France

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General information: Doing business In France
French culture, customs and etiquette
Guide to France
Opening hours and days: Saturday and Sunday closed, or only Sunday in shops.
Closed for the lunch break, which may be longer or shorter, between 12 noon and 2pm.

New Year's Day	1 January
Easter Sunday and Monday	in March or April
Ascension	the sixth Thursday after Easter
Labor Day	1 May
Victory Day (end of the Second World War)	8 May
National Day	14 July
Assumption	15 August
All Saints	1 November
Armistice	11 November
Christmas Day	25 December

Christmas holidays	Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day
Summer holidays	July or August according to the company

Tax year: From 1 January to 31 December.
Accounting standards: Official accounting plan (PCG)
Accounting regulation bodies: Parliament
CNC
Accounting reports: Annual accounts: the balance sheet, the profit and loss account and the notes to the accounts.
The annual report
The statement of source and application of funds (compulsory for large companies)
Publication requirements: There are three levels of reporting: The basic System (Normal), an abridged System (for small companies), a developed System. They depend on the legal form and size of the companies (defined in relation to the total of the balance sheet, the turnover and the number of employees).
The reporting is annual, except for listed companies for whom reporting is quarterly.
Professional accountancy bodies: OEC
CNCC
IFAC
Certification and auditing: KPMG
Ernest & Young
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Accounting news: France accounting news

Nature of the tax: Value Added Tax (VAT)
Tax rate: 19.60%
Reduced tax rate: Reduced rate of 5.5% for food, agricultural products, water, books and magazines, hotel rooms and medicines.
Reduced rate of 2.1% for certain products reimbursed by the Social Security.
To find out the rates valid in regions outside metropolitan France, click here.
Other consumption taxes: Domestic consumption tax on petroleum products (TIPP)
Domestic consumption tax on natural gas (TICGN)
Domestic consumption tax on coal and lignite
Domestic tax on tobacco (snuff and for smoking), cigars and cigarettes.
Domestic consumption tax on beer

Company tax: 33.3% + social surtax of 3.3% on the whole of one's taxable profits.
Tax rate for foreign companies: Foreign companies are taxed on the profits they make in France.
Capital gains taxation: Since 1 January 2007, the long term capital gains made by companies subject to corporate tax (IS) are no longer taxed.
Main allowable deductions and tax credit: Expenses are deductible for depreciation or amortization, reserves, rents for premises and equipment, wages, etc.
Tax credit exists for apprenticeships especially.
Other corporate taxes: Professional Tax.
Flat rate annual tax (IFA)

Personal income tax (IRPP)

Progressive rate up to 40%.

Allowable deductions and tax credit: Child care, consumer credit, tax credit for young people under 26 who take a job in certain industrial sectors or geographical areas in difficulty, etc.
Special expatriate tax regime: Yes. It concerns especially health insurance and complementary retirement pension contributions and the possible exemptions. For further information click here.

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: France has signed fiscal conventions with 112 countries in the world.
Whithholding taxes: Dividends: 25%, Interest: 18%, Royalties: 33^1/3 %

National organizations: The national institute of industrial property (INPI) for patents, trademarks, models and industrial designs.

The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM), The National Union of Authors and Composers of music (SNAC), The Society of Stage Authors and Composers (SACD), The Society of Men of Letters (SGDL), The Civil Society of Multimedia Authors (SCAM), etc., for royalties.
Regional organizations: For the protection of patents: the European patent office
To control trademarks, designs and models: the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
International membership: Member of the WIPO
Signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property

Type of property and law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent Code of intellectual property	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Strasbourg agreement concerning the International Patent Classification
Trademark Code of intellectual property	10 years renewable indefinitely	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement
Design Code of intellectual property	25 years renewable once
Copyright Code of intellectual property	70 years after the death of its author for inheritance tax 50 years after the first publication for registration fees	Berne convention Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against unauthorized duplication of their phonograms Rome convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and Broadcasting organizations WIPO copyright treaty WIPO performances and Phonograms treaty
Industrial Models Edict n°2001-670 of 25 July 2001 incorporating into Community law the code of intellectual property and the code of the post and telecommunications	25 years renewable once

Independence of justice: Yes
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Yes
The language of justice: French
Recourse to an interpreter: Possible
Sources of the law and legal similarities: French law has various sources: the Constitution, laws voted by Parliament, ministerial decrees and orders, international conventions and treaties ratified by France.
Because France belongs to the European Union, national law conforms to the requirements of Community legislation.
There are legal similarities with all the countries whose law has come from Roman law.
Checking national laws online: The constitution in English

National standards organizations: AFNOR, the French standardization association
UTE (Electricity technical union)
French commission for ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
Integration in the international standards network: At the European level:
- CEN, European Committee for Standardization
- CENELEC, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

At the international level:
- International Standards organization (ISO)
- International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Classification of standards: NF is the national certification mark.
CE is the European certification mark. It is compulsory for a country to be able to sell on the market.
Online consultation of standards: The AFNOR on-line shop
The on-line catalog of European standards
The ISO catalog
The most important standardization programs
Certification organizations: See the list of independent organizations which issue the NF mark with AFNOR accreditation.

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