VB Distribution has secured HMRC approval under the new Vaping Products Duty and Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme, placing it among the first UK distributors able to supply stamped, duty-accounted product from day one of the new regime.
From 1 October, vaping products move from a consumer goods category into an excise category, governed by the same architecture as alcohol and tobacco, with licensed operators, duty points, bonded estates and traceable stamps all now included.
The ‘approval’ is the licence to trade within this framework, and the only route to duty stamps, which HMRC releases to approved businesses alone.
With that approval now secured, VB Distribution can purchase stamps inside the transitional window (closes on 31 August) and build up its stamped stock ahead of the 1 October deadline.
The approval also determines where the duty falls. Operating under bonded, duty-suspended conditions, the charge lands when stock is released, rather than when partners receive it, allowing VB to absorb the duty cost and administration rather than passing either down the chain, it said.
For retailers and wholesalers, that’s the difference between funding an excise regime and simply trading through one.
50k retail placements
VB Distribution supplies more than 50k retail shelf placements across the UK, with annual turnover of £500m and 100,000 sq.ft of HMRC-approved bonded warehousing.
With approval now safely secured ahead of the October deadline, the distributor said it’s ready to carry Britain’s retailers and wholesalers into the next era for the category.
Natalia Gosciniak, CEO of VB Distribution, said: “Approval is no longer an administrative step in this category, it’s permission to trade.
“This milestone strengthens our readiness for the introduction of the duty and reflects months of work across our operations, compliance and supply chain teams. Our retail, wholesale and brand partners will trade through the transition with the availability and continuity they have always had from us.”
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