What a company files in France [FR]

Every entry below is the rule as France publishes it. It is a reference, not a calendar: where a deadline runs from something only you know, this page says so instead of showing a date.

A template, not your deadline

This is the rule as published by the registry, checked against the primary source on the date shown. It is not your filing date. Where a deadline runs from incorporation, from a fiscal year the company itself elects, or from an event only you know about, no date can be derived here at all — the figure you see is the formula, not the answer. Extensions, transitional regimes and entity-specific exemptions are not reflected. Confirm with the registry before you rely on a date.

How the financial year is set — Chosen by the company

The French exercice social is not a statutory constant: the closing date is set in the company's articles and may be any date, so the financial year end is a value the user must supply. The calendar year is the common but not the compulsory choice, and the tax administration writes the rule in terms that presuppose the choice: the corporate income tax return is due «dans les trois mois de la clôture de l'exercice, lorsque la date de clôture n'intervient pas le 31 décembre», and «le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai N+1, si l'exercice coïncide avec l'année civile (N)». Two consequences follow. First, no deadline counted from the financial year end is shown here as a calendar number. Second, the deadlines in this jurisdiction run off three different clocks: the accounts-filing deadline runs from the shareholders' meeting that approves the accounts (itself within six months of the closing for an SARL or an SA), the income tax return runs from the closing, and the VAT return runs from the calendar VAT period and ignores the financial year entirely. The text of Code de commerce art. L.123-12 et seq., which governs the accounting period itself, was not read for this record.

impots.gouv.fr — Imposition des résultats: « dans les trois mois de la clôture de l'exercice, lorsque la date de clôture n'intervient pas le 31 décembre »; « le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai N+1, si l'exercice coïncide avec l'année civile (N) ». Deadline for the approval meeting: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214 — « dans les 6 mois de la clôture de l'exercice » (SA, SARL, EURL), « dans un délai librement fixé par les associés » (SAS, SASU). The text of Code de commerce L.123-12 et s. was not read. · checked 2026-09-29

Filing of the annual accounts with the commercial court registry (dépôt des comptes annuels au greffe)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

The registry of the commercial court (greffe du tribunal de commerce) of the place of the registered office, which keeps the Registre du commerce et des sociétés; the filing is made online through the guichet des formalités des entreprises operated by INPI

Who it applies to

Only these legal forms — Limited liability company (société à responsabilité limitée, SARL / EURL), Simplified joint-stock company (société par actions simplifiée, SAS / SASU), Public limited company (société anonyme, SA), Partnership limited by shares (société en commandite par actions, SCA), General partnership all of whose partners are SARL or joint-stock companies (société en nom collectif)

Infogreffe, the registries' own portal, lists the filers as «Les sociétés à responsabilité limitée (SARL et EURL) ; les sociétés en nom collectif dont tous les associés sont des SARL ou des sociétés par actions ; les sociétés par actions (sociétés anonymes, sociétés par actions simplifiées et sociétés en commandite par actions)», and adds foreign commercial companies with an establishment in France and cooperative societies meeting certain conditions. The obligation does not depend on size: small companies file too, but may attach a déclaration de confidentialité so that the accounts are not made public, and may file a balance sheet and notes in simplified presentation. The trigger of the deadline is the shareholders' meeting approving the accounts, which is itself due within six months of the closing for an SA, an SARL or an EURL, while for an SAS or an SASU service-public states the meeting is held «dans un délai librement fixé par les associés».

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

Extensions and exceptions: One month from the approval of the accounts, extended to two months where the filing is made electronically: service-public states «dans le mois suivant l'approbation des comptes» and «dans les 2 mois suivant l'approbation des comptes» for an electronic filing, and Infogreffe states «A compter de la date de la tenue de cette assemblée, vous disposez d'un délai d'un mois pour déposer vos comptes annuels au greffe». Because the whole chain starts at a meeting whose date the company controls, no calendar number is shown. The upstream leg is itself bounded: the approving meeting is held within six months of the closing for an SA, an SARL or an EURL, so the outer edge for those forms is ordinarily eight months after the closing at the latest. Whether that six-month period can be extended by order of the president of the commercial court was not verified for this record.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

If missed

Service-public states a criminal fine of «amende pénale de 1 500 €» for failing to file the accounts, raised to «3 000 €» on a repeat offence, and an astreinte «pour chaque jour de retard» where the president of the commercial court orders the filing under a periodic penalty payment. The daily rate of the astreinte is set by the court case by case and is not published as a figure, so the perDay field is left empty rather than filled with a plausible number.

State fee

€44 — €44

Infogreffe publishes «Dépôt des comptes annuels (année en cours ; sans dépôt de comptes consolidés) ; par correspondance (hors provenance Guichet unique)» at 44,14 € TTC, the same 44,14 € where a déclaration de confidentialité is attached, and 44,13 € TTC where a simplified balance sheet and notes are attached with a request to publish that simplified presentation. Every line read carries the qualifier «par correspondance (hors provenance Guichet unique)»; no line covering a filing originating from the guichet unique was found on that page, and the filing route is now the guichet unique, so the figure should be treated as the published registry tariff rather than as a confirmed price for the ordinary online route. The tariff page carries no publication date.

Proof of filing

The approved annual accounts for the financial year (balance sheet, income statement and notes, with the management report and, where applicable, the auditor's report), the minutes of the meeting approving them, and the registry's acknowledgement of the filing; once processed, the filing appears in the company's file at the Registre du commerce et des sociétés unless a déclaration de confidentialité was attached.

Primary source: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Dépôt des comptes annuels: « le dirigeant doit déposer les comptes annuels au greffe du tribunal du commerce »; « dans les 6 mois de la clôture de l'exercice » (SA, SARL, EURL); « dans un délai librement fixé par les associés » (SAS, SASU); « dans le mois suivant l'approbation des comptes »; « dans les 2 mois suivant l'approbation des comptes » (electronic filing); « amende pénale de 1 500 € », « 3 000 € » for a repeat offence; periodic penalty (astreinte) « pour chaque jour de retard ». Who must file and the one-month deadline: Infogreffe — Guide des formalités, Transmission obligatoire au greffe des comptes annuels, « Sociétés concernées, délais, documents à produire, coût du dépôt ». Fees: Infogreffe — Tarifs formalités (44,14 € TTC; 44,13 € TTC for the simplified presentation). The texts of Code de commerce L.232-21 to L.232-23 were not read.
checked 2026-09-29 · Rechecked every 12 months

Appointment of a statutory auditor and audit of the annual accounts (commissaire aux comptes)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

No filing of its own: the auditor is appointed by the shareholders and registered with the Registre du commerce et des sociétés through the guichet des formalités des entreprises, and the auditor's report on the annual accounts is put before the shareholders and filed with the accounts at the commercial court registry

Who it applies to

Only above a threshold — turnover > 10,000,000 EUR

This is a two-of-three test and the threshold field carries only the turnover leg. Service-public states the obligation arises where «2 des 3 seuils suivants sont franchis : 5 000 000 € de total bilan ; 10 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT ; 50 salariés», for an SARL, EURL, SA, SAS, SCA, SNC or SCS. A company below 10 000 000 € of turnover can still need an auditor on the balance-sheet or headcount leg. Two lower sets apply. A company controlled within a group is tested against «2 500 000 € de total bilan / 5 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT / 25 salariés». A société civile carrying on an economic activity is tested against «1 550 000 € de total bilan / 3 100 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT / 50 salariés». The obligation is not immediate: «En cas de franchissement des seuils, il n'est pas obligatoire de nommer un CAC pour contrôler les comptes de l'exercice au cours duquel les seuils sont dépassés. L'obligation entre en vigueur dès l'exercice suivant.» A company preparing consolidated accounts appoints «2 CAC indépendants l'un de l'autre». Figures of this kind move with the periodic adjustment of company-size criteria, hence decay «annual».

Deadline

Within 6 months after the end of the financial year.

Extensions and exceptions: There is no single published date for this obligation, and the six-month offset is a derived indication, not a statutory deadline. What is published is the chain it sits in: the auditor's report on the annual accounts must be available to the shareholders at the meeting that approves those accounts, and that meeting is held within six months of the closing for an SA, an SARL or an EURL, while for an SAS or an SASU the period is «librement fixé par les associés». The appointment itself is not annual: a commissaire aux comptes is appointed for a multi-year term, but the length of that term, and the precise notice period for making the report available before the meeting, were not verified from a primary source for this record and are not asserted here.

If missed

No figure is asserted here. The service-public page that publishes the thresholds does not publish the sanction for failing to appoint an auditor or for obstructing the audit, and no primary source stating a current amount was read for this record. The Code de commerce does penalise both, but its text was not read, so the numeric fields are left empty rather than filled from memory.

Proof of filing

The shareholders' resolution appointing the commissaire aux comptes and the corresponding entry at the Registre du commerce et des sociétés, and, for each financial year covered, the auditor's report on the annual accounts laid before the shareholders and filed with the accounts at the registry.

Primary source: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — La désignation d'un commissaire aux comptes est-elle obligatoire ?: « 2 des 3 seuils suivants sont franchis : 5 000 000 € de total bilan ; 10 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT ; 50 salariés »; small controlled companies « 2 500 000 € de total bilan / 5 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT / 25 salariés »; civil-law companies with an economic activity « 1 550 000 € de total bilan / 3 100 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT / 50 salariés »; « L'obligation entre en vigueur dès l'exercice suivant »; consolidated accounts « 2 CAC indépendants l'un de l'autre ». The texts of Décret n° 2024-152 du 28 février 2024 and Code de commerce L.821-40 et s. / D.821-171 et s. were not read.
checked 2026-09-29 · Rechecked every 12 months

Corporate income tax return (déclaration de résultats, impôt sur les sociétés, form n° 2065)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

The Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP), to the service des impôts des entreprises of the place of the registered office; the return is transmitted electronically (EDI-TDFC or the professional account on impots.gouv.fr)

Who it applies to

Only these legal forms — Public limited company (société anonyme, SA), Simplified joint-stock company (société par actions simplifiée, SAS / SASU), Limited liability company (société à responsabilité limitée, SARL), Partnership limited by shares (société en commandite par actions, SCA), Other entities subject to impôt sur les sociétés by law or by election

The return covers entities within the scope of impôt sur les sociétés, whether by legal form (SA, SAS, SARL, SCA and the like) or by election (an EURL or an SNC that opts in). This record concerns the filing deadline, not the rate or the base. The deadline is set by the closing date, which the company chooses, so it moves with the articles: three months from the closing where the closing is not 31 December, and the second business day after 1 May of the following year where the financial year coincides with the calendar year.

Deadline

Within 3 months after the end of the financial year.

Extensions and exceptions: Two rules, and which one applies depends on a date the user supplies. Where the closing is not 31 December: «dans les trois mois de la clôture de l'exercice, lorsque la date de clôture n'intervient pas le 31 décembre». Where the financial year is the calendar year: «le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai N+1, si l'exercice coïncide avec l'année civile (N)» — a date that falls in early May but is not the same calendar number every year, since it depends on which days are business days. On top of either rule, impots.gouv.fr states that companies filing electronically get an additional fifteen days. Because the calendar-year case resolves to a date that DGFiP publishes anew each year, and the fifteen-day extension rides on it, this record shows the three-month offset in words and no calendar number.

If missed

The sanction is a percentage of the tax, not a flat sum, so the amount fields are empty. Under CGI article 1728 as set out by BOFiP, the majoration is 10 % «en l'absence de mise en demeure ou en cas de dépôt de la déclaration ou de l'acte dans les trente jours suivant la réception d'une mise en demeure»; 40 % «lorsque la déclaration ou l'acte n'a pas été déposé dans les trente jours suivant la réception d'une mise en demeure»; and 80 % «en cas de découverte d'une activité occulte, sans qu'il soit besoin d'adresser une mise en demeure». Late-payment interest under CGI article 1727 runs in addition. The BOFiP page read gives that interest as «le taux de l'intérêt de retard est fixé à 0,20 % par mois, soit 2,40 % l'an», but states that rate for the period 2018 to 2020; no primary page confirming the rate in force today was read, so the current rate is not asserted here.

Proof of filing

The form n° 2065 and its annexes filed for the financial year with the electronic acknowledgement of receipt from DGFiP, together with the accounting statements (liasse fiscale) transmitted with it.

Primary source: impots.gouv.fr — Imposition des résultats: « dans les trois mois de la clôture de l'exercice, lorsque la date de clôture n'intervient pas le 31 décembre »; « le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai N+1, si l'exercice coïncide avec l'année civile (N) »; an additional fifteen days for electronic filers. Surcharges: bofip.impots.gouv.fr — BOI-CF-INF-10-20-10 (CGI art. 1728: 10 % / 40 % / 80 %). Late-payment interest: bofip.impots.gouv.fr — BOI-CF-INF-10-10-20 « 0,20 % par mois, soit 2,40 % l'an » (period 2018-2020; current rate not confirmed). The text of CGI art. 223 was not read — legifrance.gouv.fr returns 403.
checked 2026-09-29 · Rechecked every 12 months

VAT return (déclaration de TVA, form n° 3310-CA3 or n° 3517-S CA12)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

The Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP), through the professional account on impots.gouv.fr or by EDI; the return and the payment fall on the same date

Who it applies to

Only above a threshold — turnover ≥ 37,500 EUR

The threshold field carries the services leg of the franchise en base, the test that binds a typical service company; it is one of several figures and is not the whole rule. Under the franchise en base a business files nothing: service-public states the conditions as «Son chiffre d'affaires est inférieur à 85 000 €» for supplies of goods and «inférieur à 37 500 €» for supplies of services, in each case with «Le montant annuel de la TVA dont elle est redevable est inférieur à 15 000 €», and such a business is «dispensé de déposer des déclarations». Above that, the régime réel simplifié runs from 85 000 € to 945 000 € for trade and accommodation (ceiling 1 040 000 € in the year itself) and from 37 500 € to 286 000 € for other services (ceiling 323 000 €); above 945 000 € or 286 000 € the régime réel normal applies. A business below the franchise threshold may nevertheless opt to be liable, in which case it files like a liable business. Filing frequency: under the régime réel normal «Les déclarations mensuelles ou trimestrielles (formulaire n° 3310-CA3) doivent être télétransmises au cours du mois qui suit le mois ou le trimestre concerné», quarterly being allowed where «le montant de la TVA nette due est inférieur annuellement à 4 000 €». Under the régime simplifié the business pays two instalments, «L'acompte de juillet doit être égal à 55 % de la TVA due au titre de l'exercice précédent, et celui de décembre à 40 %», and files the CA12 «au plus tard le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai» for a calendar-year business.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

Extensions and exceptions: There is no extension. Under the régime réel normal the CA3 is transmitted «au cours du mois qui suit le mois ou le trimestre concerné», and the exact day within that month is set for each business individually and shown in its professional account on impots.gouv.fr, so the one-month offset recorded here is the rule in words and not that business's date. Under the régime simplifié the CA12 is due «au plus tard le 2e jour ouvré suivant le 1er mai» for a business whose year is the calendar year. That second regime is on the way out: impots.gouv.fr announces that «Le régime simplifié d'imposition (RSI) à la TVA est remplacé par le régime réel normal» from 1 January 2027, with the transition made automatically by the administration, the first CA3 covering January or the first quarter of 2027, and a final CA12 for a 31 December 2026 closing due 4 May 2027. From 2027 the CA3 is quarterly where turnover plus taxable acquisitions does not exceed 1 000 000 € in the prior year or 1 100 000 € in the current year, and monthly above that or on option.

If missed

The sanction is a percentage, not a flat sum. The majorations of CGI article 1728 apply to a VAT return as to any other: 10 % «en l'absence de mise en demeure ou en cas de dépôt de la déclaration ou de l'acte dans les trente jours suivant la réception d'une mise en demeure», 40 % where the return is still not filed thirty days after a formal notice, and 80 % on discovery of an undeclared activity, with late-payment interest under CGI article 1727 in addition. No flat euro amount specific to VAT was read from a primary source, so the numeric fields are empty.

Proof of filing

The VAT return filed for the period (form n° 3310-CA3, or form n° 3517-S CA12 with the July and December instalments under the simplified regime) with the electronic acknowledgement of receipt from DGFiP, and proof of the payment made on the same date.

Primary source: impots.gouv.fr — Les régimes d'imposition à la TVA : « Les déclarations mensuelles ou trimestrielles (formulaire n° 3310-CA3) doivent être télétransmises au cours du mois qui suit le mois ou le trimestre concerné » ; trimestriel si « le montant de la TVA nette due est inférieur annuellement à 4 000 € » ; RSI « L'acompte de juillet doit être égal à 55 % de la TVA due au titre de l'exercice précédent, et celui de décembre à 40 % » ; CA12 « le 2e jour ouvré qui suit le 1er mai ». Seuils : entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F23566 (franchise 85 000 € / 37 500 € et TVA due < 15 000 € ; RSI 85 000–945 000 € / plafond 1 040 000 € ; 37 500–286 000 € / plafond 323 000 €). Suppression du RSI : impots.gouv.fr — « Le régime simplifié d'imposition (RSI) à la TVA est remplacé par le régime réel normal » au 1er janvier 2027 ; dernière CA12 au 4 mai 2027 ; CA3 trimestrielle sous 1 000 000 € / 1 100 000 €
checked 2026-09-29 · Rechecked every 6 months

Declaration of the company's beneficial owners (déclaration des bénéficiaires effectifs)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

The registry of the commercial court (greffe du tribunal de commerce), which keeps the register of beneficial owners annexed to the Registre du commerce et des sociétés; the declaration is made through the guichet des formalités des entreprises

Who it applies to

Every entity in the jurisdiction

Service-public states the circle as «Sociétés commerciales (SARL, SA, SAS, etc.) et sociétés civiles (SCI, SEL, etc.) ayant leur siège social en France», so the obligation is not limited to trading forms and does not depend on size. A beneficial owner is a natural person who «détient, directement ou indirectement, plus de 25 % des droits de vote ou du capital de la société», or who exercises control by other means such as the power to appoint or remove the members of the management or supervisory bodies. The first declaration is made «au moment de l'immatriculation»; what makes this a recurring rather than a one-off obligation is the duty to keep the register current after every change.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

Extensions and exceptions: No extension. Service-public states that «Une demande d'inscription modificative doit être faite dès qu'un changement intervient» and that it must be submitted «dans les 30 jours à partir de ce changement». The clock starts at an event inside the company, so no calendar date can be shown. Separately, where the information has not been declared or is inaccurate or incomplete, «le greffier du tribunal de commerce peut mettre en demeure la société de régulariser sa situation dans un délai de 3 mois»; that three-month period is a cure period after a formal notice, not an alternative deadline.

If missed

Two layers, and the criminal figures are new. Administratively, the registrar may issue a formal notice to regularise within three months and, failing that, strike the company off the register: «La radiation d'office du RCS intervient à défaut de régularisation dans ce délai.» Criminally, service-public states that the legal representative faces «une amende de 200 000 €» together with «une interdiction de gérer (maximum 15 ans) et une privation partielle de ses droits civils et civiques», and that the company faces «une amende pouvant s'élever à un montant maximal de 1 000 000 €» with additional penalties including dissolution, judicial supervision, closure of establishments and exclusion from public procurement. The page states that these sanctions apply from 28 May 2026. The flat field carries the representative's figure and the cap field the company's maximum; they are two different persons' exposure, not a floor and a ceiling on one fine.

State fee

€19 — €35

Service-public publishes 19,33 € for the declaration made at the time of the company's registration and 35,36 € for a modifying declaration. The lower figure is therefore the one-off cost at incorporation and the higher one the cost of each update, which is the recurring case this record is about.

Proof of filing

The declaration of beneficial owners lodged through the guichet des formalités des entreprises with the registry's acknowledgement, naming for each beneficial owner the identity details and the nature and extent of the interest held, together with the supporting record of the change that triggered the update.

Primary source: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Déclaration des bénéficiaires effectifs de la société: « Sociétés commerciales (SARL, SA, SAS, etc.) et sociétés civiles (SCI, SEL, etc.) ayant leur siège social en France »; « détient, directement ou indirectement, plus de 25 % des droits de vote ou du capital de la société »; « au moment de l'immatriculation »; « Une demande d'inscription modificative doit être faite dès qu'un changement intervient » … « dans les 30 jours à partir de ce changement »; costs of 19,33 € (registration) and 35,36 € (modification); « le greffier du tribunal de commerce peut mettre en demeure la société de régulariser sa situation dans un délai de 3 mois »; ex officio removal from the RCS; « une amende de 200 000 € », « une interdiction de gérer (maximum 15 ans) »; for the company « une amende pouvant s'élever à un montant maximal de 1 000 000 € »; sanctions applicable from 28 May 2026. The texts of Code monétaire et financier L.561-45-1 to L.561-50 and R.561-55 to R.561-65 were not read.
checked 2026-09-29 · Rechecked every 6 months

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