Reduction of the C3S base for wholesales of proprietary medicinal products

• Currently, the turnover used as the basis for the contribution on wholesale sales (CVEG) payable by pharmaceutical wholesalers is excluded from the basis of the social solidarity contribution of companies (C3S) (CSS, art. L 137-33, para. 11). This turnover corresponds to the part of the selling price (excl. tax) to pharmacies that is less than €150 plus the maximum margin that these companies are authorised to receive on this sum (CSS, art. L 138-1, para. 2).

• Article 30 of the Social Security Financing Act for 2025 (L. n° 2025-199 of the 28^th february 2025):
  • maintains the exclusion of the turnover used for the CVEG;
  • creates a cap on the part of the sale price of medicines taken into account to determine the basis of the C3S.

Thus, for the companies mentioned in Article L. 138-1 of the CSS, only the part of the selling price (excl. tax) of each unit sold to pharmacies is taken into account in the calculation of the turnover used to determine the basis of assessment of the C3S, increased by the maximum margin that these companies are authorised to receive on this sum pursuant to the decree provided for in Article L. 162-38 of the CSS (CSS, Art. L 137-33, para. 11 as amended).

Consequently, in order to determine the turnover used to establish the basis of assessment for the C3S, it is now necessary to take into account only the part of the selling price of medicines to pharmacies between €150 and €2,500 (increased by the maximum authorised margins).

• This measure applies to the C3S due from the 2025 financial year (LFSS 2025, Art. 30, II). It therefore concerns the contribution due in respect of 2025, declared by 15 May 2025 at the latest, on the basis of the turnover achieved in 2024.

Companies in the sector must work on securing these new calculation methods by building a documentary database to support the new calculations for the first year.

It also seems important to automate this calculation via a dedicated extraction rule within the business software.

Armelle Courtois-Finaz
KPMG Avocats