Company registration and termination in France

Company registration in France 

It is available to any foreign citizen. 

The procedure for opening a new company in France consists of several stages, the main ones being

- selecting and verifying a name with the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI);

- choosing an organisational and legal form (the list and main differences between the statuses are detailed in the table);

- renting or purchasing office space with a postal address;

- opening a corporate bank account in a French bank;

- submission of documents to the Trade Register and obtaining a certificate of registration - "Extrait Kbis";

- after registration, it is necessary to publish information about the new company in the state media (it can be Le Figaro and Le Monde).

Taxation regime for different companies

There are different corporate tax regimes depending on the type of business and the company's turnover.

For example:

- the standard corporate tax rate in France is 25% of profits.

- Companies with a turnover of up to €10 million can benefit from a reduced rate of 15% on their first €38,120 of taxable income.

- tax regime for micro-enterprises. Under this regime, you can declare your turnover less a certain tax credit to determine your tax base.

- Simplified ordinary tax regime for companies whose turnover does not exceed EUR 789,000 in commercial activities or EUR 238,000 in services.

For a more detailed list of taxation and tax reporting regimes depending on the type of organisational form, please follow the link.

Termination of a company's activities

Just like a sole proprietor, a company has the possibility to terminate its activities and thus cancel its company registration by updating this change with all competent authorities (tax authorities, Urssaf, Insee, public registers, etc.). 

The website formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr allows companies, regardless of their legal form, to carry out all their administrative formalities (creation, modification and dissolution). 

In order to terminate a company's activities, an application must be submitted (Form M4) or the Infogreffe tele-service must be used. 

Supporting documents to be attached to the application:

- a copy of the acts of liquidation closure;

- a certificate of publication in a legal announcement journal or a copy thereof.

For more information on the tax returns to be filed in the event of a company's liquidation, please visit the website.