Businesses urged to apply by end of July for Vaping Products Duty to continue trading from October

Businesses involved with vaping products will receive correspondence from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) imminently, reminding them to apply for Vaping Products Duty (VPD) and the Vaping Duty Stamps (VDS) Scheme which start on 1 October 2026.

Apply now to continue trading from 1 October 2026.

VPD will apply to all vaping products whether they contain nicotine or not. If businesses have not applied yet, they need to as soon as possible and no later than the end of July.

Applications opened on 1 April 2026 and can take more than 45 working days to process. Businesses can check on GOV.UK if they need to apply.

Businesses not approved by 1 October 2026 cannot legally manufacture vaping products or store them under duty suspension or handle duty stamps for vaping products in the UK.

Key dates

• 1 April 2026 VPD and VDS Scheme registrations opened.
• 1 October 2026 VPD and VDS Scheme start. Producers must submit monthly returns, pay any duty and attach a vaping duty stamp when the products are placed into packaging for retail sale. Retailers can sell any unstamped stock they already hold, until 31 March 2027, but any new duty-liable stock purchased must have a duty stamp.
• Those who manufacture, store or handle duty-suspended vaping products after 1 October 2026, must have the relevant approval in place. Without approval, they may be unable to legally continue their business operations. Non-compliance may result in civil or criminal penalties, including, in the most serious cases, custodial sentences.
• 1 April 2027 All vaping products in retail premises must have a duty stamp affixed. Unstamped vaping products may be seized.

Duty detail

• The duty rate is £2.20 per 10ml
• It applies to vaping liquids regardless of nicotine content
• Duty becomes payable when products enter UK consumption

Businesses that have already applied do not need to take any further action at this stage. HMRC will contact them if additional information is required to support their application.

How to apply

Manufacturers can apply for approval for Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme.

Customs warehousekeepers should contact their supervising officeas soon as possible to do this. Contact details are in the customs warehousing authorisation letter.

Warehousekeepers can apply to add, remove or change a warehouse as an authorised customs warehousekeeper.

Vaping Products Duty and Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme: detailed informationprovides guidance on how to apply, record keeping requirements and previous announcements.

For further information, please contact: vapingproductsduty@hmrc.gov.uk

Vaping duty: what passengers need to know

From 1 October 2026, the UK will introduce an excise duty on vaping products.

The following rules apply to passengers travelling to England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain) from outside the UK:

• Passengers aged 17 or over are allowed to bring in up to 50ml of vaping liquid for personal use without paying duty. This is known as the personal allowance.

• Amounts over 50ml must be declared and duty paid on all of it, not just the excess amount
• Personal allowances cannot be pooled or shared
• Goods for sale or business use must be declared.

Different rules apply in Northern Ireland:

• Arriving from a non-EU country:vaping products count towards the existing £390 duty-free allowance for ‘other goods’.
• Arriving from an EU country:you can bring back vaping products without paying UK duty or tax, provided they are for your own use and you transport them yourself.
• A 200ml Minimum Indicative Level (MIL) applies for arrivals from the EU. This is not a limit but bringing in more than 200ml may result in additional checks to confirm the products are for personal use rather than commercial purposes. Products imported for commercial use may be seized.

From 1 October 2026 the new personal allowance rules will be on GOV.UK.