the deductible VAT cancel each other out where the right of deduction is full. The mechanism is covered in detail in our dedicated article: VAT reverse charge.

Exception: non-taxable buyers (individuals) do not self-assess; the seller charges the VAT due under the distance selling rules (see below).

Distance selling (distance sales)#

Intra-EU distance sales are supplies of goods dispatched or transported by the supplier, or on its behalf, from one Member State to a customer in another Member State who does not make a taxable intra-Community acquisition, in practice a private individual.

Since 1 July 2021, rules changed with the OSS portal:

In 2026, French businesses selling online to European individuals use the OSS portal to declare and pay VAT in each country of destination.

The six cumulative conditions of the exemption (Art. 262 ter CGI)#

The six conditions are cumulative: if a single one fails, the supply becomes taxable in France again. In practice, the two conditions added in 2020 (number communicated, recapitulative statement filed) are the first ones checked during an audit, because they can be proven in minutes.

Application conditions#

The triangular simplification (Article 141 of Directive 2006/112/EC, transposed in Article 258 D of the French Tax Code) applies to triangular transactions: three operators VAT-identified in three different Member States, with goods moving from State A to State C, without physical passage through State B.

Classic example: A French wholesaler (State B) sells to a German client (State C) goods that move directly from Italy (State A) to Germany (State C). The French wholesaler issues an intracommunity invoice without VAT.

Conditions for the triangular simplification (Art. 258 D CGI):

1. The intermediate operator B must be VAT-identified in France and not established in the Member State of arrival of the goods, and it must use its French number: the goods must be dispatched from a Member State other than France
2. Goods must be dispatched directly from the country of departure to the country of destination
3. The acquisition by the intermediate operator must be made for the purposes of the onward supply of the same goods in the Member State of destination, where the final customer must be designated as the person liable for the tax (Article 197 of Directive 2006/112/EC)
4. The final buyer must be VAT-registered in the country of destination

Declaration obligations:

• The invoice must bear the wording "Autoliquidation" (reverse charge): the Court of Justice of the European Union holds that this wording is a substantive condition of the simplification, that a mere reference to Article 141 of Directive 2006/112/EC is not enough and that its omission cannot be cured by a corrective invoice (CJEU, 8 December 2022, Luxury Trust Automobil, C-247/21). The invoice must also carry the reference to Article 141 of Directive 2006/112/EC and the VAT identification numbers of the intermediate operator and of the final customer
• Monthly or quarterly return via CA3 form
• Mandatory filing in France of the recapitulative statement referred to in Article 289 B CGI, separately showing the French VAT number of the intermediate operator and that of the final customer, together with the net amounts of the onward supplies

Pitfalls to avoid with triangular transactions#

• Missing proof of dispatch: without transport justification, the mechanism fails
• Transaction with an individual: the triangular simplification only works between three operators VAT-identified in three different Member States
• Wrong VAT number: the intermediate operator must check the final customer's VAT number before each transaction, in the VIES database (see our dedicated article: how to check an EU VAT number)

The European One-Stop Shop (OSS)#

Since 1 July 2021, the OSS portal allows businesses to declare and pay VAT due in all member states through a single portal. Three regimes coexist:

Union OSS: for distance sales of goods and B2C services within the EU Non-Union OSS: for B2C services provided by non-EU businesses to European consumers IOSS (Import One Stop Shop): for distance sales of goods imported from non-EU countries, per consignment of an intrinsic value of €150 or less

Registration on the French One-Stop Shop#

French businesses register via the official portal (impots.gouv.fr/guichet-unique) or via their certified accounting software. Registration is free and available to any taxable person.

Timelines:

• Initial registration: takes effect on the first day of the calendar quarter following the application; by way of exception it can take effect from the first transaction, provided the application is filed by the 10th day of the month following that first transaction
• Change of registration details: by the 10th day of the month following the change
• Deregistration: by the 10th day of the month following cessation

Declaration obligations#

The OSS declaration replaces local declarations in each member state. It is due even in the absence of operations (null declaration). The obligations specific to e-commerce and to the IOSS portal are covered in our dedicated article: VAT and IOSS obligations for e-commerce.

General principle#

A French business that has paid VAT in another member state can, under certain conditions, obtain a refund. The mechanism is governed by Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 (the former 8th Directive) for taxable persons established in another EU Member State. The 13th Directive, 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986, covers taxable persons established outside the EU.

Eligibility conditions#

To recover VAT paid in another member state:

1. The business must be VAT-registered in France and not subject to a flat-rate scheme
2. The business must not be established in the refunding State (otherwise it could not apply for a refund there)
3. The business must not have carried out economic operations in that State during the reference period (with exceptions)

Direct refund procedure#

Via the business account on impots.gouv.fr (EU VAT refund service, Directive 2008/9/EC):

1. Application via the online form on impots.gouv.fr
2. Reference period: calendar year N-1 or quarter N-1
3. Submission by 30 September of the calendar year following the refund period
4. Destination member states: they have 4 months to process the application

Minimum refund amount:

• Annual: at least €50 of VAT to recover
• Quarterly: at least €400 of VAT to recover

VAT on business expenses#

VAT recovery on business expenses depends on the nature of the expenditure:

Fuel VAT: VAT paid on fuel bought in another Member State is reclaimed through the electronic application filed in the impots.gouv.fr business account under Directive 2008/9/EC, within the deduction limits of the refunding State.

VAT recovery for non-EU businesses#

Businesses established outside the EU reclaim French VAT under the 13th Directive 86/560/EEC. The claim (form no. 3559-SD) is filed by a taxable representative established in France with the Direction générale des finances publiques: neither the OSS portal nor embassies are involved. Member States may restrict refunds to businesses from countries granting comparable advantages.

Checking the customer's VAT number#

Since the 2020 "quick fixes", the exemption requires the customer to have communicated a VAT identification number issued by another Member State, and that number to appear on the recapitulative statement of Article 289 B CGI: checking it is not a mere commercial precaution, it is a substantive condition of the exemption. The method, the scope of the answer returned and the retention of evidence are covered in our dedicated article: how to check an EU VAT number.

Penalties for errors#

Intracommunity operation without proof of dispatch: the supply is reclassified as a domestic sale in France, with VAT assessment, late interest (0.20% per month) and penalties of 5% to 40% depending on the case.

Invalid VAT number: if the customer's number is invalid at the time of the transaction, the VAT exemption is withdrawn.

Incorrect or missing declaration: penalty of 5% to 40% on evaded duties, plus late interest.

Tax audit on intracommunity exchanges#

DGFiP (French tax authority) and DGDDI (French customs) have automated files allowing cross-checking of data:

• The monthly EMEBI statistical survey and the VAT recapitulative statement (which replaced the DEB from reference month January 2022): for goods
• Services declarations (DES): for service supplies
• Automated exchange of tax data (DAC) between European administrations

Any mismatch between the VAT recapitulative statement, the DES and the VAT reported on the CA3 return automatically triggers a request for explanation.

These standard and reduced rates are those recorded on 1 July 2025 in the European Commission's TEDB (Taxes in Europe Database), the only source kept up to date: check them before invoicing at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/tedb/. For French rates and how they apply, see our article VAT for SMEs: rates, returns and deductions.

Hayot Expertise supports businesses in mastering intracommunity VAT:

• Diagnostic of your intracommunity operations and risk identification
• OSS portal setup (registration, declaration)
• Foreign VAT recovery optimisation
• Staff training on VIES controls
• Compliance audit on intracommunity operations

Discover our tax advisory pricing on our dedicated page

Intracommunity VAT is a complex but essential topic for any business trading with Europe. In 2026, the OSS portal has simplified declaration obligations, but audit risks remain. Checking the customer's VAT number, proving the transport and filing the recapitulative statement of Article 289 B CGI are the three pillars of a file that withstands an audit.

Discover also our articles on electronic invoicing 2026 and micro-enterprise VAT regime.