Foreign artists temporarily assigned to work in France under a sales contract concluded with an ente

TVA (VALUE-ADDED TAX, OR SALES TAX)

Cultural, artistic, educational and recreational performances and presentations are taxable in France when they are physically presented.

Therefore the giving of a performance in France is subject to TVA, regardless of where the company giving the performance is based or the country where the contract is signed.

Companies based in foreign countries which produce all or part of a performance executed in France must pay TVA in France.
These foreign companies are obligated to carry out certain formalities.

Formerly, all foreign businesses required to pay TVA in France were obligated to designate a fiscal representative in France in charge of carrying out the required formalities and paying TVA for the foreign company.

On January 1, 2002 this obligation was eliminated for TVA payers from the European Union ; they are now obligated to present themselves directly to the French fiscal administration and pay the TVA which they owe.

On the other hand, companies that owe TVA which are not based in the European Union are still obligated to designate a fiscal representative.

Promoters from non-european community nations

Companies based in countries outside of the European Union are obligated to authorize a fiscal representative based in France who will undertake to carry out required formalities and pay TVA for the company.

This fiscal representative must be liable for TVA in France. The procedure is as follows :

1. The representative obtains an authorization by addressing a written request to the tax center where he resides, accompanied by a designation from the foreign company.
2. The representative carries out the formalities for registering the foreign company (form M O) at the representative’s tax center.
3. The tax center attributes a French TVA number to the foreign company. The representative uses this number to complete the foreign company’s TVA declarations (to be sent with payment to the tax center).

The representative is also obligated to issue bills on which it is specified that he is acting as the fiscal representative of the foreign company.

Nb > The fiscal representative is obligated to keep separate accounts and to file two TVA declarations, one for his own activities, and the other for the foreign company.

The representative is responsible for ensuring that the foreign company respects its TVA obligations for the totality of the activities which it executes in France (including for activities of which the representative may not be aware).

If the foreign company fails to designate a fiscal representative, then TVA and any penalties are owed by the French promoter who signed the contract.

Nb > The designation of a fiscal representative who will file TVA declarations gives foreign companies the right to deduct TVA from purchases made in France in the same conditions as companies based in France.

European promoters

European Community TVA payers must do the following :

• carry out formalities for registering for TVA in France in order to obtain a SIRET number and an intra-community TVA number in France from the tax center for non-residents ;

Nb > Inspection TVA (TVA Inspectorate) -  10 rue du Centre - 93160 Noisy-le-Grand Cedex - France Tel : (+33) 01 57 33 83 00

• file TVA declarations and payments at the tax center for non-residents.

Nb > If the activity is of a seasonal or exceptional nature, the declaration must be filed on or before the 24th of the month following the date of the activity.

Nevertheless, European Community TVA payers have the possibility of designating a proxy to carry out in the name of the company all or part of the required formalities.

Companies which designate a proxy must file the original copy of the mandate with the tax center for non-residents preliminary to undertaking any administrative procedures, as of January 1, 2002 (form provided by the tax center for non-residents ).

Unlike the fiscal representative system, the intervention of a proxy is under the sole responsibility of the TVA payer who designated the proxy.

Thus, in the case of a failure of the proxy to carry out all or part of the formalities for declaring and paying TVA for which he was mandated, the designating European Community company is responsible for these formalities. Whereas in the case of a failure to designate a fiscal representative, the French company must pay the TVA.

 

Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 June 2009 )