On 1 October 2026, the biggest change to UK vaping since the 2016 TPD regulations takes effect: the Vaping Products Duty (VPD), a new excise tax on every e-liquid sold in the United Kingdom. If you vape, this affects what you pay. Here's exactly what's changing, what isn't, and what ePuffer has been doing behind the scenes to be ready for it.
What is the Vaping Products Duty?
The Vaping Products Duty is a new excise duty - the same category of tax applied to alcohol and tobacco - charged on all vaping liquid manufactured in or imported into the UK. It was announced in the Spring Budget 2024, confirmed in the Autumn Budget, and passed into law as part of the Finance Bill 2025-26.
The rate is simple: £2.20 for every 10ml of vaping liquid - that's 22p per millilitre. The rate is flat, which means nicotine content makes no difference. A 20mg nic salt, a 12mg freebase blend, and a completely nicotine-free e-liquid are all taxed identically, by volume.
VAT is then charged on top of the duty, so the real-world impact on a 10ml bottle is approximately £2.64 including VAT.
What's taxed - and what isn't
Subject to the duty:
- All 10ml e-liquid bottles (nicotine and nicotine-free alike)
- Prefilled pods, including our XPOD and Robusto e-cigar pods - 44p in duty per 2ml pod
- Shortfills and nic shots - taxed on total volume, which makes them the hardest-hit format on the UK market
Not subject to the duty:
- Vaping devices and kits
- Batteries and chargers
- Empty refillable pods, tanks, and coils
- Accessories
In short: the liquid is taxed, the hardware is not. Your device, spare pods, and coils continue to carry standard 20% VAT only.
What this means in pounds and pence
Because the duty is charged per millilitre, every format carries a different amount. Here's the practical impact across the UK market from 1 October 2026 (duty plus VAT, assuming the full duty is reflected in retail prices):
- SNAPS e-cig cartridge 5-pack (5 × 1ml): £1.10 duty - approximately £1.32 more per pack
- XPOD prefilled pod 3-pack (3 × 2ml): £1.32 duty - approximately £1.58 more per pack
- Robusto e-cigar pod 3-pack (3 × 2ml): £1.32 duty - approximately £1.58 more per pack
- 10ml e-liquid bottle: £2.20 duty - approximately £2.64 more per bottle
- 100ml shortfill plus two 10ml nic shots (120ml): £26.40 duty - approximately £31.68 more per setup
Notice the pattern. The duty taxes volume, not nicotine and not price - so it lands lightest on prefilled formats and heaviest on high-volume, low-cost liquid. A SNAPS 5-pack rises by about half of what a single 10ml bottle does, while a 100ml shortfill setup takes an increase roughly twenty-four times larger than that same 5-pack.
Measured against what you already pay, the gap is wider still. A prefilled pod pack is premium-priced per millilitre to begin with, so the duty adds a modest percentage. A cheap 100ml shortfill can more than double or triple in price. If you are weighing up how you vape, prefilled pods and cartridges come out of this change in far better shape than any other format.
Duty stamps: what you'll see on packaging
From 1 October 2026, newly produced or imported e-liquid must carry a vaping duty stamp on its retail packaging - a secure label, similar to the stamps on spirits and tobacco, confirming the duty has been paid. The stamp seals the packaging and includes both physical and digital security features that let HMRC trace and authenticate genuine products through the supply chain.
For you as a customer, the stamp is actually good news: it makes legitimate, duty-paid, properly regulated products instantly distinguishable from illicit ones. Retailers have a transition window to sell through existing unstamped stock until 31 March 2027 per HMRC guidance, after which only stamped products may legally be sold.
How ePuffer has prepared
We believe in being ahead of regulation, not chasing it.
When HMRC opened registration for the Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme in April 2026, ePuffer applied at the earliest opportunity. HMRC officers visited our UK premises to inspect our operations and review our processes in person, and we supplied every piece of supporting documentation requested.
In July 2026, HMRC approved ePuffer Ltd for both the Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme. We are an approved trader on both counts ahead of the 1 October start date, with our systems, stock records and duty stamp processes signed off rather than pending.
That matters for two reasons. First, continuity: from day one of the new regime, ePuffer products will carry the required duty stamps, our supply chain is compliant, and nothing about your ability to order changes. Second, certainty: a number of smaller UK retailers and importers will not complete approval before October, and unapproved sellers cannot legally handle duty-stamped stock. Buying from an approved trader means no mid-October supply gaps and no risk of being sold through-dated or non-compliant product.
We have now met every UK regulatory requirement in this sector for nearly two decades, from TPD and MHRA registration to the new excise regime.
What stays the same
It's worth being clear about what this tax does not change:
- Vaping remains fully legal in the UK for adults 18 and over
- Product standards are unchanged: 20mg/ml maximum nicotine strength, 10ml bottle limit for nicotine liquids, 2ml tank and pod capacity
- Vaping remains substantially cheaper than smoking - the government raised tobacco duty at the same time specifically to preserve the financial incentive to switch
- Your hardware, spares, and accessories are not taxed
Should you stock up before October?
Across most of the UK market, yes. E-liquid bought before 1 October is sold at current prices, there is no restriction on buying for personal use, and properly stored e-liquid keeps well.
At ePuffer, there is less urgency. The duty applies to liquid manufactured or imported from 1 October onward. Stock already in our Leicester warehouse before that date is pre-duty stock, and HMRC's transition window permits it to be sold through until 31 March 2027. We stocked ahead deliberately, with further pre-duty deliveries arriving before the deadline.
That means ePuffer prices do not change on 1 October. They hold at pre-duty levels while our stock lasts. When it runs out, replacement stock carries the duty and our prices will reflect it - but you will not see the increase on 1 October the way you will across most of the market.
Important: this is stock-dependent, not date-dependent
We cannot hold pre-duty prices indefinitely. Each product runs at its pre-duty price only until that specific item sells out. Popular flavours will go first. Once we replace a line with duty-paid stock, the Vaping Products Duty is added to it automatically - roughly £2.64 on a 10ml bottle and £1.58 on a 3-pack of pods - and that item's price changes at that point, whether it happens in October, December or later. Different products will change on different dates. We will not be able to give advance notice on individual lines.
The bottom line
From 1 October 2026, expect e-liquid prices across the UK market to rise by roughly £2.64 per 10ml including VAT, with prefilled pods and cartridges seeing by far the gentlest proportional increase and 100ml shortfills the steepest. Hardware is unaffected. Every newly produced product will carry a duty stamp.
ePuffer is HMRC-approved for both the Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme, and we stocked ahead of the deadline - so our prices hold at pre-duty levels while that stock lasts, rather than moving on 1 October.
We'll update this article as HMRC publishes further details, and we'll notify our newsletter subscribers before any price changes take effect. If you have questions about how the duty affects a specific product, our customer care team is happy to help.
Last updated: 16 August 2026. ePuffer Ltd is HMRC-approved for both the Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme. This article is for general information and reflects HMRC guidance published at the time of writing.
