Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific mechanisms will enable HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force to verify compliance with the vaping product registration scheme at the point of import; and whether registration numbers will be required on customs documentation.

Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care regularly meet with officials from other departments, including HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force, to share intelligence and ensure a coordinated approach to the enforcement of our rules on vaping products. This coordinated approach to enforcement will continue once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law and in the development of subsequent regulations.

We launched a call for evidence in October 2025 which sought further detail on the existing product notification schemes and where registration could go further than current requirements. The call for evidence closed on 3 December 2025, and we are in the process of analysing the responses. Policy proposals will be subject to further consultation before regulations are made with sufficient lead time for businesses to adjust to the new requirements.

The Government intends to implement vaping duty stamps alongside the Vaping Products Duty commencing in October 2026, in line with HM Revenue and Customs’ strategic objective of making it easy to get tax right and hard to bend or break the rules. Vaping duty stamps will support both enforcement bodies and industry in identifying products that are non-duty paid, therefore illicit. We will work with HM Revenue and Customs to ensure a joined-up approach, where appropriate.