Appoint the tax agent who will carry your French TVA obligations from the European Union in 2026

Tax mandate and accredited tax representation, an essential distinction

The Code général des impôts distinguishes two figures. Accredited tax representation under article 289 A, which is mandatory for taxable persons established outside the European Union, makes the representative jointly and severally liable with the taxable person for the payment of TVA. Only firms on the official list of DGFiP-accredited Tax Representatives may perform this role. The tax mandate, on the other hand, falls under the general law of representation (articles 1984 et seq. of the Civil Code) and the electronic power-of-attorney authorisation on impots.gouv.fr. The tax agent acts in the name and on behalf of the taxable person, without joint-and-several liability on the tax, save for specific contractual clauses.

For taxable persons established in another EU Member State, French law does not require a tax representative. The company may register directly for French TVA, open a professional account on impots.gouv.fr via a power of attorney from the legal representative, and file its returns itself. Appointing a French tax agent is therefore a matter of opportunity: simplifying communication with the SIEE in Noisy-le-Grand, benefiting from a French address to receive administrative mail, having a French-speaking point of contact who responds to requests for documents, and securing the preparation of CA3, DEB, DES and CA12 returns.

The applicable texts: Directive 2006/112/EC articles 204 to 205 (representation regime), article 289 A of the CGI (appointment of a representative for non-EU persons), article 286 ter of the CGI (registration), BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-30 (practical details). The BOFIP (Bulletin officiel des Finances Publiques) documentation specifies that appointing a representative, when not mandatory, remains possible on an optional basis.

Company profiles and typical use cases

Any company established in an EU Member State that carries out transactions subject to French TVA in France may use a tax agent. The most common situations include German, Italian or Spanish taxable persons selling goods in France with local stock, Dutch or Irish providers invoicing B2C services subject to French TVA, Luxembourg or Belgian e-commerce operators with FBA warehouses on French soil, Polish or Czech construction companies working on French sites with subcontracting reverse-charge, or digital platforms acting as facilitator within the meaning of article 14a of the directive.

An agent is also relevant when an EU company must jointly manage a French registration, an OSS or IOSS one-stop shop, and DEB and EMEBI flows, because a single point of contact saves considerable coordination time and limits the risk of inconsistency between returns.

Companies that forgo an agent bear in exchange the linguistic burden of exchanges with the French authorities (all official correspondence is in French), the documentary monitoring of changes in CERFA forms, and the direct handling of document requests which may land on an unsuited switchboard.

Services of a tax agent for EU taxable persons

The agent operates on a scope close to the accredited representative, without the joint-and-several guarantee. Seven services make up the engagement.

• French TVA registration of the EU taxable person, filing of the EE0 form (or equivalent digital form) with the SIEE in Noisy-le-Grand, obtaining the French intra-EU TVA number FRXX000000000, opening of the professional area on impots.gouv.fr.
• Setting up the electronic power of attorney from the taxable person's legal representative to the agent, to authorise the filing of returns and the management of online payments.
• Preparation of periodic returns: monthly or quarterly CA3, annual CA12 for filers under the simplified regime, TVA annexes, 3310-NOT TVA returns and monitoring tables provided to the authorities.
• Preparation of exchange returns: DEB EMEBI on intra-EU movements of goods, DES on intra-community supplies of services, coordination with OSS or IOSS returns where applicable.
• Payments management: SEPA direct debits from the taxable person's French account, transfers to the DGFiP, monitoring of instalments and tax notices.
• Administrative dialogue: response to document requests from the SIEE, handling of on-site or desk audits, negotiation of deadlines, support during an ordinary tax audit.
• Claims and refund requests: non-offsettable TVA credit, monthly or quarterly refund, contentious claims within the statutory deadline (second anniversary of the collection notice).

Deliverables include the mandate agreement, the power of attorney registered on impots.gouv.fr, the registration kit, the filed returns, tax notices and receipts, a quarterly case dashboard, and the annual closing report. The mandate can be terminated at any time, with a standard contractual notice period of 30 to 90 days.

Added value of the agent by type of transaction

The chart below summarises, on six axes, the perceived added value of a French tax agent compared with direct management from abroad, according to the type of transaction. The values, aggregated from user feedback, help arbitrate between outsourcing and in-house management based on the business profile.

Criteria for choosing your tax agent

Four criteria shape the decision. First, the quality of the interface with the SIEE in Noisy-le-Grand. The Service des Impôts des Entreprises Étrangères handles the vast majority of non-established EU taxable persons. An agent who knows its contacts, its standard turnaround times and its documentary requirements speeds up any registration or refund request.

Second, multi-office language coverage. Many EU companies run centralised tax functions in Germany, the Netherlands or Poland. An agent able to communicate in German, English, Dutch and Polish handles most exchanges without the need for a translator.

Third, the ability to pilot the full chain: registration, CA3, DEB, DES, OSS, IOSS, foreign TVA recovery. The best agents integrate these services in a single offer with volume-based tiered pricing, avoiding fragmentation across several providers.

Fourth, the legal robustness of the mandate. The agreement must precisely define the scope, deliverables, deadlines, responsibilities, termination clause, professional indemnity insurance requirement (minimum 1 million euros recommended) and the fate of client data. A vague mandate exposes the taxable person to service default without clear remedy.

Comparative analysis and field feedback

Three families share the market. DGFiP-accredited firms (Fiscal Partner, Fiscal Connexion, Experts TVA, Accréditéco, Authorized Tax Representative, TEVEA International, SARF, Sarf Azur, Financière Accréditée, La Représentation Fiscale, GPB Accrédité, Honoré Patrimoine) offer the mandate as a natural extension of their activity. For the EU taxable person, choosing an accredited firm brings the same documentary rigour as for non-EU cases, even though the joint-and-several guarantee is not legally required. Integrated tax firms (PwC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte, Fidal, Taj) provide deeper legal coverage, useful for groups with complex flows or in restructuring. International pure-players (Avalara, Vertex, PwC Managed Services, TMF Group) invest heavily in return-filing tooling and charge on a subscription basis, but their audit support capacity varies across local teams.

Field feedback highlights three success factors: signing a precise agreement from registration onwards, setting up an annual calendar shared between the taxable person and the agent (CA3, DEB, DES, OSS filings, year-end), and designating a single point of contact on the client side to avoid scattered exchanges. Conversely, typical mistakes include confusing mandate with joint-and-several representation (which leads to neglecting the agent's contractual liability), the agent's under-investment in EDI filing tools, and using a generalist agent unable to handle a high-volume DEB or an OSS file.

An EU company that internalises its French tax function generally dedicates the equivalent of half a full-time employee for moderate flow; outsourcing via an agent can bring this down to a quarter of an FTE while securing timely filings.

Fee ranges observed in 2026

Fees vary widely depending on scope. A registration alone, without recurring follow-up, is charged between 800 and 1,500 euros excluding tax. A monthly retainer covering maintained registration, monthly CA3 and standard SIEE support lies between 250 and 600 euros excluding tax per month. When the retainer includes DEB and DES, it rises to 450 to 1,200 euros excluding tax per month depending on the number of lines. Complex cases (B2C intra-EU e-commerce, construction subcontracting, multi-site stock) range between 1,500 and 3,500 euros excluding tax per month.

Ad-hoc services are added on top of the retainer: response to a tax audit (on a time-spent basis, 220 to 380 euros excluding tax per hour), regularisation over prior years (flat fee of 1,500 to 6,000 euros excluding tax depending on the depth), TVA credit refund requests (flat fee of 350 to 900 euros excluding tax per request). A serious quote specifies the DEB and DES line volume covered, the number of document requests included, the terms for exiting the contract and the costs associated with bringing the file back in-house.