by Roger Haigh, MBE.
Following on from our two articles in the last edition of ‘Keeping in Touch’ about setting up a business in France (1) and (2) Roger Haigh MBE outlines some of the other responsibilities micro-entrepreneurs have, such as professional qualifications, insurance and competition.
The micro-entrepreneur is above all an individual entrepreneur, an individual business, that is responsible for their actions. Like any individual entrepreneur, they benefit from an automatic separation of their personal and professional assets. They are therefore responsible for professional debts only on their professional assets, made up of assets useful for their activity. They must, therefore:
- Assess their professional risks.
- Respect the professional qualifications obligations required for the exercise of their profession.
- Take out the necessary insurance according to the activity carried out.
- Comply with the legislation in force that relates to competition and consumption. For example, two entrepreneurs could be sentenced for unfair competition by a commercial court ruling if they practised resale at a loss on a price comparison site. Selling at a loss is only authorized in specific situations, for example during sales periods. Apart from such periods, offers of significantly low prices in relation to the production, processing and marketing costs are prohibited if they have the effect of eliminating from a market or preventing access to the market of a company or one of its products.
If you need further clarification or assistance related to any of these changes, contact us at info@franco-british-network.com