Vaping Products Duty took effect across the UK on 1 October 2026 at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, alongside a stamps scheme intended to trace products through the supply chain. Retailers have until 31 March 2027 to sell existing unstamped stock, and every vaping product sold in the UK must carry a valid stamp from 1 April 2027.
The duty applies to all vaping liquids, including nicotine-free ones, and to bottles, cartridges and pods. It is a UK-wide tax overseen by HMRC. Manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers had to obtain HMRC approval by 1 October 2026, and manufacturing without approval is unlawful.
Retailers do not need to apply for approval themselves, which means the duty reaches shops through the stock their approved suppliers deliver rather than through a registration of their own, a supply chain that in a franchised network runs through nominated suppliers, as what a franchise is explains.
Dates for stamps and unstamped stock
The Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme started on 1 October 2026. Transitional, non-digital stamps are allowed until 31 December 2026, and digital stamps become mandatory on 1 January 2027. Wholesalers and retailers have a six-month grace period, to 31 March 2027, to sell eligible stock that carries no stamp.
From 1 April 2027, all vaping products sold in the UK outside duty suspension must display valid stamps. Business Companion’s guidance adds that new stock purchased from 1 October is expected to carry stamps.
Who pays and who enforces
The duty is accounted for and paid by approved manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers. HMRC oversees the stamps scheme and the approvals, and Trading Standards enforces compliance at retail level.
Manufacturing without approval can lead to civil penalties, seizure of equipment or criminal prosecution. Consumers can report suspected illicit products to HMRC, and the Government has allocated £30 million a year through 2028/29 to enforcement agencies.
Nicotine-free liquids are included
The duty is charged on vaping liquid by volume and does not depend on nicotine content. Nicotine-free liquids, and the bottles, cartridges and pods that hold them, fall inside the scheme.
What ministers say the duty is for
James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Our new measures will help get illicit vapes off high streets across the country.” Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, said: “Children and non-smokers should never vape”, and described the duty as “an important step in our ambition to tackle youth vaping”. The Government expects the duty to raise more than £550 million a year by 2030/31.
The convenience trade and the six-month window
Vapes are sold by independent shops, symbol-group stores, forecourts and franchised units alike, and the duty and the stamps scheme apply in the same way to each, including the forecourt and convenience brands currently recruiting partners in the UK. For retailers, the practical dates are the six-month window for unstamped stock and the 1 April 2027 end point.
Better Retailing reported the duty’s arrival on 1 October under a headline stating that it had come into force across the UK, and the day before it ran a feature saying that retailers are working 70-hour weeks to battle rising staff costs. The two stories sit within the same trading environment, though the duty is a separate measure.
