Accounting definition
Margin may be shifted to affiliates or linked services.
Tax reform · Plan de Rupture
6.12 — Cap margins on public contracts at 30%
Margin must be defined before any cap: gross, net, direct-cost, contract profit and consolidated profit produce different figures.
What the Plan proposes
Plan source: 3 à 5 milliards d’euros par an annoncés. The title and stated effect are preserved from the public edition; this page adds an initial legal and operational architecture for expert review.
Margin must be defined before any cap: gross, net, direct-cost, contract profit and consolidated profit produce different figures.
Status: structured civic prototype requiring expert review before filing or implementation.
Current system
The Public Procurement Code provides unit or lump-sum prices and rules for updating or revising them. It contains no general 30% margin cap.
Implementation path
- Define the controlled marginChoose an auditable accounting base and shared-cost rules.
- Target contractsDo not treat software, construction and risky innovation identically.
- Require evidenceAnalytical accounts, subcontracting, finance and risk costs.
- Choose remediesPrice adjustment, repayment, penalty or proportionate exclusion.
- Preserve competitionAvoid driving suppliers out of public procurement.
Key risks
Innovation
High returns may compensate genuine risk and failures.
Trade secrets
Control must protect sensitive information.
Control cost
Audit may be disproportionate for small contracts.
Indicators to publish
| Indicator | Before | After | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope and population | Baseline | Annual value | Prevent perimeter changes |
| Budget effect | Estimate | Cash collected or spent | Separate promise from execution |
| Transition cost | Disclosed | Multi-year tracking | Calculate net effect |
| Appeals and errors | Initial rate | Corrected rate | Protect rights |
Updated doctrine: 30% maximum markup, open-book accounting and AI controls
The 30% figure is defined as a maximum markup on verified eligible cost, not a guaranteed profit. With €30 million of verified eligible cost, the ceiling is €30m × 1.30 = €39m. A more efficient supplier remains free to bid lower.
High-rent-risk, negotiated or weakly competitive contracts use open-book accounting. The State Purchasing Directorate and its procurement information system become the base for AI-assisted benchmarking across past contracts, professional catalogues and normalised public-market references. Read the full architecture.