Entrepreneurs: all the changes to come in 2020!

Passed at the end of September, the Finance Bill 2020 will come into force from January¹ next year. Like every year, it concerns entrepreneurs at the forefront, and on a wide variety of subjects. Often referred to as a "social" budget in the media, it aims to implement several fundamental economic reforms such as the PACTE law, as well as other legislation arising from the transposition of European standards into French law. As every year, entrepreneurs are among the first to be affected by the economic, fiscal and social reforms undertaken by the government.

Let's find out what's in store for you in 2020!

Disposable plastic products now banned

To help protect the environment, it is now forbidden to produce and sell disposable tableware, water bottles in school canteens, and plastic swizzle sticks, straws and cotton buds. Failure to comply with this ban may result in administrative and criminal penalties of up to 2 years' imprisonment and a €100,000 fine. This measure follows the ban on distributing free plastic bags in shops since 2017, or the desire to reduce paper sales receipts. 

For SMEs, workforce thresholds have been modified following the PACTE law!

Headcount thresholds have been changed to 11, 50 and 250 employees respectively. Crossing a threshold means having to meet a number of obligations, some of which are difficult to manage. This system will make it possible to mobilize the déclaration sociale nominative (DSN) for a larger number of workforce thresholds, to simplify life for companies. 

It is important to emphasize that the thresholds are only fully effective once the company has exceeded them for 5 consecutive years. Companies with fluctuating headcounts are thus protected. 

For all self-employed people, your social protection is changing!

It's been 2 years since the social protection of the self-employed was transferred to the general social security scheme. From January^1, 2020, all the self-employed will have a one-stop shop to carry out all their formalities. For self-employed workers set up before January¹, 2019, the transfer to the health insurance scheme will take place on January^1, 2020. This represents a real step forward in improving social protection for the self-employed.

If you work on public contracts

A public procurement contract is a contract concluded for valuable consideration by one or more public purchasers with one or more public or private economic operators. The aim is often to carry out works, or to provide supplies or services. Any economic operator can apply for the award of a public contract, including micro-entrepreneurs! Since October¹, 2018, any public contract with a value exceeding €25,000 excluding VAT must be awarded by dematerialized means. 

In 2020, the threshold for public procurement without prior formalities will be raised to €40,000 (from €25,000). This change is motivated by the desire to simplify administrative tasks for small businesses wishing to access public procurement contracts. This will make it easier for SMEs to access public procurement contracts. However, the fact that public contracts with an estimated value below this threshold are not subject to CCP procedures does not mean that there are no formalities. Finally, note that the €25,000 threshold is maintained for the obligation to transmit essential public procurement data (either through free, direct and complete access on the purchaser's profile, or through publication during the last quarter of each year). 

For very small businesses working on public procurement contracts, electronic invoicing is now mandatory!

Are you a very small business (fewer than 10 employees) working with public procurement contracts? As of January^1, 2020, you will be obliged toadopt electronic invoicing. This measure will reduce the workload associated with processing invoices, cut processing and transmission times, and facilitate digital archiving. 

You must then use the official ChorusPro portal to send your payment requests to the public sector entities concerned. 

All jobs held by disabled workers must be listed in the DSN

Companies with at least 20 employees must employ 6% of their workforce in disabled jobs. They are therefore obliged to declare each year the number of jobs held by a disabled worker. The mandatory declaration of employment of a disabled worker is now to be integrated into the Déclaration sociale nominative (DSN). This will automate the process, eliminating the need for a paper form, as has been the case until now.