The Vaping Products Duty (VPD) is a specific excise duty imposed on vaping products in the UK by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) from 1st October 2026.

The tax aims to raise the revenues needed to tax the e-liquid supply chain across Great Britain and to control the amount of e-liquid available for sale in Great Britain.

The Rate: There is a flat excise rate of £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid (which would be 22p per 1ml of liquid).

No Nicotine Tiering: The tax is based on the volume of the liquid, not the strength of the liquid. All 10mg/20mg, freebase e-liquids and 0mg nicotine free/shortfill are charged at the same price per ml.

VAT Compound Calculation: UK VAT (base rate 20%) is applied to the total price, which includes excise duty, meaning that the base rate also includes £2.20 excise duty + £0.44 VAT (total price of £2.64 per 10ml bottle).

Hardware Exemption: Replacement coils, tanks, battery mods and chargers, empty refillable pods, and other hardware are exempt from excise duty on, and just have standard 20% VAT.

DIY Mixing Restrictions: Supplies for home-mixing (pure VG, PG and concentrated flavour shots) are subject to duty once they have been mixed into e-liquid. Buying and mixing without HMRC manufacturing approval is against the law in terms of excise.

This is called the Vaping Duty Stamps (VDS) Scheme and is designed to maintain compliance and prevent illicit trading:

Visual Stamp Requirement: All duty paid retail products (excluding supplies) must have a rectangular duty stamp that is yellow or red in colour and has a tamper evident seal on the outside retail packaging.

Digital Traceability: Stamps from 1 September 2026 will contain digital tracking identifiers which can be scanned by Trading Standards and Border Force for supply chain verification.

Business Approvals: UK manufacturers, importers and warehouse keepers need to be explicitly approved by HMRC to manufacture or hold duty-suspended stock.

Key Enforcement Dates & Travellers' Allowances

[1 April 2026] [1 October 2026] [1 April 2027]

There is a time delay between the HMRC Registration and Duty Goes Live, followed by a further time delay for Hard Enforcement.

All Stock Must Have Stamps Opens for Businesses Grace Period Begins

VPD Duty Live Date (1 October 2026): Any new e-liquid that is manufactured or imported and placed on the UK market will come under the charge of VPD.

The retailers will be allowed to sell off the existing unstamped stock from 1st October 2026 to 31st March 2027.

Full Enforcement (1 April 2027): Unstamped products not within duty-suspension are no longer legally held or supplied and are liable for immediate seizure and civil and/or criminal penalties.

PTA: Vaping Liquid (up to 50ml per person) may be imported duty-free to Great Britain (aged 17+). If quantities are more than 50ml, then they must be declared at customs and then taxed in full.

For consumer strategies to manage costs under the Tax

Switch to Low-Wattage Refillable Pods, pod kits with high-resistance mesh coils (0.8Ω – 1.2Ω) at lower wattages (10W-14W) use much less liquid per draw and provide the best nicotine satisfaction.

Use Nicotine Salts First: They are 10mg or 20mg which satisfy nicotine cravings in fewer puffs, thus decreasing the amount of nicotine used per day ($\text{ml}$) and the tax liability.

Search for Multi-Buy Offers: Retail bundle pricing will vary according to the additional £2.64 per 10ml but multi-buys are still the cheapest way to purchase compliant bottled e-liquid.