TGAP: identifying the components that apply to you

The general tax on polluting activities, or TGAP, is not a single tax but a set of components, each with its own chargeable event, taxable persons and rates. A business may be concerned by one component without being concerned by the others. The challenge is to identify those that genuinely apply to your activity.

For a foreign company selling in France, this mapping is a natural complement to VAT registration in France and to VAT returns, with the support of a French VAT agent.

The main components

The historical component linked to biofuels has, for its part, been replaced by a specific incentive tax on renewable energy in transport, which follows its own rules.

Why a foreign company may be concerned

The “products” component is the one most often underestimated. A European company that delivers targeted products directly to France, with no French intermediary placing them on the market itself, may become liable for TGAP on those first deliveries.

Management and calendar: advance payments and annual adjustment

TGAP is now managed by the DGFiP. It works with a system of advance payments and an annual adjustment, which must be built into the company’s tax calendar alongside VAT deadlines.

Exact dates and payment procedures should be checked every year, as they may change with the finance act.

A practical example of a first delivery

A European company ships lubricants or laundry preparations directly to French customers. No distributor established in France steps in to place these products on the market: the company itself may therefore be liable for the “products” TGAP on these deliveries, in addition to the applicable VAT.

In this kind of set-up, it helps to keep the detail of quantities delivered by product and by period, to check possible exemptions and to plan for advance payments. This example is illustrative: the analysis depends on the products, the rates in force and your sales channel, to be checked case by case.

In practice, a short annual review is enough to keep the analysis current: new products, changes in your sales channels or in the rates in force can all change which component applies and who must file. Documenting each review also makes any later exchange with the authorities far easier.

The approach to follow

Common mistakes

• treating TGAP as a single tax and missing a component;
• assuming a French customer is always the taxable person, when the first delivery may be what counts;
• not tracking quantities placed on the market, the basis of the “products” component;
• forgetting to link TGAP to the VAT calendar and other filings.

How Hanoutax can help

Hanoutax, a French VAT agent acting as tax agent (not as a fiscal representative), carries out this mapping, calculates the amounts due and files your returns under a mandate.

Discover the TGAP service, and more broadly our overview of taxes to declare. You can also start with a quick check.

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Informational content, not legal advice. The rules that apply depend on your situation.