The tax representative is responsible for compliance with VAT tax obligations for transactions carried out in France (Member State of identification) by the trader he represents. He must then be able to present to the tax authorities the invoices and the accounts of the represented company.
He is required to complete the legal and regulatory formalities and, in the case of taxable transactions, to pay the tax payable. He is held jointly and severally liable for the declaration and payment of VAT by the represented trader. He may therefore, if necessary, be called in solidarity of payment.
Traders are free to choose their tax representative from among the VAT taxable persons established in France. Tax representatives must be provided with an administrative organisation as well as sufficient human and material resources to carry out their representation activities. They must also prove their financial solvency and their tax morality.
The written designation must be made by the legal representative of the represented company and include the following information:
Once appointed, the tax representative must be accredited by the corporate tax service (SIE) to which he belongs. He must then attach the written designation accompanied by the following documents:
If necessary, the accreditation department may ask the tax representative to provide additional documents to prove its solvency.
The EIS shall notify the tax representative in writing of the granting of accreditation or of the reasoned refusal to issue.
After registration, the business tax service (SIE) to which the tax representative belongs, assigns the represented operator a VAT identification number. The tax representative can then use this number assigned to the operator to report the transactions carried out.
Tax representation in France is an extremely supervised activity.
Cosmopolite is present in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and has sales offices in the United Kingdom and the United States. Cosmopolite serves more than 300 of the world’s leading clients in 29 countries.