Vaping liquids sold in the UAE will be assigned a fixed minimum value for tax purposes beginning September 1, 2026, under a decision issued by the Ministry of Finance covering products used in electronic smoking devices and tools.
The figure has been set at AED 1 per millilitre. This value is what authorities will rely on when calculating excise tax owed on a product, rather than the price a retailer chooses to charge for it. That distinction matters: a minimum excise price is not the same as a minimum retail price, which fixes the lowest amount a shopper can be charged at the till.
The practical effect scales directly with bottle size. A 10mL container carries a minimum excise value of AED 10, a 30mL bottle reaches AED 30, and a 60mL bottle sits at AED 60. Where a liquid is sold for less than AED 1 per millilitre, the tax will still be worked out against the minimum figure rather than the lower selling price.
According to the ministry, the change is meant to “enhance the effectiveness of excise tax implementation and support compliance with the UAE’s tax legislation.” Officials framed the measure as a way to reflect shifts in the market for excise goods and to apply one consistent standard across every category of tobacco and electronic smoking product.
The ministry described the step as one that “supports tax compliance and helps limit practices that may affect the effective implementation of the excise tax.”
Nothing in the announcement alters the tax treatment already in place for conventional products. “Under the decision, the existing minimum excise price will continue to apply to cigarettes, water pipe tobacco, ready-to-use tobacco products, and similar products,” the ministry stated. It confirmed the new liquid pricing separately: “The decision introduces a minimum Excise Price of AED 1 per millilitre (mL) for liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools. The decision will enter into force on September 1, 2026.”
All tobacco products falling within the country’s excise regime remain subject to the 100 percent rate the UAE applies to such goods, a charge popularly referred to as a “sin tax.” The government first rolled out these levies in 2017 on items judged harmful to public health, spanning smoking products and sugary drinks, and broadened the program two years afterward.
