New UK vaping rules from October – what you’ll pay and what changes

A new excise duty of £2.20 per 10ml lands on every vaping liquid sold in the UK from 1 October 2026, alongside a duty stamp scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a one-month reminder to businesses across the vaping supply chain, from manufacturers and importers down to wholesalers and high street retailers.

Vaping Products Duty covers all vaping liquids manufactured in, or imported into, the UK, whether or not they contain nicotine. The rate was set at Autumn Budget 2024 and takes effect at the same time as this year’s tobacco duty increases.

The government has tied both measures to its smoke-free generation plans, which aim to curb youth vaping while helping adult smokers move off tobacco.

“With one month to go until Vaping Products Duty comes into force, manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers should have applied to HMRC for approval,” said Rachel Nixon, HMRC’s Director of Indirect Tax.

Businesses without approval on 1 October cannot produce vaping products in the UK and may be unable to trade at all. HMRC has also warned of operational delays and possible civil or criminal sanctions.

Approval covers three groups: businesses that manufacture vaping products, businesses acting as UK representatives for overseas manufacturers, and businesses storing duty-suspended vaping products.

Those liable for the duty must account for it and pay when the duty point triggers. Products entering a duty-suspension arrangement defer payment until they leave suspension, and whether firms pass the cost down the supply chain remains a commercial decision.

Importers pay Vaping Products Duty when the goods arrive in the UK, unless they place them into duty suspense in an approved customs warehouse.

How the digital stamps work

Any duty-liable product released for sale in the UK also needs a valid vaping duty stamp on its retail packaging.

Digital stamps became available on 1 September 2026, and businesses approved under the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme can apply them to products immediately. Stamped stock, transitional or digital, cannot reach the market before 1 October 2026.

The digital stamps support authentication and traceability along the supply chain through a scanning app supplied by the duty stamp provider.

Following industry feedback, HMRC is allowing approved manufacturers, UK representatives and warehousekeepers to buy transitional stamps until 30 November 2026 and affix them until 31 December 2026. Only digital duty stamps qualify from 1 January 2027 onwards.

What retailers and consumers will see

Businesses that only sell or distribute duty-paid vaping products, whether wholesale or retail, do not need to apply for either approval. They should instead work with suppliers to confirm that the stock they carry meets the new requirements.

A six-month transition period running from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 lets them continue buying and selling eligible unstamped stock they already hold.

Vaping products manufactured in, or imported into, the UK on or after 1 October 2026 must carry a stamp regardless. From 1 April 2027, every vaping product sold or supplied in the UK needs a valid duty stamp on its retail packaging.

Shoppers will start seeing the changes to products and packaging from 1 October, with further HMRC information to follow.

Travellers face new personal allowance rules for vaping products brought into the UK for personal use from the same date. Great Britain and Northern Ireland operate different rules, and GOV.UK publishes the updated guidance on 1 October 2026.

Treasury analysis puts the expected yield from Vaping Products Duty at more than £550 million a year by 2030-31.

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