This article was first published on Tax@Hand, and is reproduced on this blog with the authorization of its authors.
In a decree (No. 2024-1126) published on 5 December 2024, France clarified the scope of the Pillar Two reporting obligations (i.e., notification of group affiliation, GloBE information return (GIR), and statement of payment) and published the form to be filed by French constituent entities (CEs) belonging to a group within the scope of Pillar Two alongside their corporate income tax return.
As a reminder, the 2024 finance law transposed into French law Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 dated 14 December 2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation (15%) for multinational enterprise (MNE) groups and large-scale domestic groups within the EU.
French entities that are members of an MNE group in scope of Pillar Two are subject to the following reporting obligations.
Notification of group affiliation
Each French CE must indicate to the French tax authorities (FTA), every year, alongside its corporate income tax return, that they belong to a group that is in scope of the Pillar Two rules.
For groups whose fiscal year (FY) ends with the calendar year, this notification should be filed for fiscal year end (FYE) 2024 no later than 5 May 2025 (plus 15 days in case of electronic filing), when the CE files its FYE 2024 corporate income tax return.
For groups whose FY is not ending with the calendar year, the notification should be filed with the corporate income tax return to be filed no later than the end of the third month following the end of the FY (plus 15 days in case of electronic filing).
The notification is an appendix to the corporate income tax return, in which each CE should include:
- Its affiliation to a group within the scope of Pillar Two;
- The name of the ultimate parent entity (UPE), as well as the country where it is located, its tax identification number (TIN), its SIREN number (unique entity identification number), and its FY opening and closing dates;
- The name of the entity filing the GIR as well as the country where it is located, its TIN, and its SIREN number; and
- The name of the entity filing the statement of payment under the income inclusion rule (IIR)/qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT)/undertaxed profits rule (UTPR), as well as its address and its SIREN.
The dedicated form to be used for the notification (Form No. 2065-INT-SD) was recently made available on the FTA website. Two sections of the form must be populated: one related to country-by-country reporting (same section as one previously included in another form) and one related to Pillar two.
GloBE information return (GIR)
Each French CE in scope of Pillar Two is required to file a GIR with the FTA within 15 months following the end of its FY (extended to 18 months for the group’s first applicable FY) with the associated payment, if any. Accordingly, each CE belonging to a group whose FY ends with calendar year 2024 will be required to file its first GIR no later than 30 June 2026.
The GIR must include general information regarding the group as a whole, as well as detailed information for each “basket” (i.e., set of entities located in a country where the law provides for a separate determination of the effective tax rate) in each country where the group is located.
The decree indicates that the GIR must be (i) consistent with the OECD model and (ii) completed in euro or in the currency used in the group’s financial statements.
It should be noted that French CEs are exempt from filing the GIR when a GIR has already been filed by:
- Another French CE of the group that has been designated by all the other French CEs to file a single GIR (if the FTA was notified of the same); or
- The UPE (or any other entity) in a country that has signed an agreement with France regarding the automatic exchange of information on a top-up tax.
The decree also transposes into French law the possibility to elect to use a simplified GIR, which allows the filing entity to limit the information provided to countries where a top-up tax is due for the 2024-2028 period.
Statement of payment
Along with its GIR, each French CE must file a statement of payment of the top-up tax in France (the first filing is due no later than 30 June 2026 for groups whose FY ends with the calendar year).
The statement of payment must include:
- General information regarding the filing entity (CE identification information, FY opening and closing dates, name of the UPE, and name of the entity filing the GIR); and
- Amount of top-up tax due under the IIR, QDMTT, or UTPR.
When French CEs of the same group have elected to designate a single entity to pay the top-up tax and file the statement of payment, it should provide identifying details about the CEs on whose behalf the tax is paid, and how the tax is allocated among them.
