CBD and taxation: understanding the role of article 49.3

Article 49, paragraph 3, of the Constitution allows the government to have a text adopted without a vote of the Assemblée nationale, unless a motion of no confidence is tabled and passed within the prescribed time limits. This mechanism has been used frequently in recent years to adopt finance bills, in a parliamentary context with no absolute majority. When a budget text is put through by this route, all the amendments not retained by the government in its final version, including those concerning a possible CBD tax, disappear from the text as adopted.

During the examination of the finance bill, some members of parliament table amendments seeking to create a specific tax on CBD products, often by analogy with the taxation of tobacco or alcohol. These proposals generally rely on the argument of a consumer product that is still lightly taxed relative to its commercial growth. None of these proposals has, to date, been incorporated into the final budget text.

Apart from the taxes and contributions applicable to any business, a CBD product sold in France is subject to the standard VAT rate of 20%, with the exception of certain categories of food products which may fall under a different rate depending on their nature. Unlike tobacco, there is no excise duty or specific levy of its own on CBD in current French tax law.

The CBD market, still young and evolving rapidly, regularly attracts the attention of parliamentarians during the annual budget discussions. The regulatory framework of the product itself, in particular the 0.30% THC threshold set by the Conseil d'État decision of 29 December 2022, remains distinct from these tax debates: a change in taxation would not alter the conditions under which a CBD product is legal, only its final price for the consumer.

Each new examination of the finance bill may bring this type of amendment back. Professionals in the sector follow these debates closely, because a specific tax would directly affect their margins and the price displayed in shops, without changing the legal framework of the product itself.

Is CBD taxed like tobacco in France today?

No. It is subject to the standard VAT rate, with no specific excise duty comparable to the one that applies to tobacco or alcohol.

Is article 49.3 used only to push through taxes?

No. It allows an entire budget text to be adopted without a vote, which in practice also sets aside individual amendments that were not retained, whether they concern a tax or another subject.

Could a CBD tax one day be adopted?

It is possible, since this type of amendment comes back regularly during the budget debates. Nothing to date indicates that such a measure appears in a final adopted text.

Would a tax increase change the legality of CBD?

No. The THC threshold of the finished product remains the determining legal criterion, independent of any change in the taxation applicable to the sector.