Taxing CBD like tobacco: what's behind the 2026 budget

As the sector of CBD always trying to stabilize after several years of regulatory uncertainty, the 2026 Finance Bill introduces a measure that could shake up the entire sector.

The text, submitted in early October, plans to extend the tax regime for tobacco products at products containing cannabidiol (CBD) intended for smoking. A decision that would place CBD liquids and flowers under the regime of excises, with major consequences for French producers, retailers, and e-commerce businesses.

Fiscal «harmonization» according to Bercy

The government is presenting this reform as a simple Tax harmonization. The article in question modifies the Goods and Services Tax Act (GSTA) in order to include products «likely to be smoked, even without tobacco or nicotine».

Concretely, this means that CBD flowers and derivatives for smoking (pre-rolls, mixes, combustible extracts) would henceforth be subject to a specific tax, comparable to that applied to cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco.

According to the budget documents, this measure aims to « ensure tax neutrality among the different products to smoke» and « ensure better customs traceability »The Ministry of Economy and Finance, via the Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Duties (DGDDI), would be in charge of controlling this new product category.

A still unclear tax rate

The text sets the amount of the future tax on smokable CBD at 25.71 TP3T, in addition to a fixed rate of €18 per kilogram. This prospect is causing serious concern among industry players, who fear that see competitiveness disappear CBD compared to the black market or foreign merchants.

Beyond taxation, this measure would lead to a Administrative status change smokable CBD. By integrating these products into the diet excises, the government would effectively assimilate them to tobacco products, with all the obligations that come with it:

• customs warehousing
• Tax stamps
• distribution authorizations
• and sales channel control.

Online sales and retail sales: a market under the control of tobacconists

This is undoubtedly the most serious consequence of this reform: the CBD for smoking sale would now reserved for tobacconists and any potential Customs-approved merchants. Visit specialty boutiques in the CBD, which currently constitute the bulk of the distribution network, would no longer be able to sell of flowers or derivatives intended for burning.

In other words, only the Tobacco shops would retain the right to market these products, subject to compliance with customs regulations. Independent stores should be limited to oils, infusions, capsules, or cosmetics, not concerned by this taxation.

For the Online sales, the situation would be even stricter. As with tobacco, the distance selling of excise goods is forbidden in France. If CBD flowers are included in this scheme, all sales on the internet – including through authorized French websites – would become illegal.

E-commerce platforms, at the heart of the market today, would therefore segments of the smoking CBD market.

These restrictions would represent a abrupt halt for many entrepreneurs who have invested in digital or physical distribution since 2020. Some professional unions, like the Union of CBD Professionals (UPCBD), are even calling for a transient regime or a specific status, to avoid a «market capture» by the tobacconist network alone.

A controversial measure in the industry

On the professional side, the reaction is unanimous: the text favors the tobacco monopoly to the detriment of an emerging sector that has created jobs and structured a legal offering. French producers, who have invested in low-THC varieties and traceability, fear being deprived of direct outlets and having to go through accredited intermediaries.

Several legal experts also point out a contradiction with European law : CBD, recognized as non-intoxicating by the Court of Justice of the European Union, should not be equated with a tobacco product, especially in the absence of nicotine. Therefore, such a classification could be legally challenged, or even judged disproportionate in light of public health objectives.

Pending the issuance of implementing regulations, the measure establishes a major uncertainty for the field of hemp wellness. If it were adopted as is, the market for smokable CBD would be Almost nationalized, concentrated in the hands of tobacconists, while the historical actors in the sector should reinvent oneself or turning to export.

This project to tax CBD like tobacco therefore raises a broader question: does France want to regulate CBD or stifle it?