France issues XP Z12-014 standard to support e-invoicing reform

On 13 June 2025, France introduced a key piece of the puzzle in its business-to-business (B2B) e-invoicing reform: the XP Z12-014 standard. 

Developed under the guidance of the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) and the Forum National de la Facture Électronique et des Marchés Publics Électroniques  (FNFE-MPE) — oranisations responsible for developing a national standard of e-invoicing in France — this new framework brings much-needed clarity and operational guidance to businesses and certified private Partner Dematerilisation Platforms (PDPs) preparing for the mandate.

Rather than serving as a technical specification alone, XP Z12-014 lays out how e-invoicing should function across real-life scenarios — defining roles, responsibilities, data formats, and processes.

At its core, XP Z12-014 defines how stakeholders should manage and exchange e-invoices under France’s upcoming mandate. It introduces a comprehensive model covering:

• 36 operational use cases, including subcontracting, co-contracting, auto-invoicing, multipayer scenarios, factoring, and card-based payments 
• The accepted data models and profiles, including the European EN16931 standard, and the French EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile 
  
• Required life cycle statuses, from invoice submission and rejection to dispute resolution, payment, and corrections 
• Clear roles and responsibilities for all parties involved: 
  • Sellers: invoice creation, transmission, status updates
  • Buyers: receipt, validation, payment, disputes
  • PDPs: data format checks, routing, compliance reporting
  • Third parties: defined roles for intermediaries like fiscal reps, payment service providers, or factoring agents

This framework aims to create a unified playbook for stakeholders — one that standardises the way information is handled and reported across systems and sectors.

XP Z12-014 follows a simple yet powerful guiding AFNOR principle: “For the same problem, the same solution should apply.”

That means use cases that are functionally similar — even across different industries — must follow the same formats and rules. This consistency helps reduce fragmentation across the ecosystem and sets a strong foundation for interoperability between PDPs, buyers, and sellers.

XP Z12-014 is not just a reference for PDPs and software providers. It also sets expectations for how businesses of all sizes should prepare for the transition to mandatory e-invoicing. Here are five key steps to consider:

1. Map your use cases

Identify which of the 36 defined scenarios apply to your current customer or supplier invoicing flows.

2. Validate PDP readiness

Confirm whether your PDP can support the relevant formats and life cycle status updates required for your transactions.

3. Update internal systems

Ensure that ERP, finance, and procurement systems are aligned with EN16931 and any extended profiles applicable to France.

4. Train internal teams 

Help finance, IT, compliance, and procurement teams understand their responsibilities within a life cycle-driven invoicing process.

5. Prepare for exceptions

Anticipate less common but high-impact scenarios like multiparty payments or agency relationships, and assess how your systems and PDPs will manage them.

Whether you’re a large enterprise or a small business, working with a PDP or considering becoming one, XP Z12-014 is essential reading. And for those already thinking ahead of upcoming mandates in other EU countries, it offers a model that may soon shape broader best practices across the region.

Speak with Avalara today about implementing your e-invoicing solution.