French VAT Service: Engagement Terms

FRADECO SAS, société d'expertise comptable, 50 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris, France. SAS au capital de 25 000 € · SIREN 908 368 616 · RCS Paris · TVA FR82908368616 · inscrite au tableau de l'ordre des experts-comptables Paris / Île-de-France. Version 2026-08.

1. Who you contract with

Your French VAT service is provided by FRADECO SAS, Paris, acting as your mandataire fiscal (authorised agent under Directive 2006/112/EC). We are not a fiscal representative (représentant fiscal) and take no joint liability for your tax debts. Your German VAT service, if booked, remains a separate engagement.

2. What the service covers

French VAT registration with the tax office for foreign businesses (SIEE), where booked.
Set-up and management of your French online tax account.
Your recurring French VAT returns (CA3), prepared from the figures you provide and confirm.
The EC sales list (état récapitulatif) where legally required, and routine correspondence with the French tax administration.
Every letter from the French tax administration that reaches us, read and explained in plain English with its deadline named, and each return reviewed for plausibility and released by us before it is filed.
Notifications from your account copied to the people you name, for example your accountant.

Plans. Standard covers everything listed above. Working on a letter (a written response, a claim) is quoted separately. Pro adds: a person checks each return against your sales report before filing; 4 advisor hours a year, one allowance for France and Germany together, lapsing at the end of the contract year; written responses to the tax administration from those hours; 5 corrections of filed returns a year; priority registration; a named contact who replies within 24 hours on working days. Pro is billed yearly only.

Not included, available on request and billed separately: bookkeeping, invoicing, tax or legal advice beyond the routine returns, statistical trade returns (DEB/EMEBI), supply-chain mapping, audit representation beyond the mandate's scope, objection and refund proceedings.

Registration only (€599 one-off, charged in full at signup): where you book the French VAT registration on its own, the engagement covers the registration and the correspondence with the SIEE up to the issuance of your French VAT number, and nothing else. It ends of its own accord when that number is issued, and we then revoke our mandate at the SIEE; official mail that still reaches us before the revocation takes effect is forwarded to you. French VAT returns (CA3), the EC sales list and all other recurring services are not included. The filing plan can be added afterwards with no further registration fee. The one-year term and renewal in section 5 do not apply to the registration-only engagement.

3. Your part

Provide complete and accurate figures for each period; you confirm every return before it is filed.
Sign the required mandates in ink, on your own letterhead where indicated.
Forward immediately any activation code the French tax office posts to your address. Nothing can be filed until it is entered.
Sign the French direct-debit mandate and lodge it with your bank. The French tax office collects VAT due by direct debit as standard, so returning the signed mandate quickly matters; until your bank confirms it, we confirm with you how any amount due is settled. We never receive or hold your money and never pay taxes on your behalf.

4. Fees

Fees are due in full in advance and are non-refundable. They pay for our work, not for a government outcome: processing times and decisions rest with the French administration, and first filings typically become possible two to three months after complete documents. The single exception: if we decline to accept your mandate, any fee already paid is returned.

Invoices unpaid at their due date carry late-payment interest at the European Central Bank's rate plus 10 percentage points, plus the statutory €40 flat recovery indemnity per invoice.

4. Payment, fees, cancellation and refunds

4.1 Payment first. All fees are payable in advance, by card or, where agreed, by bank transfer against our invoice. Work starts once the payment has arrived. Without payment we have no obligation to act, including toward the tax office.
4.2 What the fee pays for. Each fee pays for a defined piece of work (a registration, a return, a plan year of service, a quoted advisory job), not for a result. We are not liable for whether, when or how an authority (Finanzamt, BZSt, French tax office, customs) grants, processes or decides anything. A refusal, delay or extra request by an authority does not reduce or refund the fee.
4.3 When a fee is earned. A fee is earned in full and is non-refundable as soon as we start the work it pays for:
- (a) registration: when we begin reviewing your documents or preparing the registration questionnaire (Fragebogen);
- (b) a return (monthly, quarterly, annual, OSS, EC sales list, back-filed period): when we begin checking your figures for that period;
- (c) a plan year: at the start of each contract year, for the whole year;
- (d) a quoted advisory job: when we begin work under the quote.
4.4 Cancelling before we start. If you cancel before any work under 4.3 has started, we do not pay money back; we credit the full amount to your account for any other Vaytax service within 12 months. After 12 months the credit lapses.
4.5 Plan term and notice. Plans run for 12 months and renew yearly at the then-published price unless cancelled in writing at least one month before the end of the term. Cancelling stops the next renewal; it does not refund the current year, in whole or in part. Monthly plans: notice as in section 5 below (30 days to the end of the following month).
4.6 Your data and documents. If figures or documents are missing, late, incomplete or wrong, the fee stays due. Work caused by this (a resubmission, a correction, a reply to the office) is charged at the current price for that work. Surcharges, interest or penalties set by an authority are yours.
4.7 Plan changes. Moving up to a higher plan: you pay the difference for the rest of the contract year. Moving down: takes effect at the next renewal; no refund for the current year.
4.8 Included items. Included items (advisor hours, corrections, filing extension, priority handling) belong to the contract year they are in. Unused items expire at the end of that year and have no cash value.
4.9 If we end the service. If we decline your mandate before any work starts, we return what you paid. If we end the contract for a reason that is not yours, we return the part of a plan-year fee that covers the months after it ends; earned fees under 4.3 (a), (b) and (d) stay ours. If we end it because of your breach (non-payment, a chargeback, false information, abuse), no money is returned.
4.10 Chargebacks. A chargeback or reversed payment stops all work at once. The original fee plus the bank or card cost of the chargeback remain due. We tell the authority, where necessary, that we no longer act for you.
4.11 Our mistakes in billing. If we charged twice or charged a wrong amount, we correct it and pay back the difference. This is a correction, not a refund under these terms.
4.12 Nothing else. No refund, partial refund, credit or discount is owed or promised outside this clause, whether by e-mail, chat, phone or any member of our team.

Version française (traduction; le texte français engageant est la Convention de mandat et d’honoraires)

4. Paiement, honoraires, résiliation et remboursements

4.1 Paiement d’abord. Tous les honoraires sont payables d’avance, par carte ou, si cela a été convenu, par virement contre notre facture. Nous commençons le travail à réception du paiement. Sans paiement, nous n’avons aucune obligation d’agir, y compris envers l’administration fiscale.
4.2 Ce que couvre l’honoraire. Chaque honoraire rémunère une prestation définie (une immatriculation, une déclaration, une année de plan, une mission de conseil faisant l’objet d’un devis), et non un résultat. Nous ne répondons pas de la question de savoir si, quand ou comment une autorité (Finanzamt, BZSt, administration fiscale française, douane) accorde, traite ou décide quoi que ce soit. Un refus, un retard ou une demande complémentaire d’une autorité ne réduit pas l’honoraire et n’ouvre droit à aucun remboursement.
4.3 Quand l’honoraire est acquis. Un honoraire est acquis en totalité et n’est pas remboursable dès que nous commençons le travail qu’il rémunère :
- (a) immatriculation : lorsque nous commençons l’examen de vos documents ou la préparation du questionnaire d’immatriculation (Fragebogen) ;
- (b) une déclaration (mensuelle, trimestrielle, annuelle, OSS, état récapitulatif, période régularisée a posteriori) : lorsque nous commençons à contrôler vos chiffres pour cette période ;
- (c) une année de plan : au début de chaque année contractuelle, pour l’année entière ;
- (d) une mission de conseil faisant l’objet d’un devis : lorsque nous commençons le travail prévu par le devis.
4.4 Annulation avant le début. Si vous annulez avant que le moindre travail visé à l’article 4.3 ait commencé, nous ne remboursons pas l’argent ; nous créditons le montant intégral sur votre compte pour tout autre service Vaytax pendant 12 mois. Passé ce délai de 12 mois, le crédit expire.
4.5 Durée du plan et préavis. Les plans durent 12 mois et se renouvellent chaque année au prix alors publié, sauf résiliation écrite au moins un mois avant la fin de la période. La résiliation arrête le prochain renouvellement ; elle ne donne lieu à aucun remboursement de l’année en cours, ni total ni partiel. Plans mensuels : préavis comme prévu à l’article 5 de la convention (30 jours, avec effet à la fin du mois suivant).
4.6 Vos données et documents. Si des chiffres ou des documents manquent, arrivent en retard, sont incomplets ou erronés, l’honoraire reste dû. Le travail supplémentaire qui en résulte (nouveau dépôt, rectification, réponse à l’administration) est facturé au prix en vigueur pour ce travail. Les majorations, intérêts ou pénalités fixés par une autorité sont à votre charge.
4.7 Changement de plan. Passage à un plan supérieur : vous payez la différence pour le reste de l’année contractuelle. Passage à un plan inférieur : effet au prochain renouvellement ; aucun remboursement pour l’année en cours.
4.8 Éléments inclus. Les éléments inclus (heures de conseil, rectifications, prorogation de délai, traitement prioritaire) appartiennent à l’année contractuelle en cours. Les éléments non utilisés expirent à la fin de cette année et n’ont aucune valeur en espèces.
4.9 Fin du service de notre fait. Si nous refusons votre mandat avant tout début de travail, nous remboursons ce que vous avez payé. Si nous mettons fin au contrat pour une raison qui ne vous est pas imputable, nous remboursons la part de l’honoraire annuel du plan qui couvre les mois suivant la fin du contrat ; les honoraires acquis selon l’article 4.3 (a), (b) et (d) nous restent acquis. Si nous y mettons fin en raison d’un manquement de votre part (défaut de paiement, rétrofacturation, informations fausses, abus), aucune somme n’est remboursée.
4.10 Rétrofacturations. Une rétrofacturation (chargeback) ou un paiement annulé arrête immédiatement tout travail. L’honoraire initial ainsi que les frais bancaires ou de carte liés à la rétrofacturation restent dus. Nous informons l’administration, si nécessaire, que nous n’agissons plus pour vous.
4.11 Nos erreurs de facturation. Si nous avons facturé deux fois ou facturé un montant erroné, nous corrigeons et remboursons la différence. Il s’agit d’une correction, et non d’un remboursement au sens des présentes conditions.
4.12 Aucune autre stipulation. Aucun remboursement, remboursement partiel, avoir ou remise n’est dû ni promis en dehors de la présente clause, que ce soit par courriel, chat, téléphone ou par un membre de notre équipe.

Invoices unpaid at their due date carry late-payment interest at the European Central Bank's rate plus 10 percentage points, plus the statutory €40 flat recovery indemnity per invoice.

5. Liability, term, law

The authoritative contract text is the Convention de mandat et d'honoraires of FRADECO SAS: French is the binding text, with an English translation alongside it. You read and sign it electronically during onboarding, and the signed PDF sits in your documents. This page is an English summary with no contractual value; where they differ, the signed convention governs. In outline:

FRADECO SAS carries French professional liability insurance. Contractual liability for any engagement is capped at €1,000,000.
No liability arises for damage caused by wrong or incomplete information from you, by your delay in providing required information, or by third parties working for you.
Claims are contractually time-barred three years from the events giving rise to them.
A plan billed yearly runs for one year from your order and renews each year at the price then in force. Either side can end it in writing or from your account, effective at the end of the current year; annual fees paid in advance are not refunded pro rata. A plan billed monthly can be ended at any time, effective at the end of the following month, so that the last return can still be filed. A registration-only engagement (section 2) has no term: it ends when the French VAT number is issued.
French law applies. Disputes go first to conciliation through the president of the regional council of the Ordre des Experts-Comptables.

Questions before signing? Contact us and we answer in plain English.