VAT recodified in the CIBS: what changes for real estate

The French Taxes on Goods and Services Code (CIBS), created by ordonnance n° 2021-1843 of 22 December 2021, progressively consolidates the levies on goods and services: excise duties on energy, alcohol and tobacco, transport taxes, then other sector-specific levies. The transfer of VAT, effected by ordonnance n° 2025-1247 of 17 December 2025, completes this project: VAT now occupies Book II of the code, with a modernised drafting in short articles.

The CGI remains the seat of the legislative VAT rules until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, those rules are codified in Book II of the CIBS, pursuant to ordonnance n° 2025-1247 of 17 December 2025. Real estate transactions whose chargeable event occurs before that date remain governed by the CGI texts in the wording then applicable.

In principle, no: the exercise is conducted without changing the substance of the law, meaning that the substantive rules (scope, exemptions, options, rates, right to deduct) are carried over without any general reform. The complete rewriting nevertheless involves drafting adjustments: codification of case-law solutions, reclassifications between statute and regulation, reformulation of certain mechanisms such as the relief of article 257 bis of the CGI. On the sensitive points of a transaction, a text-by-text verification remains advisable.

These articles are repealed on 1 January 2027 and their content is carried over into Book II of the CIBS under a new numbering. Two official concordance tables now accompany the reform: the December 2025 table published with the ordinance, and an updated table published with the Official Journal no. 0174 of 28 July 2026, which reflects the renumbering of Book II by ordonnance n° 2026-671 (in the real estate chapter, the articles L. 221-xx of the December version are now read L. 231-xx). A reference must be settled against the July 2026 table. Moreover, in line with standard recodification practice, references to the repealed provisions contained in deeds and contracts are deemed to refer to the corresponding CIBS provisions: a deed citing the former article does not become invalid as a result.

No, and the point is worth stating precisely: this is not a discretionary tolerance but a statutory equivalence. Under article 46, II of ordonnance n° 2025-1247, in the wording resulting from ordonnance n° 2026-671, references to the former CGI articles remain valid on invoices capable of producing effects until 30 June 2028. According to the ruling published in the BOFiP on 7 October 2026 (BOI-RES-TVA-000253), a document that also produces effects beyond that date remains valid for those effects, and the formal requirements for invoices remain governed by the CGI until they are carried over into the regulatory part of the CIBS. Two strategies are then available: switching to the CIBS references, or citing directly the provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC, whose numbering is unaffected by domestic recodifications. The updating of invoicing settings should be planned before that date.

The risk of a challenge on that ground alone is limited: references to repealed provisions are deemed to refer to the corresponding provisions of the new code, and the parties' intention remains identifiable. It is nevertheless preferable, for VAT options, undertakings to build or to resell and margin-scheme clauses, to cite the new CIBS articles, where appropriate with a reminder of the former reference: a clear citation avoids any dispute with the tax authorities or the counterparty.

Yes. The tax authorities submitted their guidance, reorganised along the CIBS plan, to a public consultation from 18 February to 15 April 2026. The guidance on real estate VAT (supplies of buildings, options, VAT on the margin, reduced rates) is due to be republished under the new references. During the transition, it is important to check which version of the guidance applies, in particular for the purposes of relying on published doctrine under article L. 80 A of the French Tax Procedure Code (LPF). Since ordonnance n° 2026-671 of 27 July 2026, article 46, III of ordonnance n° 2025-1247 provides that guidance based on the CGI articles counts as an interpretation of the CIBS articles that restate them; the BOFiP confirmed this on 7 October 2026 and published a glossary of the code (see binding guidance and the CIBS glossary).