Handling wholesale or retail vaping products in the UK
Find out what you need to do if you sell, store, distribute or handle vaping products by wholesale or retail in the UK.
Who this guidance is for
You should read this guidance if you sell, store, distribute or otherwise handle vaping products by wholesale or retail in the UK.
This includes:
- retailers
- wholesalers
- distributors
- cash and carry businesses
- convenience stores
- specialist vape shops
- online sellers
This guidance explains what you should do when buying, holding and selling vaping products after Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme are introduced.
You may need additional approval, duty, stamping, scanning, record-keeping or payment obligations if your business also:
- manufactures
- imports
- intends to store products under duty suspension
- affixes duty stamps
- represents an overseas manufacturer
Find out more information about Vaping Products Duty and Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme.
What Vaping Products Duty is
Vaping Products Duty is an excise duty on vaping products. It applies to vaping liquid, sometimes known as e-liquid.
The duty applies whether or not the vaping liquid contains nicotine. This includes liquid in bottles, cartridges and pods, and substances intended for vaping such as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and flavourings.
Vaping Products Duty will be charged at a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid.
What vaping duty stamps are
Vaping duty stamps are secure physical stamps with multiple security features. For digital stamps, the stamp includes a scannable code for authentication and supply chain tracing.
Stamps must be affixed to the outermost retail packaging so that the packaging cannot be opened without damaging either the packaging or the stamp.
Vaping duty stamps are rectangular in shape, 42 millimetres in length and 18 millimetres in width.
A vaping duty stamp cannot be re-used once it has been affixed to a product.
If you only sell or distribute vaping products
If you only sell or distribute duty-paid vaping products wholesale or retail, you do not need to apply for approval for Vaping Products Duty or the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme.
If you are unsure whether your business does more than wholesale or retail activity, you should check if you’re impacted by Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme before buying or selling stock under the new rules.
Important dates for retailers and wholesalers
Before 1 October 2026
Duty-stamped vaping products must not be released onto the UK market before 1 October 2026.
You should review your stock levels and speak to your suppliers about how they will provide compliant, stamped products from 1 October 2026.
From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
From 1 October 2026, all liable vaping products released onto the UK market must have a vaping duty stamp fixed to them.
You can continue to store and sell unstamped stock that was produced or imported before 1 October 2026 until 31 March 2027.
If you are offered unstamped products after 1 October 2026, you should make sure you keep evidence of why the products do not need a stamp. For example, you should be able to show that the stock was produced or imported before 1 October 2026 and is therefore within the grace period.
If you are not satisfied that goods have a legitimate reason for being unstamped, you should not buy, supply or sell them.
From 1 April 2027
From 1 April 2027, all vaping products outside duty suspension in the UK must have a vaping duty stamp attached.
You must not sell unstamped vaping products from this date.
You should make sure that any unstamped stock has been sold, returned to your supplier, or otherwise lawfully dealt with before this date. If you continue to hold, sell or supply unstamped stock, you may be subject to penalties.
From this date, we may seize goods, charge penalties and, in the most serious cases, carry out a criminal investigation. If you are prosecuted and convicted, you could face an unlimited fine, imprisonment, or both.
Buying vaping products from suppliers
From 1 October 2026, you should check that new stock you buy has a vaping duty stamp if one is needed.
You should take particular care if a supplier offers unstamped products after 1 October 2026.
You should ask for, and keep, enough information to satisfy HMRC, if asked, that the products are legitimate and can be sold lawfully .
You should check:
- whether the products carry a vaping duty stamp, where one is required
- whether the stamp is attached to the outermost retail packaging and seals the packaging
- where the products came from
- whether the products were produced or imported before 1 October 2026, if they are unstamped
- whether the supplier appears credible and is able to provide normal commercial records, such as invoices and delivery notes
If anything appears wrong, unclear or inconsistent, you should resolve this before buying or selling the products.
If you cannot satisfy yourself that the stock is legitimate, you should not buy, supply or sell it.
Selling existing unstamped stock
You can continue to sell unstamped vaping products until 31 March 2027, if they were produced or imported before 1 October 2026.
The grace period is intended to help businesses manage older stock that is already in the supply chain at the time Vaping Products Duty comes into force.
You should manage your stock carefully so that unstamped products are sold before the grace period ends. From 1 April 2027, you must not sell or hold unstamped vaping products, as you may be subject to penalties.
By 1 April 2027, you should make sure any unstamped stock has been sold, returned to your supplier, exported, destroyed, or otherwise lawfully dealt with.
Records you should keep
If you sell, store or handle vaping products, you should keep clear business records.
Good records will help you show where your products came from, what checks you made, and whether stock was within the grace period.
You should keep records for at least 6 years showing:
- where your vaping products came from
- the supplier name, address and contact details
- invoice numbers, delivery notes and dates received
- what products you bought, held, supplied or sold
- when the products were produced or imported
- what checks you made to make sure products were legitimate
- what action you took if products were unstamped, unclear or appeared non-compliant
Record keeping is especially important during the grace period from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. If you are selling unstamped stock during this period, your records should help explain why the products can still be sold.
You should keep records in a way that is easy to access if HMRC asks about the vaping products you sell, store or handle.
If products are unstamped or appear non-compliant
You should take non-compliance seriously. Vaping duty stamps are being introduced to help identify legitimate products and support action against illicit products in the vaping market.
If products are unstamped when they should be stamped, or if the stamp appears damaged, reused, missing, altered or not attached to the correct packaging, you should not buy, supply or sell the products unless the issue has been resolved and you are able to satisfy HMRC if asked that the products are legitimate.
You should contact your supplier and ask for an explanation. You should keep a record of the issue, the explanation provided and any action you take.
You should report vaping products that you suspect are illicit, counterfeit, unstamped when they should be stamped, or being sold illegally.
You can:
Get more information
Read the full Vaping Products Duty and Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme guidance on GOV.UK if your business manufactures, imports, warehouses, affixes stamps, exports, acts for an overseas manufacturer, or holds products under duty suspension.
You should also use the GOV.UK guidance if you need to understand approvals, returns, payments, financial guarantees, duty suspension, scanning requirements, imports, exports or penalties in more detail.