Excise tax on vaporizers – what you need to know about the new regulations?

As of July 1, 2025, a new excise tax on vaporization devices has come into effect in Poland. This is the result of the February 20, 2025 amendment to the excise tax law, which expands the list of excise products to include vaporizers and similar devices.

What will you learn from this article?

👉 Which products are covered by the “new” excise tax?

👉 What does the introduction of excise tax mean for customers?

👉 Will vaporizers become more expensive after the introduction of excise tax?

Table of contents:

Which devices are covered by the “new” excise tax?

According to the new definition, all vaporization devices will be subject to excise tax. This applies to reusable electronic cigarettes, tobacco product heaters, and multifunctional devices that enable vaporization of various substances. Importantly, sets of parts for assembling a vaporizer will also be taxed, which is intended to prevent circumventing regulations by selling devices “in parts.” The excise tax will also cover herbal vaporizers, CBD vaporizers, and even medical marijuana vaporizers.

Important: Only devices intended exclusively for medical purposes are exempt from excise tax, although this definition may raise interpretive doubts.

How much is the excise tax?

The excise tax rate is fixed at 10 EUR per device, regardless of its value. This means that both a cheaper vaporizer for 50 EUR and a more expensive model for 400 EUR will be subject to the same excise tax amount.

How much will prices increase?

Industry experts predict that the actual price increase will be 10-20 EUR per device. Why more than just the excise tax? In addition to the 10 EUR excise tax, there are costs of registration in the CRPA system, costs of excise stamps, administrative handling of new obligations, and margin to cover additional operational costs. With current vaporizer prices ranging between 40 and 100 EUR for popular models, this means a price increase of up to 10-30%.

Key dates and transition periods

Key dates are:

• July 1, 2025 – excise tax on vaporization devices comes into effect
• Until August 31, 2025 – possibility to sell off devices not marked with excise stamps (introduced to sale before July 1)
• From September 1, 2025 – all vaporizers for sale must be marked with excise stamps. From this date, prices of all vaporizers will increase!

What does this mean for consumers?

For regular users, this primarily means higher prices – every vaporizer will be at least 10 EUR more expensive. Additionally, a smaller product selection can be expected, as some stores may discontinue vaporizer sales due to complicated administrative requirements. Particularly smaller sales points may not be able to meet the new obligations, which will limit device availability on the market.

Particularly affected: medical marijuana patients

The excise tax will also hit patients using medical marijuana who use vaporizers as the doctor-recommended method of taking their medication. Although vaporization is a healthier alternative to smoking, these devices are not reimbursed by the NFZ (National Health Fund), and now they will additionally become more expensive. This is a double burden for people who already pay hundreds of zlotys monthly for legal medical marijuana.

What about herbal vaporization device retailers?

Stores will have to face a series of new administrative obligations. It will be necessary to register in the Central Register of Excise Entities (CRPA), mark all products with excise stamps, maintain detailed sales records, and regularly report turnover to tax offices. For many small stores, especially those operating in a dropshipping model or on a local scale, this may mean completely abandoning vaporizer sales.

Consequences for international trade

The introduction of excise tax on vaporizers in Poland has significant consequences for international trade of these devices. As VapeFully, we can still ship vaporizers to other European countries where such products are not yet subject to similar excise regulations. However, the situation changes dramatically when it comes to imports to Poland – Polish consumers who previously often used foreign online stores offering lower prices must now face legal risks.

Purchasing a vaporizer abroad without paying Polish excise tax may be classified as an attempt to avoid taxation, which in practice means illegal introduction of goods into the country’s territory. This marks the end of the era of cheap vaporizer purchases from foreign online stores for Polish users, who from September 2025 will be forced to buy devices exclusively from Polish distributors with appropriate excise stamps.

Is the “new” excise tax a good step?

The new excise tax is another element of a broader strategy for taxing alternative forms of nicotine and other substance consumption. Although officially intended to protect public health and limit the availability of these devices to youth, in practice it may paradoxically encourage some users to return to traditional smoking, which is cheaper but significantly more harmful to health.