The UK vaping duty is live: £2.20 per 10ml and a 31 March 2027 deadline for unstamped stock
Since 1 October every bottle of vape liquid made in or brought into the UK carries a new excise duty, and shops have six months to sell through what is already on the shelf.
What happened
On 1 October 2026 the Vaping Products Duty came into force. HMRC's press release sets the rate at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, with or without nicotine. Manufacturers, importers and HMRC-approved warehousekeepers pay it at the duty point. Whether that cost is passed on to shops and customers is, in the government's words, "a commercial decision". A Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme started the same day. A yellow or red tamper-evident stamp on the retail packaging shows the duty has been paid and lets HMRC trace products through the supply chain. Transitional stamps without a digital element can be applied until 31 December 2026 (HMRC's stamps guidance says physical stamps are issued only until 30 November 2026); from 1 January 2027 only digital stamps may be applied. Retailers get a six-month grace period: unstamped stock made or imported before 1 October can be sold until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 every vaping product sold in the UK must carry a valid stamp. The same announcement raises tobacco duty by a one-off £2.20 per 100 cigarettes or 50g of other tobacco so that smoking stays dearer than vaping, confirms that VAT continues to apply on top of the duty, and puts £30 million a year until 2028-29 into Trading Standards, Border Force and HMRC enforcement against illicit and underage sales. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the duty to raise more than £550 million a year by 2030-31.
What this means for you
If you run a vape shop, a convenience store, a kiosk or a forecourt shop that sells liquids, three things change. Your buying price. £2.20 per 10ml is the duty before VAT. On a 10ml bottle of nic salts that is £2.20; on a 100ml shortfill it is £22, because the duty applies to the liquid, not the nicotine. How much of that reaches your invoice is up to your supplier. Your shelf. Newly made or imported products should now arrive with a stamp on the outer packaging. Old stock without a stamp is legal to sell until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 anything unstamped becomes a liability: HMRC's retailer guidance lists seizure, financial penalties and, in serious cases, prosecution with "unlimited fine, imprisonment, or both". Your paperwork. You do not need to register or apply for approval if you only sell duty-paid products. You do have to keep records for six years: supplier name, address and contact details, invoice numbers, delivery notes and dates received, plus evidence of the checks you did on the products. If HMRC or Trading Standards walk in, that file is what shows the stock on your shelf is legitimate. Two more things from the press release worth knowing: VAT applies on top of the duty, and the Department of Health and Social Care is consulting on plain packaging, limits on flavour descriptors and taking vapes out of shop displays. That consultation closed on 2 October 2026, so the rules on how you present the products may still change.
What you can do
Four steps:
- ✓Count your unstamped stock this week and work out whether it will sell through by 31 March 2027. If not, slow down reordering of unstamped lines now rather than discounting in March.
- ✓Ask each supplier three questions in writing: are your products stamped from 1 October, how much of the £2.20 are you passing on, and can you confirm the manufacture or import date of my existing unstamped stock? Keep the replies in your records.
- ✓Learn the stamp: rectangular, 18 × 42 mm, yellow or red, on the outermost retail packaging so it cannot be opened without damaging the stamp. Digital stamps add a scannable code; from 1 January 2027 they are the only kind that may be applied. Check a delivery before it goes on the shelf, not after.
- ✓Set up the six-year record file now: one folder per supplier with invoices, delivery notes and your check notes.
Vaping Products Duty per 10ml of liquid, with or without nicotine
Source: HMRC press release, 1 October 2026
Common questions
Do I need to register with HMRC for the vaping duty?
No, if you only sell or distribute duty-paid products. HMRC's guidance says you do not need to apply for approval for the duty or the stamps scheme. Approval is only required for manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers who hold liquid in duty suspension. What you do need is the record-keeping: supplier details, invoices, delivery notes and dates received, kept for six years.
Can I still sell the unstamped liquids I already have?
Yes, until 31 March 2027, as long as they were manufactured or imported before 1 October 2026. HMRC calls this a six-month grace period for wholesalers and retailers. From 1 April 2027 every vaping product outside duty suspension must carry a stamp, and unstamped stock can be seized. If you cannot prove when a product was made or imported, ask your supplier for that documentation now.
Does the duty apply to nicotine-free liquids and shortfills?
Yes. The rate is £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid with or without nicotine, so a nicotine-free 100ml shortfill carries £22 of duty before VAT, the same as ten 10ml bottles. Zero-nicotine products also need a stamp from 1 April 2027. Only the travellers' allowance (50ml for personal use into Great Britain) sits outside the scheme, and that is for personal use, not resale.
Luca Bonura started selling online at 17 and funded his first business with 4:30am shifts in a bakery. He built his own product brand, watched it fail, and rebuilt as a freelance performance marketer for everyone from small shops to HelloFresh. Seeing how hard growth is even for people inside the industry, he founded Adlarion. He writes The Small Business Digest in plain English: the news he wished he'd had when starting out.
More from Luca →