New €100 per hectolitre contribution on so-called energy drinks

Article 18 of the 2014 Social Security Financing Act created a contribution (Article 1613 bis A of the General Tax Code) on so-called energy drinks containing at least 220 mg of caffeine per litre, packaged for retail sale. The rate was €100 per hectolitre, i.e. €1 per litre, indexed annually on inflation. It is due by manufacturers established in France, importers and intra-EU purchasers, collected by customs and allocated to the national health insurance fund. The measure came from an amendment by Gérard Bapt, rapporteur of the National Assembly social affairs committee. Following a priority question of constitutionality, the Constitutional Council struck down the words 'so-called energy' (decision 2014-417 QPC of 19 September 2014), with effect from 1 January 2015: the contribution then applied to all drinks above the caffeine threshold.