VAT registration in France for your online store
VAT registration in France, returns filed in France and reconciliation with your accounts in Spain. Fiscal representative, EORI and EPR when needed.
In short
To sell from stock in France you need a VAT number in France and you must file your returns there. The service includes registration and tax compliance in France: periodic returns, EC sales lists, Intrastat and whatever its authority requires.
Standard VAT rate in France: 20% (reduced: 10%, 5.5% and 2.1%). France requires the unique EPR number (UIN) through marketplaces, which block anyone who does not have one. It pays to have it before the first sale.
When you need a VAT number in France
If you are in any of these situations, you need to register before the first sale:
- You hold goods in France: your own warehouse, a logistics provider or Amazon FBA, and sell from there to customers in that country.
- You buy in France and resell within the country, without the goods leaving.
- You import from outside the EU with customs clearance in France in your own name.
- You prefer not to use OSS for distance sales and to file in each country (unusual, but possible).
- You sell to businesses in that country with local delivery from your stock there.
VAT in France at a glance
| 🇫🇷 France | |
|---|---|
| Standard VAT rate | 20 % |
| Reduced rates | 10%, 5.5% and 2.1% |
| Where you register | With the tax service for foreign businesses (SIEE), which assigns the French VAT number. |
| What number you get | French VAT number (FR) and SIRET number if the authority requires it |
| What you file | VAT return (CA3) monthly, or quarterly if annual VAT is low, through the business area of the French tax administration. |
| Transactions with other countries | EC sales list for intra-EU supplies and the statistical survey of goods movements above the thresholds. |
| Fiscal representative | Mandatory for non-EU businesses without a mutual assistance agreement; included in the service. |
| Packaging and EPR | Unique EPR number (UIN) per category: packaging, electrical equipment, batteries, textiles, toys, furniture, DIY, sport and construction. Included: see details. |
Data as of September 2026. Rates and deadlines are confirmed for your case before anything is filed.
What's included
VAT registration in France
With the tax service for foreign businesses (SIEE), which assigns the French VAT number. File preparation, submission and follow-up until you have the number.
Returns on time
VAT return (CA3) monthly, or quarterly if annual VAT is low, through the business area of the French tax administration. Filed on time, with the amount notified before each payment.
Transfers from Spain
Goods leaving Spain are declared here (Form 349 and ROI) and there as an intra-EU acquisition. Both sides, reconciled.
Fiscal representative and EORI
Mandatory for non-EU businesses without a mutual assistance agreement; included in the service. If you import, also the EORI and Intrastat.
Packaging and EPR
Unique EPR number (UIN) per category: packaging, electrical equipment, batteries, textiles, toys, furniture, DIY, sport and construction. See EPR in France.
Tax demands and regularisations
If letters arrive from the authority in France, they are handled in its language. If you have been selling for a while without registering, the late returns are filed.
How we start
You write to us or book a call
What you sell, how your stock gets in France and which channels you sell through there.
Registration
VAT registration in France and, where applicable, fiscal representative, EORI and EPR registrations.
Compliance
Every return on time, reconciled with your accounts in Spain, and a heads-up on whatever is needed.
Other countries with VAT registration
How VAT registration in another country works · OSS and IOSS
Frequently asked questions
Where does a Spanish company register for French VAT?
With the tax service for foreign businesses (SIEE). It assigns you a French VAT number and from there you file your returns.
How often is VAT filed in France?
With the CA3 return, which in most cases is monthly. Filing and payment on time are included.
What is the French UIN or IDU?
The unique identifier France gives each producer in each category subject to extended responsibility. Marketplaces require it and it must appear in your terms of sale.
Can I declare sales from my stock in France through OSS?
Not if the customer is in that same country: it is a domestic sale and is declared there with the local VAT number.
I've been selling in France for a while without a VAT number. What do I do?
Regularise it as soon as possible: the registration, the late returns and the replies to tax demands are filed. The longer you wait, the higher the surcharges; and marketplaces end up pulling your stock.
Do you also keep the accounts in Spain?
Yes. Your store's accounting and taxes in Spain and the tax compliance in France go through the same point of contact, so what is declared in both countries reconciles.
Tell us about your store
Book a 15-minute call or write to us. We'll tell you what you need: VAT registration in whichever country, OSS and IOSS, EPR, US sales tax or your store's accounting. No obligation.