In France, should a tax audit need to take place, it is mandatory that all accounting data provided to the French tax administration is supplied via a yearly electronic file and under a very specific format with 18 fields. This file is called “Fichiers des Ecritures Comptables” (FEC).
The rule is very strict and since January 2017, it has been mandated that the FEC for the audited period should be given no later than 15 days after the notification of the audit.
Most of the time, multinational groups use a Shared Service Center abroad with a global accounting software provider, even for French local bookkeeping.
The difficulty is to provide within 15 days a 100% compliant FEC, accepted by the French authority, from an international accounting software provider.
As a consequence it is necessary to anticipate it and not wait until a potential tax audit to think about the best approach to prepare it.
We are at your entire disposal to explain the rules and to advice on how to prepare your French Fichier des Ecritures Comptables.
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Withholding tax in France for individuals
