DAC8 Transposition in France: What CASPs Need to Know

France has positioned itself as a leading European hub for digital asset regulation, with its PSAN (Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques) registration framework serving as a precursor to MiCA. The transposition of DAC8 builds on this foundation and introduces new tax reporting obligations that every CASP operating in or serving the French market must understand.

France's Regulatory Context

France was among the first EU Member States to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-asset service providers. The PACTE Law of 2019 (Plan d'Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises) introduced the PSAN regime, administered by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

Under the PSAN framework, CASPs providing certain services — including custody, exchange, and trading — must register with the AMF and comply with anti-money laundering requirements. This registration requirement has given French authorities significant visibility into the country's crypto market and has prepared CASPs for the additional compliance obligations that DAC8 introduces.

France has also been proactive in taxing crypto-assets. Since 2019, gains from crypto-asset disposals by individuals are subject to a flat tax (prélèvement forfaitaire unique — PFU) of 30%, comprising 12.8% income tax and 17.2% social contributions. Professional crypto traders are subject to the standard business income tax regime.

Legislative Transposition

The French transposition of DAC8 is being led by the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The implementation is expected to take the form of amendments to the Code Général des Impôts (CGI) and the Livre des Procédures Fiscales (LPF), along with implementing decrees and administrative instructions.

France has a track record of transposing DAC directives through its annual finance laws (Loi de Finances) or through dedicated legislative vehicles. The DAC8 transposition may follow a similar path, with the core obligations established in primary legislation and the technical details specified in regulatory texts and administrative guidance.

Competent Authority and Filing

The DGFiP is the competent authority for receiving DAC8 reports in France. More specifically, the Direction des Impôts des Non-Résidents (DINR) and the Bureau CF-2 within the DGFiP handle international tax information exchange, including CRS and FATCA reporting.

CASPs registered in France will submit their DAC8 reports to the DGFiP, which will then exchange the information with other EU Member States through the EU's central exchange mechanism. The DGFiP is expected to provide specific technical guidance, including the XML specifications and filing procedures, through its official bulletin (BOFiP — Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques).

Interaction with Existing French Reporting Obligations

France already imposes certain reporting obligations on crypto-asset service providers and holders that go beyond the current EU requirements. These include the obligation for French tax residents to declare all foreign crypto-asset accounts on their annual tax return (Form 3916-bis), existing reporting requirements for PSANs under the Monetary and Financial Code, and anti-money laundering reporting obligations under the Tracfin framework.

DAC8 will complement these existing obligations by adding a systematic, automated reporting mechanism that provides the DGFiP with comprehensive transaction-level data. For CASPs already compliant with PSAN requirements and CRS reporting, DAC8 represents an incremental expansion rather than a fundamental change.

TIN and Self-Certification in France

France assigns a Numéro Fiscal (Tax Number) to all individuals subject to French taxation. This 13-digit number serves as the TIN for DAC8 purposes. For entities, the SIREN number (Système d'Identification du Répertoire des Entreprises) may serve as the relevant identifier.

French CASPs should note that many of their users may already have provided their Numéro Fiscal as part of the PSAN onboarding process or CRS due diligence. However, DAC8 requires self-certification of tax residency, which is a distinct requirement that may not have been collected previously.

Penalties Under French Law

France has a robust penalty framework for tax reporting violations. While the specific DAC8 penalties will be defined in the transposition legislation, they are likely to follow the existing model for CRS penalties, which includes fines of €200 per missing or incorrect report item with a minimum of €500 per report, additional penalties for late filing, and potential criminal sanctions for deliberate non-compliance or participation in tax fraud.

The AMF may also consider DAC8 compliance as part of its ongoing supervision of registered PSANs, particularly as France transitions from the PSAN regime to full MiCA implementation.

Impact on the French Market

France's active crypto market, with several major exchanges and custody providers operating under PSAN registration, will be significantly affected by DAC8. The directive will increase the data available to French tax authorities for cross-referencing against individual tax returns (Form 2042-C), identifying French residents trading on platforms in other EU Member States, and detecting unreported crypto income across all transaction categories.

For French CASPs, the key challenge will be the systematic collection of TINs and self-certifications from their entire user base, including users who registered before DAC8 takes effect. This look-back process may require significant outreach and user communication efforts.

The PSAN-to-MiCA Transition

France is currently transitioning from its national PSAN framework to the EU-wide MiCA regime. This transition period creates additional complexity for CASPs, as they must manage simultaneous changes in their licensing status, operational requirements, and reporting obligations.

CASPs should coordinate their MiCA authorization applications with their DAC8 compliance preparations, as both processes require investments in compliance infrastructure and may share common data requirements. The AMF has indicated that it will consider overall regulatory compliance when assessing MiCA applications, making DAC8 readiness a potential factor in the authorization process.

Practical Recommendations

CASPs operating in France should monitor DGFiP and AMF publications for specific transposition details and technical guidance, leverage existing PSAN and CRS compliance infrastructure to accelerate DAC8 implementation, plan for the collection of Numéro Fiscal from all users, including non-French tax residents who may have French-sourced crypto income, engage with French tax counsel to understand the interaction between DAC8 reporting and existing French tax obligations, and prepare user-facing communications in French and English to facilitate self-certification collection.

Conclusion

France's combination of an established PSAN framework, proactive crypto taxation, and rigorous tax enforcement creates an environment where DAC8 compliance will be both expected and closely monitored. CASPs operating in France should view DAC8 as a natural extension of their existing regulatory obligations and prepare accordingly, leveraging the compliance infrastructure they have already built under the PSAN regime.