The place of taxation for deliveries of tangible movable property is set by article 258 of the general tax code (CGI) and article 258 A of the CGI .

I. Deliveries of goods as they are, shipped or transported by the seller, by the buyer or on their behalf

The tax regime for goods delivered as is differs depending on whether or not they are located in France when they leave for the purchaser. In addition, in the case of importation, the situation differs depending on whether or not the delivery in France is carried out by the importer.

In addition, this regime is waived in the specific case of deliveries qualified as “distance sales” (on the concept of distance sales of goods, reference should be made to I § 20 to 60 of the BOI-TVA-CHAMP -10-10-40-60 ), for which the applicable territoriality rules are commented on in BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-20-30 . On the other hand, when one of the conditions relating to the distance selling regime and mentioned in I § 20 to 60 of BOI-TVA-CHAMP-10-10-40-60 is not met or, in the particular case of the application of the margin regimes ( I § 10 of BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-20-30 ), the rules of territoriality are those set out in § 1 and following .

A. Place of departure of the shipment or transport of the property located in France

When the goods are shipped or transported from France, the place of delivery is located in France regardless of the place of destination of the goods: France, third countries or territories, or other Member States, pursuant to a of I of article 258 of the CGI .

This is the case, in all cases, when the dispatch or transport is carried out by the purchaser or on his behalf.

The same applies when the dispatch or transport is carried out by the seller or on his behalf, subject to the application of the distance selling regime described in BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-20-30 .

This provision also concerns transfers assimilated to a delivery of goods pursuant to III of article 256 of the CGI .

Deliveries whose place is located in France can benefit from the exemptions provided for in particular in I of article 262 of the CGI and in I of article 262 ter of the CGI .

B. Place of departure of dispatch or transport of the goods located outside France and place of arrival located in France

1. Place of departure located in another Member State of the European Union

When the point of departure for dispatch or transport of the goods is in another Member State, the place of supply is located in that State.

This is the case, in all cases, when the dispatch or transport is carried out by the purchaser or on his behalf.

The same applies when the dispatch or transport is carried out by the seller or on his behalf, subject to the application of the distance sales regime set out in BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-20-30 .

2. Place of departure located outside the European Union

100

When the place of departure of the shipment or transport of the goods is outside the European Union (EU), the system differs depending on whether or not the delivery is made by the importer or on his behalf ( CGI, art. 258, V and CGI, art. 293 A c ). It is specified that pursuant to I of article 291 of the CGI , the importation of goods is subject to value added tax (VAT) when they pass through customs, subject to the cases of exemption provided for in II and III of article 291 of the CGI.

has. Delivery made by the importer or on his behalf

110

In accordance with the provisions of V of article 258 of the CGI , the place of delivery of a good dispatched or transported whose point of departure is outside the EU, is located in France when the delivery is made by the seller having opted to be liable for import VAT pursuant to article 293 A quarter of the CGI or on his behalf. For more details on the designation of the person liable for importation, please refer to II § 30 to 250 of BOI-TVA-DECLA-10-20 .

Note : It is recalled that the person liable for import VAT is not necessarily the person liable for import customs duties.

This is the case of the delivery of a good sent or transported from a third country or territory by a company which imports it into France and delivers it to its customer.

120

The same applies to deliveries relating to the same good and which follow that made by the importer, it being understood that the starting point of the good is always located outside the EU.

(130)

b. Delivery made by someone other than the importer

140

The place of a delivery, which relates to a good located outside the territory of the EU at the time of departure for the purchaser, is not located in France when this delivery is not made by the importer. . This is the case when the delivery of the goods has been made outside the EU or before customs clearance of the goods and the purchaser carries out the importation of the goods himself.

150

The tax remains due for the importation of the goods carried out by the purchaser, that is to say during the customs clearance of these.

(160-450)

II. Deliveries of goods in the state not giving rise to a shipment or transport

460

When the good does not give rise to a shipment or transport, the delivery is taxable if the good is located in France when it is made available to the purchaser established or domiciled in France or outside France ( CGI, art. 258, Ic ).

On the other hand, the delivery is not taxable in France if the property is located abroad when it is made available.

III. Deliveries of goods as is on board ship, aircraft or train

470

Under the terms of d of I of article 258 of the CGI , the place of delivery of tangible personal property sold on board a boat, an aircraft or a train is located in France when the goods are in France at the time of departure of a transport whose place of arrival is located in the territory of another EU Member State.

This provision does not apply to deliveries of goods intended for the provisioning of means of transport. It only applies to tangible personal property intended for sale in stores or shops located on these means of transport.

480

However, the legal qualification of sales made on board, of goods intended for consumption on board, being different according to the States, paragraph 3 of article 37 of the directive n° 2006/112/EC of the Council of November 26, 2006 on the common system of value added tax allows each Member State to suspend the application of the regime designated in III § 470 for these sales.

Sales of goods, made on board a boat or aircraft, intended to be consumed on board are therefore not subject to tax in France.

It is specified that this ambiguity on the basis of which the Member States were authorized to perpetuate the exemptions for catering services by assimilating them to the supply of goods to be consumed on board was removed by the new legal framework resulting from the 2008 directive /8/EC of the Council of February 12, 2008 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the place of supply of services , which entered into force on January 1 ^, 2010.

As a result, sales to be consumed on site made on board which constitute catering services are subject to VAT under the conditions provided for in b and c of 5° of article 259 A of the CGI .

Sales on board of goods which are not intended to be consumed on board are subject to VAT under the conditions provided for in article 258 of the CGI ( BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-20-20 ).

IV. Deliveries of goods with assembly or installation by the seller or on his behalf

490

In accordance with b of I of article 258 of the CGI , the place of delivery of tangible personal property is located in France when the property is in France during assembly or installation by the seller or on his behalf.

This is so even if the seller is a taxable person who is not established in France.

500

It is recalled that:

the receipt in France by a taxable person established in another EU Member State of a property of his company, is not assimilated to an intra-Community acquisition, when the property is intended to be assembled or installed in France by the taxable person or on his behalf ( IB-1-b § 120 of BOI-TVA-CHAMP-10-10-40-20 );
the importation into France, by a taxable person who is not established there, of goods intended to be assembled or installed by this taxable person or on his behalf, is taxable under the conditions of common law. In this case, and without prejudice to the elements relating to the designation of the taxpayer ( III § 150 and 160 of BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-70 ), the taxable person carries out in France on the one hand an import and on the other hand delivery of goods with assembly or installation.

V. Deliveries of natural gas, electricity, heat and cold

A. Goods concerned

510

The rules set out in VB § 520 and following apply to natural gas, electricity, heat and cold transported by transport and/or distribution network to the purchaser.

The deliveries of these goods when their delivery to the consumer or user is not carried out by a transport and/or distribution network are not concerned.

Such is the case, for example, of natural gas which has undergone compression operations to be transformed into fuel natural gas.

On the other hand, natural gas delivered by the transmission or distribution network to compression facilities remains affected by these rules.

B. Territoriality

520

In accordance with the provisions of III of article 258 of the CGI , the place of delivery of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold is located in France:

when these goods are actually consumed or used in France, regardless of the place of establishment of the purchaser or seller;
in other cases, i.e. in the absence of consumption or effective use of these goods in France, when the purchaser has in France the seat of his economic activity or a permanent establishment for which the goods are delivered or, failing that, his domicile or habitual residence. This is particularly the case for the purchase-resale of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold.

530

When electricity, natural gas, heat or cold is consumed or used outside France, their delivery is not taxable in France.

However, operators are not exempted, where applicable, from the formalities and obligations required by customs export regulations.

540

When established in France, the supplier can justify the non-taxation of VAT in France for the delivery of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold by any means.

Example: Purchase orders, contractual documents, certificates by operation or for several operations of the purchaser mentioning the use of the goods acquired, documents related to the request for access to interconnections, transport or routing invoices, declarations of export endorsed by the customs service at the point of exit from the EU, extracts from commercial registers, certificates of establishment issued by the tax authorities of the country of destination, copies of the declaration made to the authorities in charge of energy to exercise the purchase for resale activity.

1. Deliveries of taxable natural gas, electricity, heat or cold to the place of consumption

550

The delivery of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold is taxable in France when the purchaser, regardless of where his business is headquartered or his permanent establishment, actually consumes or uses the gas in France. natural, electricity, heat or cold.

The consumption of these goods means their use in their traditional use as an energy source, but also their use for other uses, for example as a raw material or as a manufacturing agent.

Note: The notion of manufacturing agent means goods which, without themselves entering into the composition of the goods produced, disappear or lose their qualities during the manufacturing process.

560

As a practical matter, the place of actual consumption or use of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold is the place where the natural gas, electricity, heat or cold meter is located of the consumer.

2. Deliveries of natural gas, electricity, heat or cooling taxable at the purchaser’s place of business

570

Deliveries of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold for purposes other than their consumption or use by the purchaser are taxable in France when the purchaser has the seat of his economic activity or a permanent establishment in France. for which the goods are delivered or, failing that, when there is his domicile or habitual residence.

Such is the case of persons who acquire natural gas, electricity, heat or cold with a view to reselling it.

It is recalled that the notion of permanent establishment is defined in II-B § 130 and following of BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-50-10 .

580

A branch in France of a purchaser who has the seat of his economic activity in another Member State of the EU and whose activity is limited solely to the issuance of invoices cannot be considered as a permanent establishment.

590

The place of taxation of the delivery is fixed according to the place of establishment of the purchaser. The allocation of a VAT identification number is therefore not a sufficient criterion. Indeed, an identification number can be assigned to a foreign taxable person without having a permanent establishment.

600

When the purchaser of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold has the seat of its economic activity in France and one or more permanent establishments in other Member States, or vice versa, it is the seat or the permanent establishment for which the goods are delivered, i.e. the one to which they are invoiced and which records the charge related to the purchase in its accounts, which takes precedence in determining the place of taxation.

Example 1: A person whose head office is outside France and has a permanent establishment in France acquires natural gas from a foreign supplier (operation no. 1). The foreign supplier invoices the permanent establishment. The natural gas is resold partly by the permanent establishment to a French consumer customer (operation no. 2) and partly by the head office to a consumer customer established in the country of the head office (operation no. 3). These operations break down as follows:

operation n° 1: the delivery is taxable in France. The permanent establishment is liable for the tax;
operation n° 2: the delivery is taxable in France. The permanent establishment is liable for the tax;
operation n° 3: the delivery is located in the State of the head office. It should be considered that the permanent establishment carries out an internal operation, outside the scope of VAT, intended for the head office, then that the head office sells the natural gas to the consumer. The head office is liable for the tax.

Example 2: A person has his registered office in France and has a permanent establishment in another Member State. The permanent establishment buys natural gas from a foreign supplier (operation no. 1) which it resells to a French consumer (operation no. 2). These operations break down as follows:

operation no. 1: the delivery is not located in France;
operation n° 2: the delivery is taxable in France. If the consumer customer is identified for VAT in France, he is liable for the tax in application of 2 quinquies of article 283 of the CGI .

610

The deliveries of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold made by a French supplier when the buyer-reseller is established in another EU Member State or in a third country are therefore not subject to the tax. . However, it is recalled that in the event of dispatch or transport of goods within the meaning of customs regulations outside the territory of the EU, operators are not exempt from the formalities and obligations required for export.

620

Deliveries of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold subsequent to the first delivery are taxable or not in France according to the rules of territoriality applicable to each delivery.

630

When all or part of the natural gas, electricity, heat or cold is not actually consumed by the purchaser, the deliveries corresponding to the part of the goods not consumed are taxable at the place where the purchaser has the seat of its economic activity or has a permanent establishment for which the goods are delivered. In the absence of such a registered office or permanent establishment, these deliveries are taxable at the place of domicile or habitual residence of the purchaser.

Example: A company has its headquarters in another Member State and acquires natural gas for the consumption needs of its branch located in France, which does not actually consume all of it.

The delivery of the unconsumed part is taxable in France when it has been invoiced to the branch by the supplier and the branch can be considered as a permanent establishment of the foreign company. Otherwise, the unused part is taxable in the State of the foreign company’s headquarters.

Moreover, in the event of subsequent delivery of the unconsumed part, its place of taxation is determined pursuant to the rules provided for in III of article 258 of the CGI .

Source: gouv.fr

Place of supply

Guidance: Place of supply of tangible movable property – General rules