UAE postpones ban on vape, e-cigarettes without stamp

  DUBAI - The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has postponed a ban on of e-cigarettes and water pipe tobacco or mu’assel without digital tax stamps. The ban had previously been scheduled to come into effect on June 1 but has now been postponed to January 1, 2021. According to FTA, the ban includes the supply, transfer, storage and possession of e-cigarettes or vape, and waterpipe tobacco without digital tax stamps. The FTA requires digital tax stamps on these items to protect consumers from commercial fraud and low-quality products, limit negative impact on public health, and enhance control systems set up to combat tax evasion. The FTA explained that the postponement of the scheme aimed to address the challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic that prevented importers, producers and distributors from meeting the deadlines. Authorities had implemented strict precautionary measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, including temporarily closing cafés and restaurants and banning them from serving water pipes. FTA Director-General Khaled Ali Al Bustani asserted that the FTA’s decision to postpone the ban aims to give producers, suppliers, and distributors of mu'assel and e-cigarettes enough time to ensure that their products will carry the digital tax stamps. "This extension on the timeline provides them with seven additional months to prepare for the mandatory implementation of the ban," Al Bustani said. Distributors will be allowed to sell their existing inventory of products without digital tax stamps until January 1, he said. “The decision provides them enough time to sell off any remaining tobacco products that do not carry the digital tax stamps," he said. The import of water pipe tobacco and e-cigarettes that do not carry the digital tax stamps was banned on March 1 as part of phase two of the "Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme". The FTA called on all producers, importers, and distributors of tobacco and tobacco products, as well as all stakeholders in the sector to abide by the scheme. The digital tax stamps allow for digitally tracking the designated products from the manufacturing facility until the products reach the end consumer, ensuring that set standards and criteria are satisfied and that excise tax obligations are met. ICA/WAM/Expat Media
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