GlossaryTax
What is the VAT reverse charge (autoliquidation) in France?
The VAT reverse charge (autoliquidation) shifts the obligation to declare VAT onto the customer: the supplier invoices net of VAT, and the buyer charges and deducts the tax on their own return. It applies mainly to intra-EU purchases, construction subcontracting, and import VAT.
In practice, in France
Three situations trigger it mainly: intra-EU acquisitions of goods and services from a taxable person in another member state, subcontracting in the construction sector, and import VAT, which is now handled directly on the VAT return rather than at customs.
The cash-flow effect is the real point. Under the reverse charge, VAT is charged and deducted on the same return, so the operation is cash-neutral. That is exactly what extending the reverse charge to import VAT delivered for importers — they no longer advance the tax at the border.
The invoice must carry the reverse-charge mention. Its absence is not a minor formality: it weakens the treatment on the customer’s side.
In Odoo
The reverse charge is driven by fiscal positions, which substitute the right accounts and taxes based on the partner’s country and status. Correctly configured, it generates the two symmetrical entries without manual intervention.
What breaks the mechanism is always upstream: a partner without a valid VAT number, or attached to the wrong country.
Common mistakes
- Charging VAT on an operation that should be reverse-charged, or the other way round.
- Omitting the mandatory mention on the invoice.
- Assuming the operation has no impact because it is cash-neutral: it still has to appear on the return, in the right boxes.
These definitions are for guidance and do not replace professional advice. Each entry carries its last-updated date. Filing deadlines are not listed here: they change every year and live in the tax calendar.