Part One: State taxes

1. Manufactured tobacco may be imported, introduced and wholesaled in mainland France by any natural or legal person who establishes itself as a supplier with a view to carrying on this activity under the conditions laid down by decree of the Conseil d’Etat. 2. In the same territory, the manufacture of manufactured tobacco may be carried out by any natural or legal person who establishes itself as a manufacturer with…

The retail sales monopoly is entrusted to the administration, which exercises it, under conditions and according to procedures laid down by decree, through the intermediary of tobacconists designated as its agents and liable to licence fees, holders of the buyer-reseller status referred to in the last paragraph, or through the intermediary of resellers who are required to obtain their supplies of manufactured tobacco exclusively from the tobacconists designated above. A…

As an exception to Article 568, in the overseas departments, from 1 January 2019 only persons who are qualified traders and hold a licence granted on behalf of the department by the president of the departmental council may sell tobacco at retail. A licence is only valid for one sales outlet. The number of licences granted per department is determined in application of general location rules laid down by decree….

I. – The distance selling of manufactured tobacco products, including when the purchaser is located abroad, is prohibited in mainland France and the overseas departments. The acquisition, introduction from another Member State of the European Union or importation from third countries of manufactured tobacco products in the context of distance selling is also prohibited in mainland France and the overseas departments. II. – Manufactured tobacco products discovered in postal parcels…

I. – In accordance with the procedures laid down by regulation, all suppliers are subject to the following obligations: 1° Deliver tobacco only to the tobacconists designated in article 568; 2° Retain ownership of the tobacco from the time it enters or is manufactured in France until it is sold at retail after being consigned to the tobacconist; 3° Grant each tobacconist a discount, the rates or amounts of which…

The suppliers mentioned in Article 570 are required to declare each of their establishments to the administration. The department’s agents may freely carry out any necessary checks inside these establishments, under the conditions set by Article L. 27 of the Book of Tax Procedures (1).

The retail price of each product, expressed per 1,000 units or per 1,000 grams, is the same throughout France and is freely determined by manufacturers and approved suppliers. For each package, the retail price of the product is equal to this single price multiplied by the capacity of the package, then rounded up to the nearest multiple of 5 euro cents. For each product and each package, the retail price…