Understanding UK Vaping Duty Stamps

Vaping Products Duty starts on 1 October 2026 at £2.20 per 10ml, including nicotine-free liquid. The related stamp scheme uses physical security features, with digital stamps adding a scannable code and official event records.

Timeline & Grace Periods

While the duty officially begins on 1 October 2026, the transition will occur in phases to allow the supply chain to adjust. Unstamped products produced or imported before 1 October 2026 may continue to be stored and sold during a grace period lasting from 1 October 2026 through 31 March 2027.

Crucially, evidence must be retained to prove these products were produced or imported prior to the deadline. From 1 April 2027, retailers and wholesalers must not sell or hold any unstamped vaping products. By this date, all remaining unstamped stock must have been sold, returned, or lawfully disposed of.

Transitional vs Digital Stamps

To manage the initial rollout, two types of stamps will be in circulation before the digital scheme takes full effect:

• Transitional Stamps: Available to approved operators from 1 April 2026 to 30 November 2026. These rely solely on physical security features to demonstrate compliance and are not scanned into a digital lifecycle system.
• Digital Stamps: Available from 1 September 2026. These carry robust digital event tracking capabilities.

From 1 January 2027, only digital stamps may be affixed to products. Transitional stamps already applied to qualifying products remain part of the transition towards the 1 April 2027 boundary.

Approved Operator Roles

The scheme clearly distinguishes between businesses that interact directly with the duty systems and standard retailers:

HMRC-approved operators: Only businesses explicitly approved by HMRC may order duty stamps directly from the appointed supplier. Businesses importing or releasing products from duty suspension are responsible for accounting for the duty.

Approved affixing operators: Operators approved for this role apply and activate stamps. Required scans are recorded at the official lifecycle points described by HMRC.

Retailers & Wholesalers: Businesses dealing only in duty-paid products do not require formal VPD or stamp-scheme approval. However, they carry significant due diligence and record-keeping burdens (outlined below).

Digital Stamp Data

When approved operators activate and handle digital stamps, the official event record includes product and operator attributes such as:

• Operator details: Information regarding the manufacturer and the approved operator.
• Product specifications: Volume, brand, flavour, product type, and nicotine content.
• Identifiers: ECID or GBID where applicable.

Retailer & Wholesaler Obligations

Retailers and wholesalers have their own handling role. HMRC guidance says they should:

• Verify stock: Check that required stamps are present and correctly attached to the outer packaging.
• Validate origin: Maintain production or import dates for any unstamped items held during the grace period.
• Assess suppliers: Check supplier credibility and retain due-diligence records.

HMRC also sets separate retailer and wholesaler evidence categories and retention periods. See the VPD record-keeping guide for that detail.

Invastokk's Role in Your Workflow

We want to be perfectly clear about our platform's capabilities regarding the official VPD scheme: Invastokk does not issue, sell, order, activate, apply, or scan duty stamps. We do not integrate directly with the appointed stamp supplier or transmit official EPCIS event data. We do not provide a native "stamped vs unstamped" product status toggle.

Instead, Invastokk provides the robust operational foundation you need to manage the surrounding workflows. All platform features are included by default, with simple pricing that scales by location:

• Manage products, variants, suppliers, and purchase orders effectively.
• Handle partial receiving, store/location transfers and invoice scanning.
• Execute sales-aware stocktakes and detailed valuation reporting.
• Connect supported workflows with Shopify, WooCommerce and Lightspeed X-Series.

Suggested purchasing uses sales and forecasting but remains under user review without automatic ordering. Inva-Pilot requires normal confirmation before changes. Standard onboarding can be completed within 72 hours, and bespoke configuration can align supported internal inventory processes with your operating model.