What is the tax definition of a printed book in France to benefit from a 5.5% VAT rate?
Verified on March 29, 2019 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (French Prime Minister)
For tax purposes, a book is defined as a printed set, illustrated or not, published under a title, whose purpose is to reproduce a work of the mind of one or more authors for the purpose of teaching, dissemination of thought and culture.
It must be composed of printed elements, assembled with the same object, which cannot be dissociated nor sold separately (works including discs, films or slides for example).
No more than one-third of the total area should be used for advertising and white space in the text.
The following are considered to be books eligible for a 5.5% VAT rate:
- books on literature, science and art;
- dictionaries and encyclopedias ;
- teaching books and workbooks ;
- directories (e.g. of personalities),
- guides (tourist and cultural) and directories ;
- exhibition catalogs and quotation books (collectors) ;
- geographical maps ;
- coloring books.
Not included in the definition of a book are :
- almanacs,
- agendas
- product sales catalogs,
- books to cut out,
- instructions for use, etc.
The price of a publication depends on whether it qualifies for tax purposes or not.
If a product is considered from a tax point of view as a book :
it benefits from the single price system;
it is subject to a reduced VAT rate of 5.5% (or 2.1% in Corsica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion Island), except for publications which, because of their pornographic or violent nature, are prohibited from being sold to minors, exhibited to the public or advertised, and are taxed at a rate of 20%.
ISSN or ISBN?
What's ISSN ?
If you wish to sell a periodical publication (e.g. magazine), you will need to obtain an ISSN.
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is an international standard code governed by the ISO 3297 : 2017 standard. The ISSN concerns periodicals and collections.
It allows any serial publication to be uniquely and unambiguously identified. It is used in the exchange of information between libraries, abstracting and indexing services, software vendors, broadcasters and other intermediaries, publishers and other content producers.
An ISSN is requested via the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Periodical publications receive an ISSN, provided that they fall within the scope of the ISSN, on receipt of the first issue or volume sent to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France as part of the mandatory legal deposit.
To do this, publishers must send the 4 copies of their publication, together with the legal deposit declaration forms and the ISSN application form.
The ISSN can be assigned before publication on reasoned request, only in the following cases: need to integrate the ISSN into a barcode, distribution abroad in a country where the ISSN is imperative.
For further information, please contact Bibliothèque nationale de France - Centre ISSN France - T1N6 - Quai François Mauriac - 75706 PARIS Cedex 13 - Tel. +33 (0)1 53 79 59 30 - Fax +33 (0)1 53 79 50 45 - E-mail : issn.france@bnf.fr
What's ISBN ?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is an international numbering system for books.
The 13-character barcode identifies a title or an edition of a title published by a specific author or publisher. This number is used by all physical or online bookstores, publishers, distributors and libraries for the management, stock and processing of their works.
If you want to sell your book, or put a price on it, you will need to get an ISBN. If your book is not for sale, you will not need an ISBN.
The ISBN must be recorded both :
- on the back of the title page,
- at the bottom of the 4th cover page,
- at the bottom of the last page of the jacket, if there is one.
If you do not have one and wish to obtain one in order to benefit from 5.5% vat, click on the link below to take the necessary steps.
What information is required on a paper book or periodical to benefit from a 5.5% VAT rate?
PRINTED COPY (PAPER BOOK)
The printed copy - also known as the Colophon – is a mandatory statement.
It indicates where the book was printed.
Like legal deposit, it is an obligation to better control the country's publications.
The printout can be located :
- or on the last page of the book,
- either on the page before the title page
The following information is required:
- Name (or company name) and address of the publisher
- Name (or company name) and address of the printer (+ country if printing abroad)
- Name (or company name) and address of producer or editor (if no publisher)
- Sales price in euros (if the book is free, the words "this copy cannot be sold" must be entered)
- Date of legal deposit (month and year)
- Date of completion of the print run (called finished printing)
- Date of reprint
- ISBN (national identifier for each publication published)
- ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): only if the book belongs to a series, only the first volume published in the series must be mentioned.
In practice, it is tolerated to simply indicate the country where the book was printed.
Example : "Printed in France"
When you place your order, well before sending your files, it is possible to indicate to you the printer selected to complete the printing.
THE BEAR (PERIODICAL)
Por a periodical, these mentions must appear in a text box, called the bear.
If it is the ISBN, it must be printed both :
- on the back of the title page,
- at the bottom of the back cover,
- at the bottom of the last page of the jacket, if applicable.
For periodicals, if the publisher is a legal entity, the following must be indicated in addition to its name
- the legal form,
- the address of the head office,
- the name of its legal representative and 3 partners.
The selling price must appear on the 1st or 4th cover, by printing or on a label.
If it is a label, it must also include the publisher's name
How to declare a paper book for legal deposit to benefit from a 5.5% VAT rate?
Legal deposit at BnF is organized to allow the collection and preservation of books, periodicals, cartographic documents, iconographic documents, sound and multimedia documents, software, videograms, websites and printed music. The deposit of these documents makes it possible to constitute a reference collection that can be consulted in the rooms of the Research Library. It also allows the establishment and distribution of the French National Bibliography.
Legal deposit publisher or self-publisher
As a publisher or self-publisher, you must fill out the legal deposit declaration document available on the BnF website. Print it in 3 copies. Send it, along with the paper book in question, by mail to the BnF. Another way to declare a book for legal deposit: go to the legal deposit extranet.
Publisher's legal deposit statement.
Legal deposit printer
As an online printer of books and periodicals, we take care of depositing a copy of the document with the authorized library of Poitou-Charentes free of charge.