Finance Act 2021, what’s new for Transport and Logistics companies

Article 44 – VAT and tax measures

• The composite VAT offer concerns a supplier or service provider that offers several products or services of goods and services for a single price. These offers raise several questions to determine the (often different) applicable VAT rate. The French Finance Act mainly standardizes the VAT regime applicable to these transactions by recasting numerous provisions of the French General Tax Code (CGI).
• On the other hand, certain provisions allowing the reduced rate to be applied to commissions, brokerage or ways of dealing with goods whose delivery benefits from the reduced rate are abolished.
• The reduced rate of 10% shall apply to supplies of products of agricultural, fishing, fish and poultry farming origin which have not undergone any processing and which are normally intended for use in the preparation of foodstuffs or in agricultural production. Intra-Community acquisitions and imports are subject to the rate laid down for the supply of the same goods. This provision applies from 1 January 2021.

Article 46 – Screening tests and vaccines

Article 46 of the French Finance Act 2021 provides for VAT at a rate of 0% with respect to supplies and closely related services relating to vaccines against covid-19 with a national or European marketing authorization or in vitro diagnostic medical devices of covid-19 (from October 15, 2020 to December 31, 2022).

Article 51 – Electronic commerce

The entry into force of the reform of VAT rules for e-commerce is postponed from January 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021.

Article 195 – Electronic invoicing

The 2020 finance law had set up the generalization of electronic invoicing. The timetable is as follows: 2023 – obligation to accept receipt of electronic invoices for all companies and between 2023 and 2025, depending on the size of the company, obligation to issue invoices in electronic form. Finally, the 2021 finance law specifies that this reform may be carried out by means of an ordinance (in order to generalize the use of electronic invoicing).

Article 68 – Late payment interest rate

In the event of non-payment of tax, the tax authorities apply late payment interest on the amounts due. Since 2018, the rate applied in this situation has been halved to 0.20% per month. This measure was due to end on December 31, 2020, but the 2021 Finance Act finally made it permanent.

Articles 160, 161 – Payment and Collection of Debts

Articles 160 and 161 of the Finance Act 2021 make various amendments aimed at harmonizing the procedures for the forced recovery of public debts.

Article 170 – Fines

Two new cases of fines, one first class (for 2022) and the other third class: fine for failure to communicate information for import VAT and fine for fraudulent visa of the tax-free slip.

Article 178 – Prescription of special rights and persons liable for payment of fees

Modification of the statute of limitations of the special rights of the administration and of the debtors (time limits for the assumption of the customs debt).

Consult all the articles of the finance law 2021.