Doctroi

Doctroi is a historical term used in France and some former French territories to refer to a local tax on goods brought into a city or town for consumption. It is closely related to the octroi, a toll collected at city gates or at designated points within municipal boundaries. The tax was administered by a local octroi office and served as a significant revenue source for municipal services such as road maintenance, lighting, sanitation, and public safety.

The doctroi typically applied to a broad range of goods, including foodstuffs, textiles, and manufactured items, though many items could be exempted or reduced in rate, especially essential goods or charitable distributions. Rates and exemptions were set by municipal authorities and could vary considerably from one locality to another. The system operated at checkpoints and gateways, creating an internal form of customs duties designed to fund local government.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, octroi and doctroi reforms sought to streamline administration and expand the tax base, while merchants often criticized the practice for delaying commerce and increasing costs. In many places, these urban entry taxes faced increasing competition from broader national revenue systems and modern forms of taxation.

By the mid- to late 20th century, numerous municipalities in France and its former colonies moved away from local doctroi/octroi systems, replacing them with national value-added taxes or other centralized forms of taxation. Today, the term doctroi is largely historical and appears mainly in historical texts or in the context of former taxation practices.