The Dutreil Pact is hardened!

To more effectively control and reduce the unexpected advantages linked to the Dutreil scheme, the Finance Act of 2026 removes so-called "sumptuary" assets from eligibility for partial exemptions and lengthens the personal retention requirement by two years.

Extension of the retention commitment

The Dutreil Pact provides a partial exemption – covering three-quarters of the value of transferred securities or assets – from registration duties applicable to the transfer, whether by gift or inheritance, of sole proprietorships or company shares. To qualify for this preferential regime, the donor – acting on behalf of themselves and their gratuitous successors – must enter into a binding agreement with one or more other partners to collectively retain ownership of the shares for a minimum period of two years.

After the transfer date, every beneficiary is required to individually commit to keeping the securities or assets they receive for four years. The 2026 Finance Act, however, lengthens this second commitment period from four years to 6 years.

Exclusion of “sumptuary” property

Another notable change is that the finance law refocuses the system on the work tool. Thus, the portion of the value of the securities transferred, i.e., representative of certain assets that are not exclusively allocated by the company to its main activity (industrial, commercial, artisanal, agricultural, or liberal) is now excluded from the benefit of the partial exemption. The following are exhaustively concerned:
- goods used for hunting and fishing.
- tourist vehicles, yachts, pleasure boats, and aircraft.
- jewelry, precious metals, works of art, collectors’ items, or antiques.
- race horses or competition horses.
- wines and spirits.
- housing and residences.

However, if these assets are exclusively used by the company for its main activity, the total value of the securities transferred remains included in the basis of assessment for the exemption. This applies if they have been exclusively allocated to the main activity for a period of at least 3 years before the transfer or, failing that, since the date of acquisition of the asset if this is more recent. This allocation must also be respected until the end of the 6-year individual commitment to hold the securities taken by the beneficiary or, failing that, until the sale of the assets if this takes place before the end of the individual commitment. In principle, the exclusive allocation of assets is designated for a total period of nine years, consisting of an initial three-year phase followed by an additional six-year period.

These measures apply to free transfers made from February 21, 2026.