The CFE is your one-stop contact for all your administrative procedures (recruitment, modification, cancellation, etc). It takes responsibility for centralising your information and passing it on to the various bodies concerned: INSEE, CARSAT, public finances office, etc.

The Foreign Companies Service is the CFE for foreign companies with no place of business France.

NOTE: For activities relevant of the agricultural scheme, you must contact the agricultural social mutual fund (‘Mutualité Sociale Agricole’ - MSA) of Alsace, except - here again - for companies registered in Monaco and those in the bullfighting and inland waterways transport.

As soon as the CFE receives your declaration of creation or modification , they circulate this to all relevant bodies (corporation tax department, etc). Transmission of your creation declaration automatically triggers:

- Your listing in the national register of companies and establishments (‘SIRENE’);

- The issue by INSEE of your SIRET identification number (this is the number you must use in all your contacts with various administrations);

- The allocation of an intra-Community VAT number by your business taxes office for your commercial operations within European Union.

The agricultural social mutual fund (‘Mutualité Sociale Agricole’ - MSA) for Alsace is the CFE for agricultural companies. They manage the contributions for your employees covered by the French social security scheme, and it is the office you will have to:

- Declare the recruitment of each employee;

- Declare salaries;

- Pay social contributions.

Click here for more information.

- Declarations of the creation of a company or activity and the recruitment of employees.

- Declarations of modification.

- Declarations of ceasing an activity or termination of staff employment.

A foreign company that wants to set up an establishment or a subsidiary in France must register with the ‘SIRENE’ list of companies and establishments by contacting the appropriate business formalities centre (‘Centre de Formalités des Entreprises’ - CFE) for their activity. In respect of taxation and social declarations, foreign companies have the same obligations as French in terms of registration.

A foreign company that has no place of business or employees in France but carries out operations that are taxable in France (VAT, corporate tax, etc) should contact the tax office that deals with foreign companies (‘Service des Impôts des Entreprises Étrangères’ - SIEE); click here for more information.

The supplementary pension bodies collect contributions and manage employees’ supplementary pensions. The providence bodies collect contributions and deal with the relevant allowances for invalidity and inability to work, and payment of the death benefit for employees, surviving spouse’s pension, etc.