A new UK excise duty on vaping liquids has taken effect, introducing a £2.20 charge per 10ml alongside a duty-stamp regime that changes stock and compliance requirements across the supply chain.
Vaping Products Duty applies to liable vaping liquids manufactured in or imported into the UK from 1 October, whether or not they contain nicotine, unless they remain within an authorised duty-suspension arrangement.
The immediate duty liability generally sits with approved manufacturers, importers, and warehousekeepers rather than ordinary retailers. Businesses further down the chain will nevertheless face changes in wholesale prices, purchasing controls, and inventory requirements.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said: “Our new measures will help get illicit vapes off high streets across the country.”
The flat duty rate is £2.20 per 10ml, equivalent to 22p per millilitre. A 2ml pod therefore carries 44p of Vaping Products Duty before VAT and other commercial costs are considered.
Products manufactured in or imported into the UK from 1 October must carry a duty stamp when released onto the domestic market. Transitional stamps without digital functionality can be affixed until the end of December.
From 1 January 2027, newly applied stamps must include digital functionality. HMRC intends those stamps to support authentication and supply chain tracing, allowing the legitimacy of products to be checked more easily.
Retailers have a separate transition period for existing inventory. Eligible unstamped vaping products already held before the duty began can continue to be sold until 31 March 2027.
From 1 April 2027, all vaping products supplied or sold in the UK outside duty suspension must carry a valid stamp, regardless of when they were manufactured or imported.
Businesses holding significant volumes of older stock therefore face an inventory deadline as well as a tax change. Purchasing teams will need to distinguish between pre-duty stock that can lawfully remain on shelves temporarily and new products that should already carry the required stamp.
Manufacturers and importers face additional administration. Businesses producing vaping products in the UK require HMRC approval, while commercial imports and duty-suspended stock have to be handled within the relevant excise rules.
The new stamps add a traceability mechanism intended partly to tackle illicit trade. Digital functionality is expected to allow product movements to be recorded and authenticity checked across the supply chain.
Whether the duty is absorbed or passed on will vary between manufacturers, wholesalers, specialist vape retailers, convenience stores, and larger chains. The tax increases the cost base but does not dictate the final retail price.
Tobacco duties also increased from 1 October, including an additional one-off rise intended to maintain the price differential between vaping and smoking. The government has said the design is intended to avoid making combustible tobacco more attractive as a result of the new vaping charge.
The implementation period now leaves three product categories circulating simultaneously: older unstamped stock that can still be sold temporarily, products carrying transitional stamps, and products carrying digital stamps. Supplier checks and inventory records will determine whether retailers can separate those categories correctly before the April deadline.
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