Up until March 2017, it wasn’t illegal for French businesses to scan paper invoices from suppliers, but they could not use the resulting electronic image to support deduction of value added tax (VAT) paid on the invoice. This led many companies to store the same invoice multiple times – the electronic image for business convenience and the paper document for tax compliance.

However, with the entry into force of a new secondary law, there are now clear conditions and processes to digitise paper invoices. If the process for conversion fulfills the new legal requirements, the paper original can be discarded and the taxpayer can rely solely on the scanned copy for tax purposes. A compliant scanning process must meet, inter alia, the following requirements:

• The scanning must be performed under stringent and well-documented internal processes and controls.
• The graphical digitalisation of the paper original must be an exact representation of the original (colors included).
• The resulting file must be in PDF or PDF/A-3 format.
• The resulting file must contain a specific type of electronic signature.
• Every file must be individually time-stamped.

As a result of this change in legislation, TrustWeaver has seen a significant demand for electronically signing scanned invoices. To meet this demand, Trustweaver launched a new service called “Sign-What-You-Scan”. This dedicated solution comprises the signing and time-stamping of the scanned invoice with an e-signature and time-stamp that meets French legal requirements.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch with them at [email protected] or contact them here.

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