Germany’s finance ministry has owned up to an embarrassing mistake. The revised tobacco tax law, published on 20 October 2026, took effect the very next day, on 21 October, instead of in January 2027 as intended. With tax stamps for the new, higher rates not yet ready, the ministry has told customs not to apply the new law for the time being and says a correction has already been initiated.
The rush came down to timing. Because the law entered into force the day after publication, customs offices had no stamps printed for the new rates, which is why the ministry issued its hold order. A formal correction is now in motion, though no date for it has been given.
The missing months
The drafting slip has opened a gap that matters most to vapers. The new legal text sets e-liquid duty at €0.38 per millilitre from January 2027, climbing to €0.40 in 2028, €0.42 in 2029 and €0.44 from 2030, but it lists no rate at all for the rest of 2026.
| Period | E-liquid duty per ml |
|---|---|
| Rest of 2026 | Disputed: €0 (industry reading) vs €0.32 (ministry reading) |
| From January 2027 | €0.38 |
| From 2028 | €0.40 |
| From 2029 | €0.42 |
| From 2030 | €0.44 |
Two sides, one text
The vaping industry reads the wording as leaving e-liquids free of tobacco duty until the end of December. The finance ministry disagrees and continues to apply the old rates. Industry representative Dustin Dahlmann did not mince words: “The finance ministry has created chaos and must clear it up immediately.”
What vapers pay today
For now, the current 2026 duty of €0.32 per millilitre remains in force under the ministry’s reading. The gap matters because the difference between the two readings is the full €0.32 per millilitre on every bottle sold before January. Retailers face the uncomfortable choice of pricing on the ministry’s word while the industry insists the statute says otherwise. The finance ministry expects the planned hike to bring in more than €12 billion in tax revenue over the next four years. For comparison, read our breakdown of the UK’s vape duty.
Until the promised correction arrives, German vape shops and vapers are left operating under a law everyone agrees is wrong.
Source: Deutsche Welle.