Under French anti-VAT fraud law and NF525 standards, POS systems must guarantee data integrity, security, retention, and traceability of transactions.
In the event of a request from the French tax authorities, merchants must be able to provide a Tax Archive file that complies with these requirements.
Retention Requirement (6+1 Years)
Under French tax law, transaction data and digital tax archives must be retained for:
6 years, plus
The current fiscal year
This is commonly referred to as the “6+1 years” retention rule.
Exporting a Tax Archive in Comply
You can generate and export a Tax Archive report for a specific store (location) and register (cashier) directly from:
Shopify Admin → Apps → Comply → Tax Archives
The archive file is generated in compliance with French regulations and is automatically sent to the email address displayed on screen.
Step 1: Access Tax Archives
In Shopify Admin, go to Apps
Click Comply
Select Tax Archives
Step 2: Select the Store (Location) and register
In the Export section:
Open the Location dropdown
Select the location (e.g., Store Paris)
Open the Register dropdown
Choose the register number (e.g., #1, #2, #3)
What Is the Register Number?
The Register number refers to the Shopify POS device (cash register) used to process transactions.
Each time a device logs into Shopify POS for the first time, it is automatically assigned a unique register number.
This number is permanently linked to that device.
Even if the device is later used in a different location, the register number remains the same.
How to Identify the Register Number
You can find the register number (POS device ID) in the following ways:
1. Directly on the POS Device
On the Shopify POS device:
Open the Menu
Tap Support
Select View device information
Locate the Register ID
The Register ID displayed there is the register number assigned to that device.
2. In Shopify Admin (From an Order)
Go to Shopify Admin
Open any POS order
Under the order name, you will see a reference in the following format:
#2-1013
In this example:
#2 = Register number (device ID)
1013 = Receipt sequence number (internal for Shopify, not the receipt from Comply).
The number before the hyphen corresponds to the POS device used to process the transaction.
Step 3: Select the Date Range
Click Select date range
Choose the start date
Choose the end date
Confirm your selection
The selected period will appear below the date selector.
Step 4: Export the Report
Before exporting, review:
Selected Location
Selected Register
Selected Date range
Then:
Click Export
The system will generate the Tax Archive file
The export file will be automatically sent via email
You can then download and securely store the file for accounting or compliance purposes.
Important Notes
Tax archives are generated in an open format compliant with French NF525 regulations.
Always verify the correct store and register before exporting.
Large date ranges may take longer to process.
Always keep a secure backup of exported tax archives.
It is not retroactive. The file exported from Comply does not include sales made before Comply was activated on that location or device. Previous sales are not included in the export files, as they were not processed by Comply.