France
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Ask the Experts: Camille Cruz Nogueira
French Accounting Expert
Camille has been helping International entrepreneurs set-up new business within France & the UK for the last 15 years. With an educational & working knowledge of both the French and English systems, camille's company SEDI is able to offer expert advice and guidance on company formations, payroll, financial and administrative services. SEDI's portfolio of clients is 100% international and has allowed her to built up vast experiences throughout very different legal, tax and social cases in Ireland, UK and France.
www.sedigroup.com/pg_site/acc/frameset.htm
33 (0)1 34 05 07 71
Hi Camille How are you? I have decided the only way to progress my career and my new company is to start networking. I hope it is you that gets this message and not another employee. Are you still involved with APS? Have you been to the UK recently? Sorry thats 3 questions! Very best wishes Simon (Parry) Question from Simon Parry on 21/11/2011
Camille says:
Hello Simon ! What a surprise to have some news from you via startupoverseas ! Yes, we are still envolved with APS but only for payroll & social issues. Regarding the audit of accounts they are now liaising only with Sébastien, our partner Chartered accountant. Regarding the UK, yes, i am still going to London for a few days either every 2 months or every month... always on a regular basis as i follow quite a few clients over there which is good to update and increase my practice of accounts in the UK !!! I will be next on the 29th & 30th of Novembre 2011.
I am very happy to get some news from you! What about your family ? and How are you coping with your new job ? I hope you get more involvements from the managing team than with APS...
My mobile number is still the same 00 33 6 85 40 06 42 and SEDI telephone number in France is still 00 33 1 34 05 07 71 , and in the UK 0203 427 5251. We'll have soon a new website, so when you will miss too much french lunch or diner do not hesitate to look at it from December ... We have inserted nice pictures !
Hope to get some news soon, camillesedi@cegetel.net
Cheers !!!!
Camillethis website is real or fake? http://www.buyluxuryclothing.com Question from jioca jioca on 13/11/2011
Camille says:
This website is real so do not hesitate to contact us via Startup overseas or directly to sedigroup@aol.com Attn Camille
Have a nice day,
Camillecan i live in monaco i come from kosovo but i like to live in monaco so can you tell me how needs to whait for the pasport of monaco Question from arbnor januzi on 23/10/2011
Camille says:
I am sorry but France & UK are very different from Monaco. You need to search for a contact based in Monaco to help you with it.
Best regards
CamilleDear Camille, Im currently a resident in Monaco, but have been approached by a UK company to work for them, Im not interested in moving to the UK, but i would be very interested to work for that particular company ! Therefore my question to you is, - Can i set up a Consultancy company in Monaco, and work from here if they agree to do so. - Where will I be tax liable ? - Will the UK company still have to pay UK tax on my Conslutancy fee ? or will it be up to me to report it to monaco and thereby no tax will have to be paid ? - How many days will i be allowed in the UK per year with this set up ? - Whats the timeline to get a Consultancy company up running in Monaco. - for this particular set up, will there be any off-shore places where it would be beneficial to set up a consultancy company and then still live in Monaco Looking forward to your reply All the best Klaus Question from Klaus Sorensen on 13/10/2011
Camille says:
Dear Klaus,
Tax rules in Monaco are very specific. To benefit from free taxes in Monaco, you need to live there but not generate profits over there. If this is not the case, you will be submitted to tax rates applicable in Monaco for companies. I am quite experimented for France & the UK, however MONACO is considered different from France especially on Tax aspects. It would be better that you find an expert for Monaco : Chartered accountant or lawyer based in Monaco.
Wishing you good luck in your project,
With our best regards
CamilleDear Ms. Camille, We have a chocolate bar franchise business out of Bahrain and have been approched by a party to take the franchise rights for France. One issue they noted was the high tax imposed on them for importing the chocolate from Bahrain and additional taxation on the sales. As such they are imposing serious reductions in the royalty fees. Can you kindly advise what tax will be applied for importing chocolate of 100 to 200 kg monthly from Bahrain to France and, what tax is imposed on the sales and turnover of the operations. Your assistance will be highly appreciated. Thanking you and best regards Sonya Question from Sonya Janahi on 03/10/2011
Camille says:
Dear Sonya,
To get confirmation about eventual customs duties rights to be paid to the Customs when importing chocolate, can you give me details concerning what type of chocolate you are talking about. Is the product finished, ready to sell or will it be transformed in France. I can also send to you various free leaflets about having a company in France but you have not included your email address in your message and i can not send forms via startup overseas website.
I think the main concern will be in relation to Customs duties & vat, as when entering Europe , the import value is considered as the amount exc VAT . VAT in France is 19.6 %. You can then as a business get a vat number in France and get reimbursement on vat on your purchases on a quaterly basis. Sales generated in France will be submitted to VAT at 19.6 % as well. VAT rules are very specific so we'll have to go through each case to analyse how to manage VAT in various cases. All companies and individuals are submitted to VAT in Europe.Only companies registered to VAT can recover vat on purchases.
Waiting to get another email from you in order i can send some more information about having a company in France.
Best regards
CamilleDear Camille, My husband and I want to start our own seperate businesses in France. He wants to start a small bakery/patisserie with a Salon de the and I want to do bed and breakfast with a small shop. We want to start as a micro enterprises as we cannot really state at this point the exact turnover and it is always good to start small. Could you please tell us if this is possible? We may start at different dates? Could you also indicate the amount we would have to pay as a fixed tax/social charge? We also wanted to know if there were any business loans available for small businesses here in France. In the U.K.it is is always possible to get business loans as we have a good track record with our U.K. banks. Question from harpal pollard on 30/08/2011
Camille says:
Dear Madam,
To set up a Bed & Breafast activity, youc an certainly get subsidies from the Ministere of tourism in France. Have you got already a property in France ? The French Tourist board & "Gites de France" are very much involved in the growing activity in France.
Regarding the project of your husband, i think it very necessary for him to start first by working in a "Boulangerie/Patisserie" in France to become familiar with the french way to manage such a demanding activity. Maybe on a commercial point of view it would be more efficient to buy an existing business much more than starting up a new one from scratch in order you can have a proper idea about profits & turnover from start. Locan Chamber of commerce are really demanding in new investments in french regions. Maybe the Franco-british chamber of Commerce in Paris could be of some help as they have local offices outside of Paris in regions. Give me a call at SEDI 00 33 1 34 05 07 71 if you wish that i give you some more contact details and telephone numbers to go further into your project.
Best regards
CamilleHi Camille I am an Installations Manager working for a major manufacturer of Point of Sale Units. We have had various requests to supply and install our equipment into various reatilers throughout France. In order to aid this we need to expand our installations department into France with warehouse facilities attached. I have begun my search by investigating properties suited to our needs but i am required to pitch my plan on how to achieve this to the board of directors. Can you assist me with details around the business rates, labour rates, electricity costs all of which i am finding difficult to obtain. Your help will be greatly appreciated as i am no way experienced with this Regards Question from Richard Summerton on 25/08/2011
Camille says:
Dear Sir,
Off course we can help preparing business plan, and even help you being supported by the French development agencies to find warehouse facilities at a better price. We are well introduced with Paris development region and with Val D'oise. We have connections with Reims region and with Lyon; Where about do you wish to establish your branch or subsidiary ?
We have lots of leaflets in english we could send to you under PDF formats but i have no email address to contact you. Please give us a call at 00 33 1 34 05 07 71 or email me direct to camillesedi@cegetel.net.
Thanks for your questions,
Best regards
CamilleMy wife is looking to set up a small business teaching shildren english through music and play. She is looking to apply to be an auto-entrepenuer. My question is that she needs public liability insurance and we do not know where to get this? Can you help please Question from Richard Coote on 16/08/2011
Camille says:
Dear Sir,
I suppose your wife wants to get established as an autoentrepreneur in France. You can get a quotation for public Liability Insurance from any Insurance broker. I do advise AXA. We are currently working wit AXA in Boulogne, Paris and we have a contact overthere who speaks english. I do emphasize the fact that she needs to be registered 1st as an autoentrepreneur, and she needs to be able to justify her qualification to get this Insurance regarding teaching children.
If you wish to get the name and telephone number of our broker in Boulogne, do not hesitate to contact me at SEDI.
Best regards
CamilleHi, we are looking to run courses from our home in France and would like to know what the tax implications are.We currently run a business in the UK and would like to use this to promote the courses in both UK and France. This would mean being able to receive payments in either country. The courses would be all day affairs with lunch etc and limited to say 6 to 8 people at a time and would be held two or maybe three times a month. We would not be carrying out any other business activity from our french address. Question from Rik Newell on 24/07/2011
Camille says:
If you are working from your home in France and running courses there, then on a tax point of view, you are generating added value from France and then you are entittled to declare your turn over and costs in France for your french activity. To be able to do this, you have to set up either a branch of your UK company or a subsidiary or to declare yourself under your private name as an autoentrepreneur or self employed person...but what is clear is that the French Tax Office is requiring that any commercial activity taking place in France is declared & taxed in France ... even more if your residency is in France. Ref Convention de Rome 1980.
Let me know if you wish to receive any information about the SARL structure, the branch structure or the autoentrepreneur structure by emailing us via sedigroup@aol.com
Thanks & best regards
CamilleCamille, I am set up as a UK sole trader with no employees . My business is hiring out mountain bikes through internet bookings taken in GBP on a UK website. I would like to expand into the French Alps. 1) do i need to register for anything in France 2) do you have any other tips? Many Thanks Question from nick gowan on 06/06/2011
Camille says:
Good afternoon,
Yes, to be able to provide the same services in France, you need to have a french company in France or a branch, who has a french vat number because you will generate a turn over in France and most of these services are for individuals. Will you provide the mountain bikes yourself or would you subcontract with any local company to provide the mountain bikes. If so, then it is not compulsory to establish your own entity in France, as your subcontractor will be already a french company dealing with the client and your subcontractor will raise invoices to yourselves for services provided.
But keep in mind you will have to invoice your client with french vat as it is a local french service rendered and to be able to do so, you will have at least to register your company for VAT in France. Give me more details about how do you wish to organise your services from A to Z in order i can give you the most accurate answer on this.
With our best regards
CamilleDear Camille, I found your details after registering through Startup Overseas website. I am based in the UK and I am in the process of setting up an recruitment company. The nature of the business is such that I deal with clients and candidates who are based all over the world and therefore the majority of the work I do is via email and telephone. I am yet to register my company in the UK as I am yet to begin trading and I am also exploring opportunities of registering elsewhere in the world. Are there opportunities for small business owners to set up in Monaco? If so, is there any advice that you can offer. Best regards Tom Arnold Question from Tom Arnold on 22/04/2011
Camille says:
Sorry Tom, I have no specific qualification or experience in Monanco.
Best regards
Camillehello emploi commercial ? Sir Madam I have experience of sales and retail products and marketing, customer service, I have ideas, talents and ambitions extend to you my request about the job of project management, sales, marketing and service products and customers Ask your attention to my request and help me to get the best business Waiting for the answer Thank you mr:driss Question from DRISS BRHIR on 22/03/2011
Camille says:
Hello Driss,
Sorry, but we are not currently recruiting any additional employees.
Good luck for your research,
Best regards
CamilleWe are US based company working in service industry doing customer support. We are looking for our business expansion in European market. Expansion will be by appointing agents and sharing revenue in some cases, We will be charging a nominal amount against the agent membership. What legal registration, tax liabilities etc are required before starting this. Please reply to linuxgpl@gmail.com Question from Amit Sharma on 16/03/2011
Camille says:
Dear Sir, Dear Madam,
Regarding your business expansion in France through agents, you can directly contract with them if they are fully registered in France without establishing yourself a new company / subsidiary in France. You just need to be aware that regulations are very specific in France regarding notice periods and financial involvements even to agents so get all the information before signing with agents and be very precise when contracting with them. Liabilities are less important than when recruiting employees in France. If you wish to appoint your own agents through an employment contract, your agents will be submitted to french Labour Law. Then we'll have to register your company as a French employer and issue payroll on a monthly basis. Contact me directly to analyse more preciselly your project and prepare wage simulations.
With our best regards
Camille CRUZ NOGUEIRA
SEDIHello Camille, My husband and I are both independant IT consultants working in SAP, in the UK we had our own limited company. We have now moved our family to France, but could in theory work on contracts anywhere in Europe. We know we have to trnasfer our company to France but we do not know which is the best way to set ourselves up. Please could you advise us? Question from georgina mcgill on 13/03/2011
Camille says:
Dear Madam,
To transfer a UK Company to France is impossible technically as regulations are not the same at all and Companies House are not connected one to the other. You need to find out what is the best legal structure for your activity from France : Auto entrepreneur, self employed, SARL...then you need to get yourselves registered properly. On the UK side, either you think you may have some needs to keep this company and you declare it dormant with the Companies House, or you require your UK company to be stroken off from the register. Form DS01.
For choosing the best legal status for you i need more information than just a quick email as i have to know how you wish to protect also your own properties and to know what is your current status with Sécurité Sociale in France for you and your children.
Do not hesitate to contact us by phone or to sedigroup@aol.com
With our best regards
CamilleDear Camille, our UK business wants to open a stock in France in order to serve French customers on next day delivery. All invoicing , accounts... would be done from UK and our French company will have a single employee with a French contract. The UK company will pay a monthly fee to cover the French overheads+staffing costs. I have 2 questions: 1/ what is the minimum profit the french structure must make to stay out of trouble? (first year can deficit be allowed? what is reasonnable after 3 years?). We want to do a maximum of profit from UK. 2/ How does VAT apply. All our customers are EU VAT registered . If we invoice from UK but ship from France, can we still invoice without VAT as long as our customer has a valid VAT number? Thanks in advance. Bastien Peyronnel Question from Bastien Peyronnel on 01/11/2010
Camille says:
Dear Sir,
As your email is quite old now, i suppose you obtained your answer by now, but in case not .... :
If your UK company wants to open a stock in France, it has to get VAT registered in France as a non resident company.
Products being sold and sent from the UK are depending upon distance selling rules and limits in terms of VAT if not relating to EU transactions being taxed at 0% of VAT.
Then, for the products being delivered from your french stock to France :
Either your deliver individuals without VAT number , and then you have to invoice them with French VAT being 19.6 % for normal rate - but i do not know what types of products you are selling so this will have to be checked. If you are selling to companies being registered with french VAT from your french stock you can invoice as well without vat AS PER ARTICLE 283-1of the CODE GENERAL DES IMPOTS. Sales not subject to vat but products sold out via your stock in France have to be declared line 7A on your monthly VAT return.
Hoping it will help, even if late,
SEDI can also be appointd VAT agent for foreign companies, so do not hesitate to contact us dircetly if necessary at sedigroup@aol.com.
Camille CRUZ NOGUEIRAHello Camille, I am setting up a marketing company this autumn in the UK and then operating in a French ski resort for the Winter. My reasons are as follows; I have been told that as a Brit it is a lot easier to do so than set up a French company. My French is not very good. I have easy access to start up funding in the UK and i also plan on operating in the UK outwith the ski season. I have met with a couple of start up advisors who have told me that it is all possible but they dont know the inns and outs of it all. Does a British company need any special permission to operate in France, e.g. does it need to be registered with anyone such as the local mayor or the equivalent of HMRC? Also, i believe that a proportion of my taxes must be paid in the both the uk and also in France. How do i find out more information about this. thank you. Andy Question from Andy Jamieson on 07/06/2010
Camille says:
Dear Andy,
If you provide intellectual services from the UK when working with France, no problem youc an do it from your UK company and invoice from your UK Company. But if physically you operate from France during the winter being there yourself, you need to be registered in France for your french activity . You can get registered as an autoentrepreneur if your turnover is not too high. Not as a self employed as i presume you are a UK resident in terms of country where you pay your income tax. You will have to declare through your self assessment in the UK how much you received as a foreign income in France and if you pay income tax at source in France, you can indicate it on the UK side in order not to be taxed twice. It have not occured to me at this stage that being non french resident is raising a problem when registering as an autoentrepreneur. If this is the case, you will have to establish a small Limited Liability company in France : SARL /EURL that will report under a simplified scheme in terms of profits & corporation tax.
For more details and to go ahead please contact us directly,
With our best regards
Camille sedigroup@aol.comCamille, I am doing a report for my school on starting up a business in France. One of the main issues I am dealing with is attempting to find financing, for my company. The company is a Doggy Bakery. This is all Hypothetical of course but I am needing two separate financial institutions who would be willing to provide financing for a business such as this. Any help even just two banks with a specialty in helping small businesses start up in France. Anything you can help me with, would be so helpfully! Thank you very much! Kyle Shaughnessy AwesomeKyle82@yahoo.com Question from Kyle Shaughnessy on 04/06/2010
Camille says:
Hello Kyle,
I know my answer is arriving quite late, but i suppose you have discovered that it is not so easy to get financing in France when setting up a new business, except when you are unemployed for quite a long time, or when you are setting up a business in specific sector of activities that are attractive for development agencies in terms of jobs creation & employment. Check any bank such as Credit Lyonnais, Credit Agricole, BNP.... finally what did you wrote in your school report ?
Good luck for the future,
CamilleGood afternoon Camille, We are a major grower of fresh produce from South Africa and have had our main European office based in the UK for the last 25 years. We currently have two members of staff (French nationality)who sell 25% of our goods into Fench Supermarkets/wholesalers from here in the UK. We would like to expand our operations in Paris but the UK company would like to control all invoicing/payments/management accounts etc from the UK. The staff would like to work and be paid in euros but also still qualify for French Social Security etc. We are very confused what steps to take. We want to allow them to work in France but still control all activities from the UK. Any advise would be greatly appreciated Regards Question from Anonymous on 08/01/2010
Camille says:
Dear Sir, Dear Madam,
Thank you for your email
In this context,
EITHER your employees are only representatives, and not fully autonom regarding the negociation of prices & volume with potential clients & existing clients and, then we can register them under the french system as employees called "RFE" = representatives of Foreign Companies, but you will have to accept that they are staying your employees with a French contract and with french social contributions to be paid
OR, your two employees are really sales people negociating themselves prices, volume & organising transport without a high reporting level to your UK entity, and in this case, the french tax office really requires a stable establishment to be registered as a branch of your UK parent company. It means also that you can still invoice the clients from the UK directly, but a percentage of the sales will have to be re-allocated to your french branch to constitute the turn over generated in France. This percentage will have to really represent the part of the work done in France, and in case of a control you will have to be able to show a formal agreement written between France & the UK, explaining the way the calculation is done. If this percentage is too low, they may recalculate themselves based on the UK invoices directly. If the calculation and justification is fair, you will have no problem even if you have a profit & Loss being without any profit. In the case of a branch, french bookeeping has to be put in place, as well as french vat returns.
Do not hesitate to give us a call 00 33 1 34 05 07 71or to email us directly to camillesedi@cegetel.net, if you wish we send to you relevant documentation in english about one of these status or both status.
Keep us informed,
CamilleHi, A simple question that I expect warrants a trying answer: is bureaucracy in France really as bad as I've heard? Any tips avoid the avoidable? Thanks so much, Steve Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Hello Steve,
The complicated side of France comes from the fact we have a written Law, and everything seems to be regulated from a UK point of view. During the post years, national organizations have improved a lot their communication tools via internet, and even provide presentations in english !
For exemple, regarding pension schemes, we have roughly 6 different ones depending upon your professional statute ( self employed / sole trader / employees / Director / civil servants ...). You have mainly one kind of pension scheme you can set up with financial advisers whatever is your statute.
You will find website like www.impots.gouv.fr, or www.urssaf.fr, or even our website www.sedigroup.com very friendly to english speaking people !
Just keep in mind that you need to be informed about rules before going ahead and everything will go smoothly.
Best regards
Camille CRUZ NOGUEIRA
SEDI
Hi Camille If you purchase an existing French business do you have to re-register the business as a new business or can you just change the business owner details? Thank you. Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Sir,
No need to re-register the business, but be certain that all legal documents have been drafted by a lawyer / Avocat or by a Notaire . Check in advance that VAT returns are updated with the Tax Office, and that financial statements are duly filed with the Companies House. I even advise that you require from the past owner that he deals with the update of legal papers before you finish to pay the amount agreed. It is quite complicated to amend legal documents in France & costly : Minutes, Amendment of the Memo & Art, Legal advert, & form M2 to be filed with the French Companies House ( greffe).
If you need any help, do not hesitate to give me a call 00 33 1 34 05 07 71,
Camille
Hi, I am a sole-trader with an online business producing music backing tracks (working from home). I am re-locating to France, but am confused as to the implications this has for my business which I will be continuing. Although my client-base is international, most of my customers are British. My prices are displayed in GBP, and money is paid to my bank in GBP. I'm not sure what, if any, changes I need to make to my business as the only real change is where I will be located. Any advice would be much appreciated, as I can only find info on starting up a brand new business overseas, rather than relocating the base of an existing business. Many thanks! Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Sir,
If your activity will take place in France, the income generated by your work should be subject to French taxes ( EU Tax laws). Then, your UK sole trader legal status is no more valid, and you should register either as a sole trader in France, or set up a small company in France, or even register as an autoentrepreneur which is a brand new status depending upon the turn over you are generating per year.
If you come back to the UK on a regular basis and can prove you still have anactivity in the UK, you may keep your registration in the UK, but you need at least to declare to the Inland revenue that you transfer your activity to France and up to which date.
If your move to France is definitive, no choice than my first advice about registering a french legal structure. Our partner Chartered Accountant is more specialised than me in sole trader. I have more experience in incorporation and financial follow up / social follow up of companies. If you wish to speak with him, do not hesitate to give me a call and i will give you his details. He is based in Central Paris.
Hope this will help,
Camille
Hi Camille I have heard of this new phrase Auto-Entrepreneur. What exactly does it mean? Thank you for your help. Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
The legal status of "auto-entrepreneur" is very similar to the one of "Entreprise Individuelle". Social contributions and taxes are at a fixed rate :
social contributions 12 % for a trading activity / 21.3 % for services providers /18.3 % for sole-traders activities
company taxes : EITHER added up to your taxable income to be submitted to the french income tax or being rated OR if the taxable income of your family is below a certain lever, the rate is fixed & based on the turn over : 1% for trading activities / 1.7% for services providers ( maximum CA 80 000 EUROS)/2.2% for other activities...
If no turn over, there is no social contributions or taxes due ...
Well, this legal status is interesting for small activities with a turn over below 100 000 euros & for individuals working alone. This status is not interesting for activities generating more than 100 000 euros, and aiming at recruiting employees or representants/subcontractors.
No legal separation between the family life and the professional activity as incomes are added together. If some money is due to suppliers, the family life is also directly concerned, as accounts payable are payable by the individual himself.
Do not hesitate to have a look at www.auto-entrepreneur.fr
Best regards
Camille
Hi- I work for a New York based company that wants to expand to Europe. Can you point me in the right direction as far as paperwork is concerned? Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Sir, Dear Madam,
How your company wishes to expand : by purchasing a European company ? by recruiting a european representant : agent / employee / contractual agreement with a sole-trader / distributor ???by setting up a liaison office, a branch or a subsidiary. ( Have you got a european manager able to be appointed legal director in France) ???
The Law is very different depending upon the choice done as well as legal papers required.
We can send you for free, some leaflets in english presenting these various options. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly by email. I will download them under PDF formats for your company. You can also go to our website where some of the leaflets are online. To get the updated one dated 2009, i need to have an email address to send them to you.
Best regards,
Camille
Dear Camille We are exhibiting at the “Now! Design à vivre” furniture Trade Fair at Paris Nord exhibition centre. They are charging VAT in their invoices. Could you please let me know about the procedures and how to recover the VAT. Thanks Colin Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Colin
VAT applications for refund can be send on a quarterly basis or on a yearly basis: all applications for year 2009 have to be submitted before the end of June 2010.
Be careful to gather together all original invoices, and check that all invoices are well raised to your company name and to your company address in the UK. Please check also that VAT amount are well indicated on the invoice.We can assist you in reclaiming your VAT. if you would like our assistance please get in contact.
Thanks
CamilleHi We need to buy and sell Gasoil Jet Fuel in the UK by the end of the month. The commodity will not move and will stay in UK. We are a French registered company with a EU VAT number in France. What needs to be done & can you do the procedure for us? Of course, we are ready to pay for this service. Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Hello
You have to be registered for VAT in the UK to be able to own goods in the UK, and to sell them from the UK. Please provide your KBIS (= certificate of incorporation in France) & the proof of registration to the French VAT. SEDI UK can be named as agent to comply with your VAT obligations.
Thank you to provide a Proforma invoice in order to speed up the process of registration with the HMRC, due to the VAT to be paid to yourself and refunded to the VAT office after the sale has occurred.i hope this helps, Camille
Hello Camille Your help will be great. We need information about the French VAT refunds. In fact, our application has totally been rejected because we are no longer submitted to the 8th directive because of French transactions relating to Article 283-1 of the French Tax Code. Therefore, we must register ourselves to French VAT with the Tax office for foreign companies. Our products are delivered from our offices in the UK to the warehouse located in Laval / France & then delivered to various French clients. If a client receives items from our own offices, should we invoice them with the British VAT, or with the French VAT ? Regards, Suzie Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Suzie
According to the rules within the EU, you have to justify the cross border of your goods between two European countries. If the products are delivered from the UK to France direct to a company registered to VAT in France, then you can invoice without any VAT relating to EU transfer of goods. If the products are delivered from the UK to private clients in France directly, you will have to invoice UK VAT up to a limit of 100 000 Euros of TO. If French individuals are delivered from your storage place in France , then the sales will be submitted to the French TVA. If clients being French companies registered to VAT in France are delivered from your French storage place, then no VAT will be invoiced as per ART 283/1, but these sales will have to be specifically declared on the French VAT form.
If you require any additional information with this please call me - 0033 1 34 05 07 71.
Regards, Camille
Dear Camille We have been told that we should do a sales list / Intrastats . What does it contain? Does it include the good value which has been sold and delivered in Laval? Does it include the good value sold to all our clients? Or only the good value delivered to private customers? Many Thanks inca Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Inca
Every month you should complete the sales list (DEB in French) & send it to your local office of Customs. SEDI can provide this service. The DEB gives details about intra-EU movements of goods entering or leaving France. Items entering in France from your British office should be reported.
Feel free to call me if your require assistance.
Many Thanks
Camille
Dear Camille I have a couple of questions I would greatly appreciate your help and advice with. We need to register TVA in France. As we have very limited French language capability we would like to appoint an agent. We have deductible VAT from our supplier in France. Supplies in France, correspond to roughly 70% of our sales. So the amount of VAT is considerably less. Our accounting software is Mamut which is hosted online. Can I set up a database on Mamut with French VAT rates? After our VAT registration, should we do a yearly declaration form (including the payable VAT for our transaction with clients and the receivable VAT on our own purchases in France)? Thankyou in advance, Mark R Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Hi
Thank you for the question.
You do not really need to set up an accounting system for foreign VAT. You can just use your actual book keeping software if it enables you to work multi-currency & with various different rates of VAT, as Quickbooks Pro does. We use Quickbooks Pro for our UK clients and we can manage various VAT registration through it. If too complicated, an excel spreadsheet will do.
Secondly, in France, as a non resident company (no stable establishments in France being either a branch or a subsidiary), you will have to submit a monthly VAT return and we should refer to correct reports from your internal accounting systems.
Please either send me your number or call me and I explain to you in more detail.
0033 1 34 05 07 71
Thank you, Camille
Hi Camille, We want to set up a SARL in France, a subsidiary of our UK business, within the next 10 days. We will put the minimum capital in from day 1 to incorporate the business. We will not be employing any staff initially, but using contractors. What do you need from me to start? many thanks,Chris Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Hi Chris
Thankyou for the question.
First of all, in France it takes more time than in UK to create a company – about 2 weeks from the receipt of all legal documents signed. We will be able to send you all incorporation documents in the middle of next week if you can send me the documents we need before next Tuesday. In France, you have to sign all legal documents and open a bank account before the incorporation to lodge your paid up capital first.
In order to draft memorandum and articles, we need:- A copy of passport for each directors & shareholders + a proof of home address (utility bills) Civil status of each one (married, single, divorced…)
- Proof of registered address for the new company or a domiciliation contract signed with us
- Affidavit signed by the legal Director(s)
- 50% of our fixed fee for the package of registration
- Certificate from the Bank justifying that the paid up capital has been lodged at the Bank
We advise you to put a minimum of 100€ but it really depends upon the type of business you wish to set up, and the type of financial expectations you have from Banks ( legal requirement 1 Euro). After fixing the amount, we need to know how many shares will be distributed to each shareholder to write it precisely in your French Memo & Arts.
If you use subcontractors & not produce yourself anything, we will register your company to the Companies House directly without going through the process of registration with the Chamber des “Métiers”. In France, Companies Houses are numerous because there is one existing per region, and not only one for the whole country like in the UK.I hope this helps. If you need qany additional information or you would like us to help you please call -
0033 1 34 05 07 71
Thanks,
Ian
Dear Camille We are a Japanese company which imports French and American paints in order to sell them in the gallery. We need to create a liaison office in Paris as soon as possible to transfer over there one of our employee. In order to lower the expenses, our company wants to rent a flat on my behalf. It will be both my office and my place of residence. I would like to know the conditions for registering a company because it seems too complicated for me. Could you help me please for the procedures? Best Regards, R. Ashton Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Robert
Some points must be clarified: First, I invite you to get an appointment with the French Embassy in Japan and bring to them a copy of your employment contract as well as a letter confirming your transfer to France. It has to refer to your motivation and your strong skills. You will need to obtain first a work permit for France & a visa. After getting these documents, we need a translated copy of your employment contract & letter confirming the transfer in French or in English. The Employment law requires that we inform French social bodies about any employees transferred to France even if not submitted to French payroll and French social contributions during the first year ( renewable).
I would appreciate if you could give me more details about your activity in France in order to advise your company about the best legal structure to go to on a tax point of view : resident or non resident activity.Please call me on 0033 1 34 05 07 71.
Camille
hello Camille Our company is based in the UK and plans to hire a French sales representative. He/she will be in charge of finding customers in France, but also in Belgium and North Africa. Could you give me more details about your services please regarding employment? Gary Question from Anonymous on 24/11/2009
Camille says:
Dear Gary
SEDI assists both in France and in the UK, foreign companies wishing to expand to France and to the UK (cross-boarding projects). We are able to help your company regarding this employment in France including drafting of work contracts, issuing monthly payrolls, issuing quaterly returns for social contributions & paying on your behalf, registering to corporate schemes such as pension, life insurance, income protection & health ; I think that the RFE status could be a solution for you. Actually, it enables you to recruit local representatives and begin a local presence on the French market at a slow pace before anticipating the setting up a a branch or subsidiary. We need to check first what will be exactly the responsibilities of your employees in France.
please send me your email address. You will receive by email our list of services, our corporate presentation and a leaflet about the RFE status.Kind Regards,
Camille
