diff --git a/Koha/Plugins.pm b/Koha/Plugins.pm
index 4d0cc82876..a686bf8ec0 100644
--- a/Koha/Plugins.pm
+++ b/Koha/Plugins.pm
@@ -47,9 +47,10 @@ BEGIN {
     pop @INC if $INC[-1] eq '.';
 
     # Load plugins early to ensure they're available before any transactions begin
+    # Skip under "perl -c" to avoid C3 error when syntax checking plugins
     my $enable_plugins = C4::Context->config("enable_plugins") // 0;
 
-    if ($enable_plugins) {
+    if ( $enable_plugins && !$^C ) {
         require Koha::Plugins::Loader;
         Koha::Plugins::Loader->get_enabled_plugins();
     }