When and How to File the ESL and INTRASTAT in France? 2026 Edition

Definition: What Is the “DEB” (Now the ESL and INTRASTAT)?

What Was the Déclaration d'Échanges de Biens (Really)?

Historically, the DEB was a single document that summarized all movements of goods between France and the other countries of the European Union. It pursued two goals: fiscal tracking (tracing VAT flows and intra-community deliveries) and foreign-trade statistics (building the balance-of-trade figures).

How Is the Former “DEB” Structured Today? The Era of the ESL and INTRASTAT

Since the 2022 reform, the former single DEB has been split into two distinct declarations: the EC Sales List (ESL), a purely fiscal report, and INTRASTAT, the purely statistical survey of intra-EU movements of goods. The full VAT rules in France overview explains the obligations around each.

What Is the Difference Between the ESL and INTRASTAT in France?

Who Must File the ESL and INTRASTAT in France? (Thresholds and Obligations)

The EC Sales List (ESL)

You must file the ESL if your company is liable for VAT in France, holds a valid French intra-community VAT number, and carries out certain operations toward the EU: For the applicable French VAT rates, see the VAT in France guide.

• Sales of goods to other European businesses (intra-community deliveries, or LIC);
• Transfers of your own stock to a warehouse or logistics centre in another EU country (Amazon FBA, for example).

INTRASTAT: A More Targeted Obligation

Your company will only be required to file INTRASTAT if, during the calendar year:

• it brings in (EU purchases delivered into France) more than €460,000;
• it dispatches (B2B sales within the EU + EU stock transfers) more than €460,000;
• or it has received an official letter from Customs informing it that it is part of the statistical sample.

These two €460,000 thresholds are completely independent of each other.

By Which Date Must You File the ESL and INTRASTAT in France?

The rule: it is a monthly declaration, to be submitted after the end of each reference month. The deadline in France is the 10th working day of the month following the reference month.

The 2026 Filing Calendar

The INTRASTAT Thresholds

You file INTRASTAT each month only if you exceed the thresholds during the year (more than €460,000 of arrivals or more than €460,000 of dispatches over the calendar year — the obligation starts in the month the threshold is crossed), if you exceeded a threshold in the previous year (you are then liable for the whole current year from 1 January), or if you received the Customs “invitation” (from the month indicated in the letter, even below the thresholds).

Prodouane: The Online Service to File

Everything happens online via Prodouane, the official portal of French Customs: entry of the information required for the ESL and/or INTRASTAT, and paperless transmission to the customs services. To get access, create an account on the Prodouane portal and have your French intra-community VAT number (starting with FR) ready — the essential key.

Which Operations Must Be Declared in France? (The Detail of the Flows)

B2B Sales (Intra-Community Deliveries – LIC)

This is the standard case: you sell a machine to an Italian VAT-registered customer. Condition: the customer must have a valid VAT number (check it on VIES!).

Stock Transfers

You send your own goods from your warehouse in France to an Amazon warehouse in Germany? There is no sale (you remain the owner) but it is a declarable operation: you enter your own VAT number in the country of arrival as the “acquirer.” Forgetting these flows is the No. 1 cause of reassessments among Amazon Pan-EU sellers.

Returns of Goods

A Spanish customer sends back a defective product? Do not delete the line from the previous month: you must declare an adjustment (often via a specific declaration level or as an adjustment in the current month).

How to Complete Your ESL and INTRASTAT Declarations?

Everything happens on douane.gouv.fr (the DEBWEB / ESL service). One wrong code and it is rejected.

Step 1: The Calendar

Refer to the table of filing dates above. The deadline depends on working days.

Step 2: Complete the ESL (the Fiscal Part)

The common base (ESL and INTRASTAT for the dispatches concerned) includes the value of the goods (fiscal value, amount invoiced excluding VAT, incidental costs included; for stock transfers, cost price or internal transfer value), the country of destination (EU member country code) and the European customer's intra-community VAT number (mandatory for the ESL, to be checked via VIES; for a stock transfer, your own VAT number in the country of arrival).

Choosing the ESL régime code:

Step 3: Complete INTRASTAT (the Full Statistical Part)

If you are liable for INTRASTAT, prepare far more detail. The checklist of data to prepare line by line:

1. The reference period: the month (and year) concerned.
2. The flow type: arrival (entry into FR) or dispatch (departure from FR).
3. The product nomenclature (NC8): an 8-digit code (e.g. 85171200).
4. The net mass: weight of the goods in kg (without packaging).
5. Supplementary units: if the NC8 code requires them (litres, square metres, number of pieces).
6. The nature of the transaction: a 2-digit code (11 = sale, 21 = return, etc.).
7. The French département: of departure (dispatch) or arrival (arrival).
8. The country of origin: where the goods were actually made (manufacture).
9. The INTRASTAT régime code: indicates the category of the flow.

INTRASTAT régime codes — dispatches (out of France):

INTRASTAT régime codes — arrivals (into France):

Mode of transport:

How to Adjust a Declaration (ESL/INTRASTAT)? (Returns, Credit Notes, Errors)

Case 1: Handling Credit Notes and Commercial Returns

If you issue a credit note to your customer, in the ESL you must “cancel” or reduce the initial sale: file an adjustment line for the month of the credit note, under régime 25 (commercial adjustment – decrease in value), stating the net amount of the credit note and the customer's VAT number. On the CA3, do not forget to deduct this amount from the intra-community deliveries line.

Case 2: Physical Return of Goods (Without Replacement)

Your European customer returns an item to you (EU to France): if you file INTRASTAT, declare this “arrival” flow under régime 19, transaction nature 21 (return). You return an item to a supplier (France to EU): declare this “dispatch” flow under régime 29, transaction nature 21.

Case 3: Stock Returns (Amazon/Logistics Complexity)

If you had sent stock (régime 21 or 20) and it returns to France unsold: for a return within 12 months following a régime 20, use régime 10 in the ESL to correct the initial transfer; for a return after more than 12 months or standard stock, the return is a separate flow (an INTRASTAT arrival under régime 19), and if the initial shipment had affected the ESL, an adjustment (régime 25) can fiscally cancel the dispatch.

Penalties and Fines for Non-Declaration, Error, or Delay

• 750 € per missing declaration or declaration filed late;
• the fine is doubled (1 500 €) if the taxpayer does not regularize their situation within 30 days of a formal notice;
• 15 € per omission or error in a declaration (not exceeding 1 500 € per declaration).

Automating Your French ESL and INTRASTAT Declarations

If you handle more than 10-20 invoices per month, manual entry is dangerous. A typo on a VAT number or an NC8 code happens fast. How to get organized? See our guide on EU Intrastat Thresholds Table.

1. ERP / invoicing: configure your software to export a standardized .CSV or .XML file (Prodouane accepts bulk imports).
2. NC8 mapping: make sure each product record in your catalogue has its customs code (HS Code) and net weight.
3. Outsourcing: many foreign companies delegate this burden to a specialist provider that cleans the data, validates VAT numbers via the VIES API, and files on their behalf.

The simplest way to avoid mistakes is still to delegate your declarations to a fiscal representative in France. Learn how to get a VAT number in France.

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See also: ATVAI French import VAT check · international transport VAT rules