With Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme starting on 1 October 2026, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding businesses across the vaping supply chain, including retailers and wholesalers, to prepare for the changes and ensure the vaping products they stock comply with the new requirements.
The new excise duty of £2.20 per 10ml on vaping products, whether they contain nicotine or not, will come into force alongside tobacco duty increases. Together, they form part of the government’s wider plans to create a smoke-free generation, tackle youth vaping and help adult smokers to give up tobacco.
Rachel Nixon, HMRC’s Director of Indirect Tax, said: "With one month to go until Vaping Products Duty comes into force, manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers should have applied to HMRC for approval and be preparing to pay any of the new excise duty due, to comply with the new requirements from 1 October 2026.
"Businesses that do not have approval by that date cannot produce vaping products in the UK and may be unable to trade. They could also face operational delays and may be subject to civil or criminal sanctions."
Businesses that manufacture vaping products, act as UK representatives for overseas manufacturers, or store duty-suspended vaping products should have obtained the HMRC approvals they need to operate from 1 October 2026. Businesses liable for Vaping Products Duty will need to account for and pay the duty when the ‘duty point’ is triggered.
Duty-liable products released for sale in the UK will also need a valid vaping duty stamp. Where products enter a duty-suspension arrangement, payment of the duty is deferred until they leave duty-suspension. Whether the duty is passed to others in the supply chain is a commercial decision.
Following industry feedback, approved manufacturers, UK representatives and warehousekeepers can buy transitional duty stamps until 30 November 2026 and affix them until 31 December 2026.
Digital stamps are available from 1 September 2026 and can also be applied immediately to products by those approved under the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme. Stamped vaping products, transitional or digital, cannot be released onto the market until 1 October 2026. From 1 January 2027, only digital duty stamps can be affixed to vaping products.
Digital stamps will support authentication and traceability through the supply chain using a simple scanning app provided by the duty stamp supplier.
Importers will need to pay Vaping Products Duty when vaping products arrive in the UK, unless the goods enter duty suspense, for example in an approved customs warehouse.
Retailers and wholesalers should work with their suppliers to ensure the vaping products they stock comply with the new requirements.
Those that only sell or distribute duty-paid vaping products wholesale or retail, do not need to apply for Vaping Products Duty or Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme approval.
They can continue to buy and sell existing eligible unstamped stock during a six-month transition period from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
However, vaping products manufactured in, or imported into, the UK on or after 1 October 2026 must have a duty stamp. From 1 April 2027, the retail packaging of all vaping products sold or supplied in the UK must carry a valid vaping duty stamp. Businesses that do not comply with the new rules may face civil or criminal sanctions.
Treasury analysis indicates that Vaping Products Duty is expected to raise more than £550 million a year by 2030-31.